Cubs homer four times in close loss to Reds |
CINCINNATI — Powering out four home runs, including two in the ninth inning, was not enough for the Chicago Cubs (18-13), as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds (14-17) 6-5. The Reds homered three times themselves, and a solo dinger that provided the Reds with an eighth-inning insurance run proved to be the difference maker. Kyle Hendricks started on the mound for the Cubs and gave up five runs on 10 hits while striking out six in six innings of work. Eugenio Suarez went 3-for-3 at the plate for the Reds and drove in half of Cincinnati's runs. Jason Heyward returned to Chicago's lineup after sitting out Wednesday's game as a form of peaceful protest, and he went yard and drew two walks. The opener of the four-game series at Great American Ball Park took place on Jackie Robinson Day, which was celebrated around MLB on Friday. Inning-by-Inning Breakdown: T1: The Cubs established an early 2-0 lead via two solo shots out of the gate. Anthony Rizzo hit his sixth home run of the season on the second pitch of the game, and Kyle Schwarber jacked his seventh long ball of the year two at-bats later. Reds starter Tyler Mahle gave up the round-trippers. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 0 Not playable, run(s). #TeamRizzo@BinnysBev pic.twitter.com/zjpkSwB4LR Watch this, Schwarb. B1: Hendricks tossed a 1-2-3 first inning. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 0 T2: Heyward drew an eight-pitch leadoff walk but was left on base. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 0 B2: Suarez, a notorious Cub killer, put the Reds on the board with a leadoff homer. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 1 Pssssst, T3: Mahle sat the Cubs down in order, striking out two. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 1 B3: With two outs and a runner in scoring position, Hendricks forced former Cub Nicholas Castellanos to fly out. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 1 T4: Heyward drew another walk, this time with two outs, but David Bote then flied out to the warning track to end the half-inning. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 1 B4: Jesse Winker led off the bottom half of the fourth with a home run. Suarez doubled after that, and Matt Davidson scored him with a go-ahead base knock. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 3 Watch this, Jesse. T5: The Cubs struck out twice in a three up, three down inning. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 3 B5: Three straight two-out hits resulted in two runs crossing the plate for Cincinnati. Suarez came through with a clutch single that plated Castellanos and Winker. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 How about a couple more good vibes only!?#TakeTheCentral pic.twitter.com/mdC9eaBxCo T6: Mahle recorded two more strikeouts in a scoreless sixth. He finished with 14 Ks. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 B6: Although he gave up a pair of singles, Hendricks registered three strikeouts his last time out. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 T7: A fielding error committed by first baseman Mike Moustakas enabled Heyward to reach base. Mahle was relieved by Amir Garrett not long after that, and Garrett ended the top of the seventh with a strikeout. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 B7: Dan Winkler forced the first two batters of his appearance to groundout, including the similarly named Winker. He then walked Suarez, who reached second on a subsequent fielding error suffered by Bote. Winkler fanned Davidson to escape the inning. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 T8: Ian Happ singled off Garrett with one out, but Rizzo then grounded into a 6-5-3 double play made possible by a shift. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 5 B8: Freddy Galvis led off the bottom of the eighth with a tater off Kyle Ryan. All three of the Reds' homers were of the leadoff variety. Score: Cubs 2, Reds 6 Swingin' in the rain T9: Galvis' insurance jack was critical, as the Cubs went on to hit back-to-back blasts, both of which were served up by Robert Stephenson, to pull within one run. After Schwarber singled, Willson Contreras belted his fourth home run of 2020. Heyward then launched a solo shot that marked his third dinger of the year. Raisel Iglesias relieved Stephenson and wasted little time in recording the final two outs. Rain fell for most of the later innings, but the game was never delayed. Prior to Happ's single in the top of the eighth, the Cubs had not recorded a hit since Schwarber's opening-inning homer. The North Siders failed to advance a runner into scoring position for the first time all season. Javier Baez struck out four times for the Cubs, giving him an unwanted golden sombrero for the second time on the season. Hendricks dropped to 3-4 with the loss, and Mahle moved to 1-1 with the win. Garrett accrued his third hold, and Iglesias earned his fourth save. Final Score: Cubs 5, Reds 6 Willson Contreras - Chicago Cubs (4) pic.twitter.com/jRm5m2uXmi Jason Heyward - Chicago Cubs (3) pic.twitter.com/SjGCF1WOzO Statistical Breakdown: Chicago Cubs: Batting: 5 R, 6 H, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2-Out RBI, 1 GIDP, 0-0 RISP, 3 LOB; Fielding: 1 E; Pitching: 11 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Cincinnati Reds: Batting: 6 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2-Out RBI, 2-8 RISP, 7 LOB; Fielding: 1 E, 1 DP; Pitching: 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 14 K, 4 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Studs of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber (LF): 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 2-Out RBI Cincinnati Reds: Eugenio Suarez (3B): 3-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 2-Out RBI, 1-1 RISP, 1 defensive assisted DP; Tyler Mahle (SP): 6.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP; Jesse Winker (LF): 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, 1 HR Duds of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (SP): 6.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP; David Bote (3B): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 E; Javier Baez (SS): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K Cincinnati Reds: Mike Moustakas (1B): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 0-1 RISP, 1 E, 1 defensive assisted DP Up Next: Due to a rainout from a Cubs-Reds series earlier in the season, the action at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, will come in the form of a doubleheader. The first installment will begin at 3:10 p.m. CDT and will feature a star-studded pitching matchup. Cubs righty Yu Darvish (5-1, 1.70) and Reds righty Trevor Bauer (3-1, 1.65) are slated to toe the rubber on an overcast afternoon in the Queen City. Highlights: The #Cubs fall to the Reds in the series opener.
You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half. pic.twitter.com/yohsaeLywK
Geno has homered in 4 of his last 6 games! ?? pic.twitter.com/Qa3lzrrwUv
You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half. pic.twitter.com/OhoCsTdl42
Just swingin' in the rain pic.twitter.com/XPPZgmRgut
8/28: CHC @ CIN
