The Cincinnati Reds came back in the later innings to down the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on the road. The Reds took a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning on the strength of a pinch-hit two-run home run from Santiago Espinal off of Drew Smyly. The blast wouldn’t be enough to secure the game, but an insurance run in the ninth gave Alexis Diaz enough cushion to close out the series opener.
Javier Assad took home the no-decision in this one after leaving with the lead. Assad’s strong outing was wasted as was Ian Happ’s stellar offensive showing. Happ launched a two-run home run of his own and drove in a third run on a bases-loaded walk. Between the shaky bullpen and Elly De La Cruz’s relay to home that denied Nick Madrigal of scoring the tying run, the Chicago Cubs lost their third straight and eighth in their last nine chances.
Starters Throw Well in Chicago
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In Friday afternoon’s series opener between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, both starters gave their teams a chance to win the ball game. Javier Assad managed to get through 5 1/3 for the Cubs while only allowing two runs. For the Cincinnati Reds, Graham Ashcraft gave up a two-run home run to Ian Happ and left in the fifth inning with the bases loaded. The Reds would escape the threat after only allowing one run.
For Javier Assad, he was coming off his worst outing of the season in St. Louis. Assad used all of his pitches on Friday to keep the Cincinnati lineup guessing. The talented group managed five hits and three walks off the Mexican-born right-hander, but Assad got strikeouts when he needed them.
He only faltered in the fourth inning when he gave up both of his earned runs. After 98 pitches and recording his seventh and final punch out of the game, Assad was done.
Shaky Chicago Cubs Bullpen
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The first hitter to face the Cincinnati Reds bullpen was Ian Happ. With two outs in the fifth inning and the bags full, he walked and drove in the Chicago Cubs’ third run of the game. From that point on, the Reds bullpen stifled the Chicago lineup. It wasn’t until the ninth that the Cubs would threaten to score.
The sight of Javier Assad leaving the mound was welcomed by the Reds. Drew Smyly entered the game in the sixth, and despite retiring the side, his outing would end in a loss. After finishing off the sixth, Smyly returned for the seventh and started rough by walking Jonathan India.
He then faced pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal. Espinal didn’t wait long to make his mark on the ball game, torching a first-pitch curveball to left-center and giving the Reds a 4-3 lead.
Chaotic Ninth Inning
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The Cincinnati lead stood at 4-3 until the ninth inning when they added a crucial insurance run off of Hector Neris. Just like the seventh, Jonathan India started the inning by getting on base. He was lifted for a pinch-runner, and after Espinal bunted the runner to third, TJ Friedl singled him in to make it a 5-3 lead.
With a two-run lead, Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell looked to Alexis Diaz to record the save and give the Reds the series opener. The Cincinnati closer has had some struggles this year but has been reliable in closing out ball games for the most part. However, he made this one a little more interesting than Bell would’ve liked, allowing the first two inning batters to reach, putting the game-winning run at the plate.
Nick Madrigal hit next, and he reached as well, but on a fielder’s choice. Runners were on the corners for Seiya Suzuki, who launched a two-strike slider into the left field corner. Pete Crow-Armstrong easily scored from third, and third base coach Willy Harris sent Nick Madrigal from first to try and tie the game.
Elly De La Cruz took the relay throw from just beyond the infield and fired a bullet to the plate. With a perfect throw, Cincinnati catcher Tyler Stephenson had time to take in the throw and get between Madrigal and the plate, forcing the Chicago runner to change his path and veer away from home plate. Madrigal never stood a chance and was tagged out as the second out of the ninth inning.
With all of the attention on the play at the plate, Suzuki was able to scoot over to third, and the tying run was just 90 feet away. Cody Bellinger jumped on the first pitch he saw from the Cincinnati closer and just barely missed the sweet spot of the bat, lifting a harmless fly ball to right that settled in front of the warning track, and the Reds took the first game of this weekend series 5-4 in an electric baseball game.
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