Genesis has come to Wrigley Field.
With apologies to neighbors hoping for a glimpse of Phil Collins or a chance to hear ‘‘Invisible Touch’’ emanating from the ballpark, we’re not talking about a late addition to the summer concert schedule.
Instead, it’s veteran left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera, who signed with the Cubs on Thursday and debuted with them Friday, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out three in a 6-2 loss to the Reds.
Cabrera’s name might ring a bell for Cubs fans who remember his half-decade with the rival Cardinals. He was most recently with the Mets and had a 3.52 ERA in six appearances for them before being designated for assignment last weekend.
‘‘I’m here to compete and give it my all every time I go out there,’’ Cabrera said through an interpreter. ‘‘We’re here to win. We’re here to win a World Series.’’
Cabrera doesn’t have a specified role yet, though he’s the Cubs’ most recent attempt to bring in a veteran pitcher who can make an impact out of the bullpen.
Chris Flexen, Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz already have been success stories in that department. Neither Flexen nor Pomeranz has allowed an earned run this season, and Keller has a 2.30 ERA.
The Cubs hope Cabrera can be next.
‘‘We’ve had some real success stories in terms of, organizationally, what we’ve done with pitching this year,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘We’ve got a good pitching program here, and that’s just incrementally trying to make guys a little bit better.
‘‘You never get satisfied, never stop looking for those opportunities. . . . The quest for opportunities in pitching, it’s 365 days. It doesn’t matter if it’s the offseason, May 28, June 28, August 28, you’re trying to add pitching and develop pitching.’’
Reds rock Rea again
Right-hander Colin Rea has been very good, for the most part, in helping the Cubs survive some early-season injuries in the rotation. For the second consecutive outing, however, he couldn’t keep the Reds at bay.
Rea gave up six runs, five of them on a trio of home runs. All told, the Reds tagged him for six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
It was a familiar sight. Rea gave up six runs to the Reds in his previous start last weekend in Cincinnati.
‘‘[Pitching against a team twice in a row] kind of works both ways,’’ Rea said after the game. ‘‘We kind of get a better idea of what they’re trying to do and vice versa. It comes down to execution. When you’re missing [over the] middle to those guys, they’re going to take advantage of it.’’
MLB’s best bats go quiet
The Cubs have the highest-scoring offense in the majors, but they mustered little against Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott.
A single by Justin Turner in the third was the Cubs’ lone hit against Abbott, who followed that by retiring the next 15 batters to finish off his seven scoreless innings.
After Abbott departed, the Cubs used three consecutive hits to score two runs in the eighth.