Cubs score six in the seventh, clobber Reds |
CHICAGO – The Cubs put away the Reds 15-5 in classic fashion tonight as every man gave it a 25-person effort. It has only been a few days since
Willson Contreras was lost for a large portion of the remaining season, but the Cubs have showed that they can still win without him. Granted this game was against the bottom of the barrel Reds, but the Cubs need every win they can scrape together to remain on top in the NL Central.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning which marked the eighth time this season the Cubs have accomplished the feat and the third time in the last four games. It also served as the 17th occasion this season that both Bryant and Rizzo homered in a contest. The lineup has seemingly come together as a whole in the wake of Contreras’ injury, and has responded better than they might have earlier in the season. As for Bryant, the reigning MVP continues to play well, as he has reached base at least three times in four consecutive games. Ball dismissed. Bring out the dancing @Cubs! pic.twitter.com/AxP8JQIXDr “I will never step foot in that ballpark again.” – That baseball pic.twitter.com/Ty1Q3C2pOd Kris Bryant last 19 plate appearances: Quintana pitched well in the early innings, but struggled with his command again, giving up a few walks in the second inning that led to a tie ballgame. Quintana misread a swinging-bunt situation, with the bases loaded, as he tried to quickly flip the ball from his glove to catcher Alex Avila, but the flip was poorly executed and rolled past Avila to score the first run. Billy Hamilton singled to left and scored Scooter Gennett, but Tucker Barnhart was thrown out at home by Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber’s throw was strong and right on the money to get the hustling backup catcher. The Cubs picked up five runs in the fourth inning off of some great hitting by Jon jay and Tommy La Stella, the only Cubs hitters with batting averages over .300, and a pair of home runs to give Quintana some necessary breathing room. Through his first three at-bats, Jon Jay was hitting for a natural cycle of a single, then a double, then a triple. Joe Maddon’s defensive schemes never cease to amaze either. During Joey Votto’s at-bat in the fifth inning, Maddon moved Kris Bryant from third base into left-center field for a formation that looked very similar to a nickel package in football. Four outfielders and three infielders formed a lopsided “no-doubles” wall, but naturally Votto found the weak spot down the right field line and ended up on second base. The bullpen pitched a clean game to finish it all off and the Cubs earned another much-needed win. Tomorrow’s game will be played at 7:05 PM CDT and will feature Luis Castillo (2-5, 3.73 ERA) against Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.70 ERA) on the mound. Starting the homestand in style. #W pic.twitter.com/AKyycO4GoW
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