CI Recap (5/17/17) – Cubs 7, Reds 5: Back Above .500 as Bats Come Alive
Will the real Cubs please stand up? Oh wait, they did, and for the second night in a row! The Northsiders found themselves 7-5 winners over the Reds tonight.
The Cubs utilized four longballs for their offense last night, but tonight they did the job with timely hitting with men on base.
The Reds struck first in the opening inning when Billy Hamilton singled to lead off the game. Hamilton somehow magically avoided a rundown between first and second, and later scored on a single by Zack Cozart. In the bottom of the first, the Cubs went down quietly. But in the 2nd, they scored a high five to give Kyle Hendricks an early cushion.
Here is how it all went down: Ian Happ led off the inning with a walk and went to third on a single by Ben Zobrist. Addison Russell came to the plate and tied the game on an RBI groundout. The first big blow in the inning came off the bat of Kyle Schwarber, when he ripped a bases-loaded single to right making it a 3-1 ballgame. Anthony Rizzo matched that with a two-run single of his own, hit pretty much to the identical spot as Schwarber’s. At the end of two innings, Cubs sat on a comfy 5-1 cushion.
The Reds got one of those runs right back when Zack Cozart hit a solo shot in the top of the 3rd. He now has a five-game homer streak at Wrigley. Seriously.
But the Cubs came roaring back once again in their half of the inning, getting two more runs. The first came on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Hendricks, and the other was on a single by Jon Jay. At the end of three, the Cubs led the Reds 7-2
That concluded the offense for either side until the top of the 7th, when run-scoring hits by Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez pulled the Reds within two.
Fortunately, the Cubs bullpen was able to hold on and Wade Davis came in and shut the game down, but not before some 9th inning excitement. Joey Votto was the last chance for the Reds in the top of the 9th, and he appeared to beat out a throw by Addison Russell. However, after the Cubs challenged the play, Votto was called out, and the Wrigley PA system played Go, Cubs, Go
Stats That Matter
- The Cubs sent 10 men to the plate in the second inning and chased Reds started Scott Feldman after just 2.2 innings.
- Ben Zobrist was back in the lineup after some back issues and went 2-for-4.
- Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber both picked up hits and two RBI a piece.
- Kyle Hendricks went six innings, giving up only two runs, and finally notching his first home win of the season.
- Zack Cozart hit a homer in his fifth straight game at Wrigley.
Bottom Line
The Cubs are starting to look like themselves again, and have broken out to score runs off of quality at-bats over the last two games. This was just game two of a long 10-game home stand, but Cubs have gotten off to a sizzling start. If they can keep this up, maybe the world can stop asking, “What happened to the Cubs?”
On Deck
The Cubs go for the sweep tomorrow. It’s a day game with first pitch scheduled for 1:20 p.m. on CSN as Jon Lester takes on rookie Amir Garrett.