Cubs 8, Reds 4: Mike Olt, Darwin Barney and Welington Castillo all homered to help Chicago snap a five-game skid with a rare home win over Cincinnati.
Emilio Bonifacio went 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs for the Cubs, who won for just the second time in their last 18 meetings with the Reds at Wrigley Field. Chicago starter Edwin Jackson (1-1) struck out five and allowed two runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Reds left-hander Tony Cingrani (1-2) surrendered just one of the Cubs' three home runs but was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs on four hits and walking four over five frames. Billy Hamilton and Jay Bruce each had three hits for Cincinnati.
The Cubs put up single tallies in each of the first three innings, scoring on Justin Ruggiano’s RBI single, Olt's solo blast and Starlin Castro's run-scoring grounder. Cincinnati chipped away with two in the sixth as Devin Mesoraco doubled in a run and scored on Zack Cozart's RBI groundout, but Chicago put up three in the bottom half on Barney's two-run shot and Junior Lake's RBI single.
Bruce singled home a run and another came in on an error as the Reds cut it to 6-4 in the seventh, but the Cubs again answered in the bottom of the frame with Castillo's two-run blast to left. The Reds didn't threaten again as Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop retired six straight over the final two innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo left before the top of the eighth with an undisclosed injury. … Jackson needed only three pitches to record three outs in the third, the first Cubs pitcher to do so since Randy Wells against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 25, 2011. … Mesoraco extended his hitting streak to eight games, matching the longest streak of his career.
Cincinnati | Chi. Cubs | |
Tony Cingrani | Player | Edwin Jackson |
Loss | W/L | Win |
5.0 | IP | 5.2 |
3 | Strikeouts | 5 |
4 | Hits | 8 |
5.40 | ERA | 3.18 |
Cincinnati | Chi. Cubs | |
Jay Bruce | Player | Emilio Bonifacio |
3 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 3 |
1.000 | Avg | .600 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Cincinnati | 11 | 0 | 13 | .297 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Chi. Cubs | 11 | 3 | 20 | .333 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 |