“It doesn’t matter how much the loss rates on the heart scale, we lost, we didn’t want to, so we gotta quickly regroup and find a way to beat ‘em tomorrow.”
So on late Saturday afternoon, the Reds regrouped and found a way to put a 6-4 defeat on the Cubs, the National League Central’s first-place team.
How did they regroup and find a way?
Some boisterous and belligerent hitting by Elly De La Cruz and some escapism pitching by Andrew Abbott.
For most of the season, it seems as if when De La Cruz goes, the Reds go with him. If he doesn’t go, neither do the Reds.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
On this day he delivered a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Reds a quick 2-0 lead. Then, with the Cubs within 3-1, he drilled a two-run single in the fifth, stole second and scored a run to push his team in front, 6-1.
This time, instead of blowing a big lead, the Reds held on... barely. The Cubs put themselves in position to come back again.
With the score 6-3, Carson Kelly hit closer Emilio Pagan’s first pitch in the ninth into the left field seats. And with one out, Matt Shaw doubled.
So the Cubs had the potential tying run at the plate with one out. Pagan struck out Ian Happ and ended it by getting Kyle Tucker to fly to right, Pagan’s 13th save in 15 chances.
It was an interesting afternoon for the starting pitchers. Abbott struck out Happ to start the game, then didn’t record another strikeout until 20 batters later, the last hitter he face.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
In between, the Cubs hit line drives and deep fly balls all over Great American Ball Park, but most were caught.
One that wasn’t was a third inning home run by 40-year-old Justin Turner, originally drafted by the Reds in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. But he never wore a Reds uniform.
That’s all Abbott gave up — one run, six hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. It lifted his record to 4-and-0 and lowered his earned run average to 1.77. He has given up one or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts.
“They hit a number of hard balls, thankfully to the big part of the field,” said Francona. “His pitch count was very manageable (83). Some of their right handers had some close misses. I thought we could get it (from the bullpen) and reach the end.”
The bullpen once again, though, made it nerve-twitching. Graham Ashcraft gave up a run in the seventh.
Francona sent Tony Santillan out for the eighth after he faced three hitters Friday and gave up three runs and three hits. He gave up a run. Then Pagan gave up a run.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“There was some bending, but they didn’t break,” Francona said of the bullpen. “They’re not gonna be perfect, but they competed like crazy and got their outs in each inning to get out of it.”
Cubs starter Colin Rea was 3-and-0 and was 4-and-0 for his career against the Reds. His approach was strange. He threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the first 20 batters.
He went to 0-and-2 on nine hitters and six times after starting 0-and-2, he went to 3-and-2 full counts.
He struck out TJ Friedl on a full count to open the first. He was 0-and-2 on Santiago Espinal and walked him. He was 2-and-0 on De La Cruz and tried to sneak a fastball past him.
It wasn’t a monstrous mash, just 387 feet, but it cleared the right field wall, his ninth home run, and gave the Reds a 2-0 lead.
Asked if that home run injected energy into the team, Francona said,
“I’m not sure you can equate it, but it sure helped my energy,” he said. “It’s nice to score first and then tack on a little bit, because you know they’re gonna come back. They’re dangerous offensively.
“Elly is instant runs,” he added. “Other teams hit a lot of home runs and that’s not necessarily how we’re built. It is nice to have two in the first without having to dive into three different bases.”
Turner’s homer cut it to 2-1, then the Reds retrieved that run in the fourth on a double by Gavin Lux, a wild pitch and Will Benson’s sacrifice fly against the center field wall.
Friedl opened the fifth with a single and took second on Rea’s wild pickoff throw. Santiago Espinal pushed a bunt between the pitcher’s mound and first base for a hit.
Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and De La Cruz lined a two-run single. He stole second and scored on Spencer Steer’s two-out single that extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
“Espinal is our best situational hitter whether it’s pushing a bunt or hitting through a hole,” said Francona. “He sees the game, plays the game really well that way.”
Of bouncing back after Friday’s four-car pileup, De La Cruz said, “It was really important for the team. We needed that and I think we’re going to keep going.”
There was a full house of 40,407 and De La Cruz said, “I love it. When the game started I said, ‘It’s time to put a show on for them.’”
And he did.
NEXT GAME
Who: Cubs at Reds
When: 1:40 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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