Taking the bad with the good with Kris Bryant

No sooner had Cubs’ TV play-by-play announcer Len Kasper said, “Kris Bryant has hit some dramatic home runs,” than Bryant hit a dramatic home run Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The two-run dinger in the eighth inning tied the game 4-4.

Now, I’d really believe in Kasper’s ability to see the future if he had gone on to foreshadow Bryant’s error with two out in the ninth. The rookie’s inability to handle Jay Bruce’s hard grounder gave the Reds new life. Up to the plate came Joey Votto, into the left-field bleachers flew the baseball and down went the Cubs 7-4.

With Bryant, you take the bad with the good, figuring you’ll come out ahead in the long run. But this one stung for the Cubs, who have lost six of their last nine games. For playoff contenders, growing pains hurt a lot more in September.