Chicago, IL - The Cincinnati Reds opted to bump their rotation down a day prior to starting their series against the Chicago Cubs, in the process choosing to effectively roll with a bullpen game in the series opener on Monday night. Considering the Cubs are in the race for both the NL Central crown and for an elusive Wild Card spot https://www.redsmlbstore.com/eugenio_suarez_jersey-40, that couldn have been a more enticing development, really.The Reds rolled out Kevin Gausman as their tarter on the night, and he promptly was rocked for a 1st inning 3-run homer by Kyle Schwarber, a blast that was good enough to overshadow the rest of the Reds offense on the night. In the end, the Reds fell 8-2, in the process almost gifting a Cubs team devoid of Javy Baez (finger) and Anthony Rizzo (ankle) a big-time win when they needed it most.Eugenio Suarez walked thrice, which was cool.Jose Peraza singled and doubled, which was cool, too.Lucas Sims fired a pair of scoreless IP, and even added a single while at the plate. Coolness.In the end, however, this Reds team simply didn have what it took on the evening, and that was reflected in the pretty thorough thumping. Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker are both out for the rest of the season https://www.redsmlbstore.com/cincinnati_reds-4, and Joey Votto was a late scratch due to an illnesss. Then, Josh VanMeter was pulled from the game for what was reported as a family emergency, and we certainly hope all is right with Josh Co.That said, this season just seems to be crumbling at every edge, and tonight was yet another example of that.Let just hope that the Reds can put things back together tomorrow when these two teams tussle once again at 8:05 PM ET.