Six-run seventh paves way for win over Reds |
CINCINNATI - To say the first five games of the 2023 MLB season have been a disappointment for the Chicago Cubs (2-3) would be an understatement, as they let several games get away. After dropping the final two games against Milwaukee at home and losing the series opener to the Cincinnati Reds (3-2) at the Great American Ballpark on Monday, the Cubs entered Tuesday searching for answers.
Granted, there are still 157 games remaining, but when you look at the mistakes this team has made, there are some concerns as they could be 5-0 or, at worst, 4-1. Looking to end their three-game skid and get back on the winning side, David Ross turned to Hayden (Wesnasty) Wesneski as the rookie made his season debut. After a dominant spring that saw him earn the No. 5 spot out of camp, Wesneski was far from his usual self and, for whatever reason, was out of sorts on the mound. That saw him struggle with his command, allow a pair of homers, and only make it through 4 2/3 innings as he left trailing 3-1. Fortunately for him, the Cubs offense woke up after Luis Cessa allowed just two runs in 5 1/3 innings as a six-run seventh inning paved the way for a blowout 12-5 win. Scoring first has not been an issue for the Cubs this season, and once again, they struck first to grab an early lead. For as good as Cessa was, he did struggle early on as the Cubs aggressive approach saw Nico Hoerner lead things off with a single before Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger followed suit to load the bases with just one out. What could have been a nightmare inning for Cessa turned out to be minimal damage as the Cubs only managed to score one run on the Trey Mancini sacrifice fly to take the 1-0 lead. Aggressive approaches were the way to go in the early innings, as Cincinnati needed just six pitches to tie things up. Jonathan India started the game with an opening pitch double to put the Reds in business early. After TJ Friedl nearly beat out a bunt to move India to third, Jake Fraley cashed in with a well-struck single to make things 1-1. Tyler Stephenson added another single later in the inning, but Yan Gomes threw out Fraley trying to steal second, which changed the complexion of the inning. While the aggressive approach was working early, Wesneski wasn't doing himself any favors as he couldn't locate his pitches. That resulted in not one, but two solo shots by the Reds, with Friedl delivering the first one in the third inning to put Cincinnati on top 2-1. Jason Volser continued that trend in the fourth inning as another solo shot had the Reds in front 3-1 and left Wesneski frustrated. Not only was the lack of command from Wesneski surprising, but the Cubs offense couldn't catch a break as they picked up tons of hard contact against Cessa, only to come away empty-handed. They even loaded the bases in the fifth inning with an error and a pair of walks contributing to it, but per usual, they couldn't do anything with it as Cessa kept their bats in check. At some point, you had to think the Cubs luck was going to change, and after Michael Rucker took over for Wesneski, luck was starting to go their way. It may have taken six innings for that to happen, but the door was open after Patrick Wisdom picked up a one-out double to chase Cessa. Eric Hosmer followed that up with an RBI single off Ian Gibault to pull the Cubs within 3-2, but it was what happened in the seventh inning that stood out. Trailing by one and with Buck Farmer on the mound, the Cubs not only started to rally, but made sure the Reds didn't stand a chance with Hoerner starting things off with a double. That double was followed by a pair of walks by Dansby Swanson and Bellinger while Ian Happ continued to crush the ball in Cincinnati and used an RBI double to tie things up 3-3. Not only was the game tied, but the Cubs had the bases loaded with no outs, only to see Mancini pick up an RBi single to give the Cubs the lead for good, 4-3, while Wisdom delivered the game-winning single to make things 6-3. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on with a botched fielders choice to keep the bases loaded, but a costly double play prevented what could have been a bigger inning, although another run came across. Miles Mastrobuoni capped off the six-run frame with another RBI single as the Cubs took a 3-2 deficit and flipped it to an 8-3 lead. That was more than enough for Adbert Alzolay and the rest of the Cubs pen to settle in as he struck out a pair in the seventh and gave the Cubs three massive innings of work with five strikeouts. Chicago continued to tee off on the Reds pitching in the eighth, loading the bases with no outs on two singles and a walk. Throw in another Mancini RBI and the Wisdom double, and the Cubs extended their lead to 10-3 with the Hosmer double making it 11-3. Although they were down big in the eighth, the Reds would not go away quietly, with India leading off the eighth with a single. Stuart Fairchild entered the game as a pinch hitter and immediately took Alzolay deep to pull the Reds within 11-5. That would be as close as they would get as Brad Boxberger and Julian Merryweather took care of the final three innings while a Bellinger single in the ninth brought home the final run in the Cubs 12-5 win. Not only did the Cubs have 16 hits, but they had four players with three-hit games. Those men were Hoerner, Happ, Bellinger, and Wisdom, with Hosmer adding two more. Wisdom couldn't have asked for a better start to his season and used a strong spring to hit a .375 in the season's early stages.
The Cubs will look for the series victory tomorrow morning/afternoon as they turn to their ace Marcus Stroman against Hunter Greene. Stroman was lights out in his first start, giving the Cubs six shutout innings in a win over Milwaukee.
