Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
---|
Reds (91-59) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Cubs (58-92) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
W: Cueto (18-9)
L: Corpas (0-2)
S: Simon (1)
Boxscore
Didi Gregorius drives in Denis Phipps to break the shut-out and give the Reds the lead.
Remember when Johnny Cueto became the first National League pitcher to get his 17th win? Yeah, that was the last time Cueto got a victory, 4 starts ago. But finally, on his 4th try, he picked up his 18th victory.
Cueto wasn’t Cueto, but he was pitching against the Chicago Cubs, so it didn’t matter. Over 6 innings, Cueto allowed no runs on 5 hits with a season-high of 4 walks. He struck out 2. But thanks to the offense finally coming through in the top of the 7th, he was able to get the win.
That top of the 7th inning was the only time the Reds scored. The lack of runs could’ve been due to the minor league line-up the Reds were using, but again, it was the Cubs. And in the 7th, the lineup they scored 5, which was one more than they needed.
With runners on 1st and 3rd, Didi Gregorius singled to right to break the scoreless tie. Then Joey Votto pinch-hit for Cueto and laced the 2nd pitch he saw into left field to drive in another run. Xavier Paul and Henry Rodriguez finished out the scoring with hits of their own.
The bullpen was shaky, with Jose Arredondo, Logan Ondrusek, and Alfredo Simon all allowing runs. Considering the small number of runs the bullpen’s been allowing lately, it was kind of nice for them to allow some when the team had a big lead.
In the end, the 5-run deficit the Cubs faced was too much to overcome. The Reds won by a score of 5-3, sweeping the series and lowering their magic number to 2. Should the St. Louis Cardinals lose to the Cubs tomorrow and the Reds defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Reds will clinch the division. Bronson Arroyo will go against Joe Blanton at 7:10pm.