CHICAGO -- There have been plenty of plays in recent years that end with a Cubs player sliding through home, popping up with a dirt-caked uniform and pumping his fists as the Wrigley Field crowd erupts. The unheralded eyes and wind-milling arm behind those highlight-reel runs is often third-base coach Willie Harris.

The spotlight rarely finds a third-base coach after those moments, but it was turned on Harris in the wake of Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds. In the clubhouse, the affable Harris emerged from a back hallway with a smile and took responsibility for the critical out at the plate in the ninth that loomed large for a reeling Cubs team.

“Today, it’s on me,” Harris said. “And I know those guys in the clubhouse, they know me. They know I’m for them and they’ll pick me up.”

It is never that simple. The play during which Nick Madrigal was thrown out at home via a precise Cincinnati relay -- left fielder Jacob Hurtubise to shortstop Elly De La Cruz to catcher Tyler Stephenson -- was crucial in the outcome, but so were a number of other plays throughout the game.

The Cubs were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the first eight innings, continuing a discouraging month-long trend (MLB-low .546 OPS with RISP in May) for the laboring lineup. That one hit came with two outs in the fourth, when Dansby Swanson over-ran third on an infield single by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Second baseman Jonathan India made an acrobatic throw to nab Swanson.

Before the ninth, the Cubs’ only offense came via Ian Happ, who slugged a two-run homer in the second and drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth. Remove Happ from the equation and Chicago’s offense was 1-for-10 with runners on base in the first eight frames.

“Every moment in games matters,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

The domino effect magnified the events of the ninth.

Facing Reds closer Alexis Díaz, Crow-Armstrong led off by pulling a pitch into right field for a single with Cincinnati holding a 5-3 lead. Rookie Michael Busch then came off the bench and worked a seven-pitch walk. At that juncture, Counsell sent the more contact-based Madrigal in as a pinch-hitter for slugger Patrick Wisdom.

“It was just a tough matchup for Patrick and a better matchup for Nick,” Counsell explained.

Díaz fired a 1-0 fastball up and in to Madrigal, who pulled his bat in quickly and then lost his grip on it after the baseball met the knob. Madrigal said he felt the ball hit a part of his hand and was ready to head to first base. Home-plate umpire Brennan Miller motioned for Madrigal to stay put, ruling that it was a foul ball.

“I felt it hit my hand pretty immediately,” Madrigal said.

Counsell headed out of the dugout to argue the call.

“Whatever the call on the field for that play is,” Counsell said, “replay’s not going to change the call, because it hits some of your hand, hits some of the bat. And so the call, you can’t tell. It’s too hard for replay to tell. It’s too hard to overturn it. So the call on the field is what matters. Nick made a clear sign that he got hit.”

Before the play went to a review, Counsell was ejected from the ballgame. After an examination of the footage, the call was confirmed and Madrigal had to finish the at-bat. The Cubs infielder reached via a fielder’s choice groundout, putting runners on the corners and setting the table for the game’s decisive moment.

Seiya Suzuki pulled a Díaz pitch into the left-field corner, scoring Crow-Armstrong easily. Madrigal was off and running from first base and -- after watching Hurtubise chase down the ball -- Harris motioned for him to hustle home.

“I’m watching the ball. I know who the outfielder is,” Harris said. “I took a chance on trying to score right there. It didn’t work out for us, unfortunately, for me and for the team. But you have to be aggressive. You have to try to score runs.”

De La Cruz received the relay from the left fielder and uncorked a strong, pinpoint throw to Stephenson, who easily applied the tag for the critical out. Cody Bellinger then flied out to deep left to end the game, making every small misstep feel massive for the North Siders.

Harris shouldered the blame when the spotlight found him and called his decision “a bad send.”

“Willie’s one of the best third-base coaches in the game and we have full faith in him,” Madrigal said. “This time, it didn’t work. It’s a team game. We have this group and we believe in each other. We’re not going to point any fingers.”