Cubs blast seven homers in blowout win over Reds |
CHICAGO - Now that the 2023 Trade Deadline has passed, it is back to work for the Chicago Cubs (54-53) as they continue to make their push toward a potential postseason berth. In front of a raucous crowd at Wrigley Field, the Cubs took on the first-place Cincinnati Reds (59-50), with the Ace Justin Steele taking the ball.
Steele wasn't at his best, but he didn't have to be, as he gave the Cubs great starts on the mound, tossing six innings and allowing five runs. Three of those runs were earned as an error led to some early unearned runs, but it was the offense that took care of the rest as they pounded out a franchise record seven homers in the contest to take down the Reds 20-5 and pull within four games of first. With the win, Steele is now tied for the MLB lead with 12 as his impressive season continues. While Steele continued to do his usual thing on the mound, Ben Lively was the sacrificial lamb for the Reds, as David Bell had an overworked bullpen that needed a day off. The result was a starter that not only got knocked around, but was pumbled as he allowed 14 earned runs in four innings of work. That is what you call taking one for the team, as his ERA rose from 3.9 to 5.20 by the end of his start. The Cubs didn't waste any time getting their offense going in the first as a pair of singles from Mike Tauchman and Nico Hoerner started things off with an Ian Happ walk, loading the bases with no outs. Cody Bellinger kept the line moving with his single that put the Cubs in front for good 2-0, but it was the bat of Dansby Swanson that continued to be scorching hot as his three-run shot capped off a five-run frame for the Cubs as they led the Reds 5-0. Not to be outdone, the Reds began to battle back against Steele in the second, which isn't always easy. With Spencer Steer leading things off with a double, the Reds were in business, looking to push their first run across. That came three batters later as a rare wild pitch from Steele made things 5-1 with an error leading to another run. That was as close as the Reds would get as Bellinger unloaded for a long two-run blast in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 7-2 as the Cubs offense was rolling. Cody Bellinger - Chicago Cubs (16) pic.twitter.com/WjsuLBs14V
That continued into third, with Jeimer Candelario leading things off with one of his four hits before the Nick Madrigal hit by pitch put a pair of runners on with one out. Still, with a pair on base, Mike Tauchman got in on the long ball fun as he delivered the third homer of the game for the Cubs and pushed their lead to 10-2 by the end of the third. Mike Tauchman - Chicago Cubs (6) pic.twitter.com/qKNEhzfD6P
Swanson continued his recent power surge by belting his second homer of the game in the fourth to extend the lead to 12-2 as the Cubs took the Reds out back and gave them a real beating. Dansby Swanson - Chicago Cubs (15) pic.twitter.com/IOCQcqmwBE
The Cubs would score an additional run in that fourth inning, with Candelario adding a double to his game and coming around to score on the Madrigal double as Chicago built a 13-2 lead. By this stage in the game, Steele was in cruise control and, with two outs in the fifth, was on the verge of another easy inning. That was until the two-out single from Nick Senzel was followed by a Matt McClain RBI double as the Reds pulled within 13-3. They continued to get some good swings off Steele in the sixth as Tyler Stephenson connected for the first and only Reds homer of the game, pulling the Reds to within 13-5 and chasing Steele after his six innings of work. As mentioned above, Steele was solid, but he could have been better. You don't have to be great when an offense scores as many runs as the Cubs did, as they do the heavy lifting for you. The Cubs continued to play long ball in the seventh, with Nico Hoerner getting in on the fun for the Cubs fifth homer of the game and extending the lead to 14-5. Nico Hoerner - Chicago Cubs (8)
Then came the infamous position player coming in to pitch as Luke Maile was called on to stop the bleeding. With Patrick Wisdom entering the game as a pinch hitter, Maile was greeted with, you guessed it, another homer as Wisdom pushed the Cubs lead to 16-5. Patrick Wisdom - Chicago Cubs (19)
Chicago wasn't close to being finished as Christopher Morel opened the eight with a leadoff double before coming home on the Mike Tauchman sacrifice fly. Miguel Amaya capped off the scoring for the Cubs in the bottom of the eighth as he connected for the franchise-record seventh homer and extended the Cub's lead to 20-5. Miguel Amaya - Chicago Cubs (3)
Cincinnati managed to scratch across four runs against Anthony Kay in the ninth, but that was just a moral victory for them as the Cubs brought out the boom sticks and took care of business.
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