The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 tonight, thanks in large part to clutch defense. While the bullpen did shut the Cubs out, their control was less than ideal. They struggled to find the strike zone which led to numerous tight situations when the Cubs had runners in scoring position.

What most viewers could keep track of were the three walks that were  issued in the 4.0 innings pitched by the bullpen Monday night. Here is how each reliever fared:

Ryan Mattheus: 1.0 inning, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K — 3 balls, 6 strikes

Burke Badenhop: 1.0 inning, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K — 13 balls, 12 strikes

J.J. Hoover: 1.0 inning, 1 H, o ER, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K — 11 balls, 7 strikes

Aroldis Chapman: 1.0 inning, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K — 5 balls, 8 strikes

During their four innings of work, they threw 65 pitches. Of those 65 pitches, however, only 33 were for strikes which only accounted for just above 50 percent of the total thrown (50.8 percent). The Reds were short on the bullpen side thanks to a rough season against the Cleveland Indians over the weekend, and that may have played a factor.

This lack of control has been a huge reason behind the bullpen’s struggles as it has issued 121 walks in 273.2 innings of work. The countless batters walked have led to an ERA of 4.18, which has led to numerous meltdowns and losses.

Tonight was just another exception to the bullpen’s season-long struggle with control as they were still able to produce outs. In order for the Reds to have any sort of success throughout the remainder of the season, their bullpen needs to improve the control of their pitches.