Zack Littell struck out eight in seven crisp innings in his Cincinnati debut, and the Reds beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Tuesday night. Littell (9-8) allowed three hits and walked two in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay last week.

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On the day the Chicago Cubs put their top deadline acquisition on the injured list the Cincinnati Reds' top deadline acquisition beat the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs pulled off a narrow series win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, thanks to a walk-off homer from Justin Turner. But that late-game heroics couldn’t cover up a growing concern: Chicago’s trade deadline inaction is already proving costly.

The Cubs backed out of a trade deadline deal with the White Sox for Adrian Houser, and it's immediately coming back to bite them.