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As most of you know, I have been watching Cubs baseball for more than 60 years.

In that time I’ve seen a lot of bad baseball and a lot of losing. Most of the time, I can slough off the losses, been there, done that, seen it before.

This one pissed me off.

The Cubs should have won this game but literally threw it away and the Cardinals won 5-4.

Let’s begin at the beginning because I have lots of stuff to complain about, but there were some good things early on.

Jameson Taillon served up a home run to Alec Burleson in the first inning. It was originally ruled a double, but it clearly bounced in and out of the right-field basket and a quick crew chief review overturned that.

The Cubs came right back in the bottom of the first. Ian Happ led off with a walk and Michael Busch gave the Cubs the lead [VIDEO].

That ball had an apex of 149 feet! Busch seems to specialize in towering home runs like that. It was his 15th of the year.

In the second, Taillon had some defensive help from Happ [VIDEO].

I know many on this site want Happ traded but that has value. He’s probably going to win another Gold Glove.

The Cubs extended the lead in the second. Nico Hoerner led off with a single and one out later, Pete Crow-Armstrong tripled him in [VIDEO].

Nico would have scored anyway from first, but PCA is probably the only player in this league who could make a triple out of that hit.

That was important, because Miguel Amaya laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score PCA [VIDEO].

Taillon didn’t have his best stuff but managed to complete six innings, allowing just the one run, striking out four and issuing no walks. About the walks, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Jameson Taillon’s start was the 10th by a Cubs pitcher this season of at least six innings with no walks. The Cubs had won all nine before today. Shota Imanaga has done it four times; Taillon, three; Justin Steele, twice; and Jordan Wicks, once. Last year, the Cubs had 18 such starts — and went 10-8 in those games.

Yeah, about that “won all nine before today,” I’ll get to that.

Drew Smyly relieved Taillon and threw a 1-2-3 seventh.

Then the fateful eighth, with Porter Hodge pitching. He issued a one-out walk to Burleson and then hit Willson Contreras. Paul Goldschmidt was the next hitter and flied to center, two out, two on, Cubs still with a three-run lead.

Now we open the complaint department door.

Brendan Donovan was the next hitter. He hit a ground ball to third [VIDEO].

What on Earth are you thinking, Isaac Paredes? He had NO chance to throw Donovan out at first. The best thing to do there is just eat the ball. The bases would have been loaded with two out and the score still 4-1. Instead, a run scored to make it 4-2 and on the throwing error, two runners are now in scoring position.

I’m just gonna say it because you’re all thinking it. Christopher Morel could have done that. Paredes is supposed to be a better third baseman. Not on that play, he wasn’t.

It got worse, and quickly.

Hodge got Nolan Arenado to hit a fly ball to short center. Then … oh, no [VIDEO].

Nico Hoerner called for the ball but PCA called him off and then… didn’t catch it. Both runners scored to tie the game.

I’m just gonna say it because you’re all thinking it. PCA has GOT to stop doing this, calling off every single fielder within his range and trying to make every single play. Happ and Seiya Suzuki already seem to be afraid of PCA running them over. Now let’s not add Nico to that list.

Beyond the misplay by PCA, if Paredes doesn’t make that bad throw, only one run scores on that play and the Cubs would have still had the lead.

That might be one of the worst defensive innings I’ve ever seen the Cubs play. You too, I suspect.

The Cubs couldn’t score in the eighth and Hector Neris entered to throw the ninth.

Tommy Pham was the leadoff hitter [VIDEO].

Well. I can’t tell on that clip and maybe you can’t either. Did Happ have the ball in his glove and then contact with the wall knocked it out? It’s not clear. In any case, Pham wound up on third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly by Lars Nootbaar.

Cardinals fans yell “Nooooot” for Nootbaar when he does something good and after that sac fly we heard some of that — or was that booing? Hard to tell.

Nope. They went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, though Paredes hit the ball hard at Masyn Winn for an out and Nico flied to medium-deep center field. Still outs, though, still another loss.

Like I said, this one pissed me off. I trust that Cubs field management and PCA’s teammates can have a talk with him and rein in some of that “I have to make every single play” attitude. Yes, he can make many of them, but today’s misplay likely cost the Cubs the game.

Sigh. It didn’t help that the Cubs had only two baserunners after the second inning, but even with that, if they play better defense they win this game.

If the Cubs can come out of this series with three of four, it will still be a successful weekend. Justin Steele will start for the Cubs in Sunday’s series finale and Miles Mikolas gets the call for the Cardinals. I trust you’ve already heard about the time change for Sunday’s game, but if not, tomorrow’s contest will be the featured ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game and begin at 6:10 p.m. CT.