Category: Cincinnati Reds

By HAL McCOY

Raisel Iglesias is like a resuscitator for the Cincinnati Reds bullpen, more than a breath of fresh air for baseball’s worst bullpen.

When starter Brandon Finnegan couldn’t protect a five-run lead because he gave up four home runs in five innings against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday afternoon, Iglesias rode to the rescue.

Iglesias, making only his fourth appearance of the season after spending most of it on the disabled list, protected a two-run lead for three innings and the Reds pulled away, 9-5, only their second win in 12 games this year against the Cubs.

 

AND IT IS A COMFORT ZONE for Iglesias, the Cuban-born right hander. He worked out of the bullpen while pitching in Cuba, but when the Reds signed him they envisioned him as a starter.

He was a starter last year and was the Opening Day starter this year until shoulder problems intervened early in the season and he lapsed onto the disabled list.

When he came off manager Bryan Price plopped him in the bullpen to ease him back onto the mound and said, “That doesn’t mean he won’t be in the rotation next year.”

Iglesias, though, recently said he likes the bullpen and would eventually like to be the team’s closer.

 

HE ENTERED TUESDAY’S GAME in the sixth inning with the Reds leading, 7-5. Cubs 39-year-old catcher David Ross dropped a bunt and beat it to open the sixth and Iglesias hit pinch-hitter Jeimer Candelerio with a pitch.

That put two on with no outs, but Iglesias retired Javier Baez on a popped up bunt attempt, Ben Zobrist flied to left and the ever-dangerous Kris Bryant struck out.

Iglesias gave up a leadoff single to Anthony Rizzo in the seventh, but he retired the next two, walked Jason Heyward, then coaxed a pop-up from pinch-hitter Miguel Montero.

Then he topped off his three innings by pitching a 1-2-3 eighth.

 

THE REDS GAVE FINNEGAN a 5-0 lead by scoring two in the first, two in the second and one in the third against Chicago starter John Lackey.

Billy Hamilton, batting second in the order, walked in the top of the first and stole second. When Cubs catcher David Ross committed a passed ball and the baseball rolled to the wall behind home plate, Hamilton scored all the way from second.

Joey Votto, who walked three times, hit a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring double, reached third on the passed ball after his first walk, and scored on a single by Brandon Phillips to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

 

EUGENIO SUAREZ OPENED THE       second with a single and scored on Zack Cozart’s two-run home run, his second two-run homer in two days and his 13^th of the season to push the advantage to 4-0.

It became 5-0 in the third when Lackey, who walks about two batters game, issued his fifth walk with two outs to Suarez and Ramon Cabrera doubled him home.

So there it was — a 5-0 lead in the third for Finnegan. He couldn’t withstand the prosperity, but thanks to Iglesias he was awarded the victory.

He gave up three home runs in the bottom of the third and four runs.

Javier Baez started the inning with a home run. With one out, Kris Bryant homered, his ninth against the Reds this season. Finnegan then walked Anthony Rizzo and with two outs Addison Russell crushed a two-run home run and it was 5-4.

The Reds retrieved one run in the fourth on Votto’s sacrifice fly to make it 6-4 but Finnegan gave up another home run in the fifth, the second of the game by Russell.

It was the 31^st home run hit by the Cubs against the Reds in 12 games and after the inning Finnegan was done — five innings, five runs, five hits (four of them homers), four walks and four strikeouts.

 

THE REDS MADE IT 7-5 in the seventh, once again on the fleet feet of Hamilton. He blooped a ball just off the second baseman’s glove and blew into second with a 100-foot double. Then he stole third, his third steal of the game, and scored on Votto’s double.

Iglesias guarded that two-run lead for three innings like a well-trained German Shepherd and Jay Bruce gave Tony Cingrani some comfort zone.

Bruce cracked a two-run home run in the top of the ninth off Pedro Strop, his 18^th home run and 62^nd RBI when he was struggling under a 3 for 25 slump.

Tony Cingrani pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and the Reds broke a five-game losing streak tothe mighty Cubs.

Cozart, on a hitting binge after a 1 for 29, skid, had two hits, drove in two and scored two. Hamilton was 2 for 3 with a walk, scored two runs and stole three bases. Votto was 1 for 1 with three walks, a run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly.

By HAL McCOY

The Cincinnati Reds keep talking about their rebuilding program, keep telling fans to be patient, but they lost their own patience with pitching coach Mark Riggins Monday.

They gave Riggins a Triple-A pitching staff and fired him when the inexperienced staff pitched like a Triple-A staff. It is a staff that leads the league in home runs given up, walks given up and the league has the second highest batting average against the Reds.

Patience? Is it a one-way street.

 

THEN, OF COURSE, THE Reds went out Monday afternoon and the pitchers stunk up Wrigley Field.

And it looks as if they are going to have to have a ton of patience with young pitcher Cody Reed, who took another bloody beating during a 10-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Reed lasted only four innings and gave up eight runs (four earned), five hits, three walks, two hit batters and two home runs.

Let’s add them up and see what we have from Reed. In four starts he is 0-and-3 with a 9.00 earned run average. He has pitched 20 innings and given up 20 earned runs and 29 hits, eight of them home runs.

Patience, patience, patience. Do they keep sending him out there and perhaps destroy his confidence or do they send him back to Class AAA Louisville and hope he regains some semblance of pitching efficiency?

Josh Smith followed Reed and in 1 2/3 innings he gave up two runs, three hits, a home run and two walks.

 

IF THERE WAS ANY time the Reds could have taken advantage of the Cubs it was Monday. The Cubs just lost four straight to the New York Mets, 14-3, in the last game Sunday, and were outscored in the four games, 32-11.

They had lost 10 of their last 14, but. . .three of the four wins the Cubs owned came during a three-game sweep in Cincinnati last week.

Reed gave up three runs in the first inning and has given up nine runs in the first inning during his last three starts.

He had two outs and a runner of first when he hit Wilson Contreras with a pitch. Addison Russell singled to left on the first pitch to score a run for a 1-0 Cubs lead. Jason Heyward then drove a two-run double to left center for a 3-0 lead.

Reed gave up three more in the second, a rally ignited when Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips booted a routine one-out ground ball for his 10^th error of the season.

On the first pitch after the error Kris Bryant crushed a home run into the left field bleachers on a 93 miles an hour down-the-middle fastball to make it 5-0.

 

BRYANT, WHO HAD THREE homers and two doubles in a game last week against the Reds, now has eight homers this season against the Reds and he leads the National League with 24 home runs.

One out later Wilson Contreras homered to push Chicago’s lead to 6-0.

Reed pitched a 1-2-3 third against the bottom of the order, but he loaded the bases in the fourth on a walk, a single and a hit batsman. Then third baseman Eugenio Suarez botched a ground ball for an error that let in two runs and the deficit for the Reds was 8-0.

The Reds finally scored a run in the sixth on Adam Duvall’s sacrifice fly, scoring Joey Votto from third. Votto had a walk and two singles in his first three plate appearances.

The Cubs, though, quickly scored two more off Josh Smith in the bottom of the sixth on Anthony Rizzo’s single and a home run down the left field line by Addison Russell to make it 10-1.

 

THE REDS SCORED THREE in the seventh on back-to-back home runs off relief pitcher Travis Wood, a two-run shot by Zack Cozart followed by a home run by Eugenio Suarez.

It was far too little and far too late.

So the Reds are 1-and-13 in their last 14 against the Cubs. And on Monday they had only four hits, two by Joey Votto, through six innings.

Should hitting coach Don Long be looking over his shoulder?

By HAL McCOY

For most major league teams Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is ‘Mr. Unbeatable.’

For the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon Strasburg was ‘Mr. Unhittble.’

For 6 2/3 innings Strasburg was working diligently on a no-hitter and it forced Nationals manager Dusty Baker into a difficult decision.

Strasburg came off the disabled list to make the Sunday start and with two outs in the seventh inning he threw his 109^th pitch. Baker, wanting to make certain he didn’t risk injuring his $175 million right hander, wisely removed him, no-hitter or not.

 

AND THE NO-HITTER LASTED until the eighth inning when the Reds finally broke through against former teammate Matt Belisle for three hits and a run.

Straburg, though, pushed his record this season to 11-and-0 and he is 14-and-0 over his last eight starts dating back to last season. He hadn’t been that good, though, against the Reds. His career earned run average against the Reds was 5.55, but he take good care of that Sunday.

All the three hits and a run off Belisle did was save the Reds the ignominy of getting no-hit for the second tie this season because the Nationals were crushing the baseball en route to a 12-1 victory.

They crushed starter John Lamb and they crushed relief pitcher Keyvius Sampson and they crushed relief pitcher Jumbo Diaz for a total of six home runs.

 

AND THE MAN WHO DID the most damage was the same man who did damage the entire four-game series, three games won by the Nationals.

Shortstop Danny Espinosa hit a grand slam home run for the second time this series and hit two home runs in a game for the second time this series.

For the series Espinosa, Washingotn’s No. 8 hitter, drove in 15 runs. And he hit five home runs in the four-game series.

The massacre against Lamb began in the fourth inning when the Reds trailed by only 1-0, a home run in the second inning by catcher Wilson Ramos.

Lamb, though, walked the first three batters in the fourth inning and Espinosa whacked a grand slam to make it 5-0.

 

LAMB REMAINED IN THE game for the fifth and gave up a leadoff home run to Bryce Harper. When he gave up hits to two of the next three hitters Lamb was replaced by Keyvius Sampson. He immediately gave up an RBI single to Espinsosa for an 8-0 Nationals lead.

Sampson gave up another run in the sixth and then Anthony Rendon and Espinosa hit back-to-back home run to open the seventh and it was 11-0.

Jumbo Diaz started the eighth and gave up a leadoff home run to Stephen Drew, the 18^th time this season a relief pitcher for the Reds has given up a home run to the first batter he faced.

 

LAMB, 1-AND-5 WITH A 5.43 earned run average, pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up eight runs, eight hits, four walks and three home runs — a line as ugly as the face of a possum eating a dill pickle.

The Reds had a first-inning opportunity against Strasburg as he shook off the rust. He walked Zack Cozart to open the game and walked Joey Votto with one out. But Jay Bruce popped out and Eugenio Suarez flied out to center and that was it.

While Strasburg definitely had no-hit stuff (he nearly always does), his no-hitter was saved three times by outstanding defensive plays, two by third baseman Anthony Rendon.

Billy Hamilton led the fifth with a sizzling smash toward left field. Rendon leaped to make a backhanded snag. Zack Cozart led the sixth with a smash that Rendon snagged. On the next play, shortstop Espinosa displayed his defensive acumen as well as his offensive punch by going deep into the hole to stop Jose Peraza’s ball bound for left field. Espinosa leaped in the air and threw a one-bouncer to first baseman Ryan Zimmerman for the out.

Reds catcher Ramon Cabrera broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single to left in the eighth. With one out Cozart singled to center and Peraza singled to center to score Cincinnati’s only run of the game.

The Reds, losers of 10 of their last 12, open a three-game series, all day games, Monday in Chicago against the staggering Cubs. After sweeping three games from the Reds in Cincinnati the Cubs were swept this weekend by the New York Mets, losing Sunday by 14-3.

By HAL McCOY

For Dan Straily, the night was as frustrating as trying to open a new mayonnaise jar with wet hands.

For the Cincinnati Reds, it was salvation.

After blowing a hard night’s work by Straily, the Reds scored five runs in the top of the 10^th inning and beat the Washington Nationals, 9-4, Saturday night in Nationals Park.

 

STRAILY WAS ON AN all-expenses paid cruise for seven innings. When the eighth inning began he had given up one hit and one run and owned a 4-1 lead.

But he walked Stephen Drew to open the eighth and Danny Espinosa hit a home run over the right field wall, cutting Straily’s margin to 4-3.

Manager Bryan Price opted to remove Straily even though he had given up only two hits, three walks and used only 97 pitches and still owned a one-run lead.

 

BLAKE WOOD REPLACED STRAILY and he gave up the tying run. He walked pinch-hitter Anthony Rendon on four pitches and Wood completely ignored Rendon and he stole second. Ben Revere bunted Rendon to third. Wood walked Jayson Werth on a full count and Bryce Harper singled to left to tie it, 4-4, wiping out Straily’s win.

The Reds, though, went to work in the 10^th on left hander Sammy Solis, who pitched two perfect innings Friday, needing only 15 pitches, 13 for strikes, during Washington’s 3-2 win in 14 innings.

This time the Reds took Solis apart. Eugenio Suarez and Brandon Phillips led the 10^th with back-to-back singles.

Billy Hamilton dropped a bunt and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman booted it for an error that filled the bases with no outs.

 

TUCKER BARNHART SLAPPED a run-scoring single to right field and a second run scored on the hit when right fielder Bryce Harper kicked the ball and the Reds led, 6-4.

Former Reds pitcher Matt Belisle replaced Solis with one out and Zack Cozart was walked intentionally to fill the bases. Belisle, though, uncorked a wild pitch for a run to make it 7-4 and Jose Peraza singled to make it 8-4. The ninth run scored on Jay Bruce’s ground ball.

The Reds scored three runs in the top of the first against Washington starter Joe Ross on a two-run double by Adam Duvall, playing first base for Joey Votto, who jammed his shoulder sliding head-first into second base Friday night. A single by Brandon Phillips made it 3-0.

The Reds added a fourth run for a 4-0 lead in the second on Tucker Barnhart’s single, Straily’s sacrifice bunt and a double by Zack Cozart, his second hit of the night after coming into the game 1 for 26.

 

AND THE REDS DIDN’T score again until the 10^th.

Straily retired the first six Nationals before he walked Stephen Drew to open the third and the walk cost him. Ben Revere tripled to score Drew and the Reds lead was cut to 4-1.

Straily, though, retired 13 of the next 14 and the only Nationals base runner reached on a walk through the seventh inning.

Then he walked Stephen Drew to open the eighth and Danny Espinosa homered and Straily was gone.

But the 10^th-inning eruption enabled the Reds to break a five-game losing streak and win for only the second time in 11 games. And the loss snapped Washington’s six-game winning streak.

Cozart finished with three hits and scored two runs. Barnhart had three hits, scored two and drove in one. Adam Duvall had two hits, drove in two and scored one. Brandon Phillips, dropped from fourth to sixth in the batting order, had two hits, scored a run and drove one in.

The Reds gathered 14 hits while the Nationals had only three.

After Wood gave up the tying run, Josh Smith pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings and Jumbo Diaz pitched a hitless ninth.

 

 

By HAL McCOY

When it comes to a Battle of the Bullpens between the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, well, the Nationals are going to win every time.

And that’s what happened Friday night in the nation’s capital, even though the Reds bullpen was almost perfect. Almost.

They argued, scuffled and battled for 14 innings before the Nationals finally won, 3-2, ending an enduring pitching battle.

 

NEITHER TEAM SCORED from the sixth inning until Washington’s Ben Revere ripped a game-ending double off the right field wall against Ross Ohlendorf in the bottom of the 14^th.

The Nationals bullpen pitched seven scoreless innings and gave up no runs and three hits. The Reds bullpen nearly matched that with seven innings of one-run, three-hit pitching by Raisel Iglesias, Tony Cingrani and Ohlendorf.

And Ohlendorf pitched two scoreless innings, but couldn’t finish off his third inning.

 

HE BEGAN THE 14th by hitting Danny Espinosa with a pitch. A sacrifice bunt went astray for an out and Wilson Ramos grounded to third on a hit-and-run, moving Espinosa to second with two outs.

But Revere ended it with his drive to the base of the right field wall, providing the Nationals with their sixth straight win. The Reds? They’ve lost five straight and nine of their last 10.

Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani and Nationals starter Tanner Roark engaged in a good old-fashioned pitching duel.

DeSclafani pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up two runs, six hits, walked two and struck out eight. And he received nothing for his hard work but pats on the posterior.

 

WASHINGTON’S ROARK PITCHED seven innings and gave up two runs, eight hits, two walks and four strikeouts.

The Nationals scored in the first when Revere led with a single, took third on Bryce Harper’s one-out single and scored on Daniel Murphy’s sacrifice fly.

The Reds tied it, 1-1, in the second on back-to-back singles by Adam Duvall and Eugenio Suarez to open the inning and a one-out single by Tucker Barnhart, who was thrown out trying to reach second after his hit.

 

BOTH TEAMS SCORED in the sixth with the Reds taking a 2-1 lead on Joey Votto’s leadoff single, a walk to Brandon Phillips and a single by Adam Duvall. A big inning was thwarted, though, when Eugenio Suarez hit into an inning-ending double play on a fantastic stop by second baseman Daniel Murphy.

The Nationals tied it, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth when DeSclafani walked Jayson Werth and a two-out double by Daniel Murphy.

So Murphy had two hits and drove in Washington’s first two runs. He is leading the league in hitting at .352. And Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips played a large part in Murphy ending up in Washington.

 

THE REDS HAD PHILLIPS traded to Washington but he invoked his 10-and-5 no-trade clause. So the Nationals signed Murphy and can thank Phillips for it.

The bullpens were fabulous on both sides.

Iglesias replaced DeSclafani with two outs in the seventh inning and the go-head run on second base. He coaxed an inning-ending ground ball from Jayson Werth.

He gave up a one-out double to Murphy in the eighth and a walk to Anthony Rendon, then retired Ryan Zimmerman on a line drive to center field and struck out Danny Espinosa.

Then he pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and turned it over to Tony Cingrani for two scoreless one-hit innings.

 

WASHINGTON RELIEF PITCHER Sammy Solis replaced starter Roark in the eighth and threw seven straight strikes to pitch a 1-2-3 inning. Zack Cozart, in a 1 for 26 funk, flied to center on the first pitch and Solis struck out both Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips on three pitches.

Then he pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and for his two innings he threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes.

Tucker Barnhart doubled with one out in the 10^th. With two outs, Zack Cozart worked the count to 3-and-0 then inexplicably swung at the next pitch and dribbled one to the pitcher for the third out.

JOEY VOTTO, WHO ONCE again antagonized fans by refusing to toss a couple of balls into the stands when he was near the fans, doubled with two outs in the 13^th, but Brandon Phillips grounded out and it was Cincinnati’s last gasp.

The Reds are 2-and-6 in extra innings games, including the 15-inning loss earlier this week to the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals, owner of first place in the National League East, are 6-and-3.

By HAL McCOY

After former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jose Rijo encountered a tough night, he invented a new word to explain how he felt: “It was the height of embarrassivity,” he said.

And for the Reds Thursday night, a new word was needed to explain what happened against the Washington Nationals.

It was beyond embarrassment, beyond embarrassivity.

They lost, 13-4, and it was worse than the score.

 

REDS STARTER BRANDON FINNEGAN gave up eight runs, five hits and five walks in only 2 1/3 innings, including a grand slam home run to No. 8 hitter Danny Espinosa and a three-run home run to Espinosa — seven RBIs in two at-bats.

To rub a full box of Morton Salt into the wounds, the Reds lost to left hander Gio Gonzalez. The Nationals had lost the last seven games Gonzalez started.

The Reds actually led the game, 1-0, after the top of the first. But they had the bases loaded with no outs and scored only one run, that scoring when Jay Bruce hit into a double play.

 

THEN THE NATIONALS CAME to bat and the game was over. Finnegan walked leadoff hitter Michael Taylor and Jayson Werth doubled. Taylor scored on a sacrifice fly to tie it, then Finnegan walked Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman clubbed a three-run home run to make it 4-1.

It became 8-1 in the third when Finnegan walked the first two, gave up a single to Ryan Zimmerman and Espinsoa hit a grand slam over the left center wall, ending Finnegan’s night.

It became complete decimation in the fourth when the Nationals scored five against Josh Smith. With two on and one out, manager Bryan Price ordered Zimmerman intentionally walked to fill the bases. Former Reds outfielder Chris Heisey shot a two-run single to center and Espinosa unloaded his second home run to make it 13-1.

Gonzalez held the Reds at bay for five innings and at one point six of the seven outs he recorded was via strikeouts.

He tired in the sixth and the Reds scored three runs on a Joey Votto home run, an infield out by Adam Duvall and a run-scoring single by Tucker Barnhart.

 

MICHAEL LORENZEN FINALLY put a plug into the Nationals offense with three scoreless innings, giving up one hit, hitting one batter and striking out three. He didn’t walk anybody, a major accomplishment on this night, because the rest of the Reds pitchers walked seven

By HAL McCOY

When the Chicago Cubs play the Cincinnati Reds, fans can expect the unexpected.

Except for one thing. It can be expected that the Cubs will punish the Reds with a lot of runs and a lot of home runs. And the Cubs will win.

The unexpected? Kris Bryant hitting three home runs and two doubles in one game. Rookie Starling Castro getting five hits in his major league debut. Sammy Sosa hitting his 500^th career home run. Anthony Rizzo challenging Aroldis Chapman to come out of the Reds dugout and fight. Manager Joe Maddon using three pitchers in left field in one game.

YES, STRANGE THINGS happen with the Cubs in Great American Ball Park and there was another bizarre occurrence Wednesday afternoon when the Cubs once again brutalized the Reds, this time by 9-2.

The Cubs are 9-and-1 against the Reds this season, finishing a three-game sweep this week, and they’ve averaged more than eight runs against the Reds pitching staff in Great American Ball Park.

And what was bizarre in this one?

ROOKIE CODY REED made his third major league start and the first two Cubs reached base on a leadoff bunt single by Ben Zobrist and a single by Kris Bryant.

Anthony Rizzo shot one to the left center gap and left fielder Adam Duvall and center fielder Billy Hamilton converged. Duvall stuck out his glove and missed the ball, blocking Hamilton’s vision. The ball smacked Hamilton in the face and the ball rolled to the wall.

While Hamilton was writhing on the ground Rizzo circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run and a 3-0 Cubs lead before Reed retired a batter.

Hamilton left the game and the Cubs continued to pour it on against Reed, who gave up two more home runs. He left after four innings, giving up seven runs, nine hits and three home runs.

The Cubs have hit 24 home runs this year against the Reds and Rizzo has six in Great American Ball Park, tying Houston’s Lance Berkman for most in one season by an opponent.

Rizzo’s inside-the-park home run was the first of his career and the first by a Cub since Springboro’s Tom Campana hit one against the Reds in Wrigley Field in 2011.

REED, ALLEGEDLY THE MOST promising pitcher in the Reds system, is off to morethan a shaky and more than a rocky start to his career. In three starts he is 0-and-2 with a 9.00 earned run average, giving up 16 runs and 24 hits in 16 innings.

On a slim positive note, Adam Duvall hit his 22^nd home run when the Reds trailed, 7-0, and he leads the National League in home runs.

ON A NEGATIVE NOTE, the Red ran the bases like out-of-control robots.

In the third, with his team down 5-0, Votto tried to score from second base on Jay Bruce’s single to right field with two outs. Right fielder Ben Zobrist’s throw arrived so far in advance of Votto that he didn’t even try to slide.

In the eighth, with his team down by 9-2, the Reds had runners on first and third with two outs and Duvall tried to steal second. He was easily thrown out to end the inning.

All it did was make an ugly afternoon for the Reds even uglier. The Cubs had 12 hits, hit three homers and were the recipient of five walks.

But Reds fan, what few there were among the Cubs fans who dominated the attendance all three games, had something to cheer about in two of the three losses. Reds pitchers twice struck out more than 11 Cubs and got their fans free LaRosa’s pizza.

 

You look for positives where you can find them in his 29-50 season. Yes, the Reds have lost 50 games and are two games away from reaching the halfway point.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon managed Tuesday night’s game like a Mad Magician — and got away with a baseball version of sleight of hand.

The game with the Cincinnati Reds droned on and on and on into the 15th inning until the Cubs scored five runs in the top of the 15th for a 7-2 victory at Great American Ball Park.

Maddon was the man with the top hat, silk scarf and magic wand.

He ran out of position players. So what did he do? He used three different pitchers to play left field over the last three innings.

Only the Cubs, only Joe Maddon.

Madden used left hander Travis Wood both in left field and on the mound and he used right hander Spencer Patton both in left field and on the mound.

Then after the Cubs scored five runs in the top of the 15th Madden brought in set-up pitcher Pedro Strop — not to pitch, but to finish the game in left field, the third Cubs pitcher to play left field in the game.

AMAZINGLY WHILE THOSE three pitchers stood in left field for three innings not a single ball was hit their way, which defied the adage often spouted by former big league manager Gene Mauch, who always said, “You can’t hide anybody on defense, the ball always finds them.”

J.J. Hoover, the Reds’ sixth pitcher, was the loser. He gave up a tie-breaking single by Kris Bryant to push the Cubs ahead, 3-2, then he gave up a grand slam home run to Javier Baez. It was the sixth grand slam Hoover has given up during his career with the Reds, setting a dubious club record formerly held by a pitcher named Frank Smith, who gave up five from 1950 to 1956.

“Where do you want to begin, I have no idea,” Maddon said after his legerdemain ended. “Late in the game we alerted our pitchers what we might have to do. I didn’t want to pitch Travis Wood tonight, but I had to do it. We were naked. It was all hands of deck, we were down to nothing.”

IT BEGAN IN THE 13TH when Maddon brought in Patton to pitch and placed Wood in left field. In the 14th, Patton, a right hander, faced Brandon Phillips and coaxed a 3-and-2 fly ball to center. Wood, a left hander, came in front left field to face left hander Jay Bruce and Patton went to left field.

Wood retired Bruce on a ground ball then went back to left field while Patton came back to the mound from left field to face right hander Adam Duvall and ended the inning on a ground ball.

After the Cubs scored five in the top of the 15th, Wood pitched the bottom of the 15th and Strop manned left.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Maddon admitted. “I mean, Travis was unbelievable. To do what he did tonight, especially when I was not going to use him at all. He was on the no-fly list. Travis, my god, what an athlete.”

WOOD, WHO CAME UP through the Reds system and pitched for the Reds before he was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Sean Marshall, was all smiles after the game.

“They’ve talked about me playing left, talked about it a couple of other times,” he said. “It was definitely interesting. It was a lot of fun and I would have liked to have recorded an out.”

The Reds had a chance to win it in the bottom of the 13th with runners on first and second and one out.

“I was hoping the ball would be hit to me because I was ready to come up hosing,” said Wood. Madden didn’t agree. “We were hoping nothing was hit out that way.”

Instead, Joey Votto lined to second base and Ben Zobrist snagged it and doubled Ivan DeJesus Jr., off second base to end the inning.

MADDON, THOUGH, SAID he wouldn’t have held his breath had the ball been hit Wood’s way in left. “With Travis, you just treat him like a position player. I’m that comfortable with him out there. He processes everything well. I had no concerns about that. But if we didn’t have Travis available I probably wouldn’t have done that. Travis and his versatility made everything possible.

“And on the mound he might have had his best stuff all year,” Maddon added. “Seriously, he was throwing 93 and he was strike-throwing. It was The Travis Wood Show”

Madden said when he began his maneuvering some of his position players began giggling and he said, “The infielders kind of liked it. It lightened the mood a bit and they all kind of dug that.”

NONE OF THIS WOULD have happened had relief pitcher Hector Rondon retired Eugenio Suarez with two outs and two on in the bottom of the ninth with the Cubs leading, 2-1. But Suarez ripped Rondon’s first pitch into left field to tie the game, 2-2.

And it was stunning that the Reds were able to tie it. Cubs starter Jon Lester held the Reds to one hit over the first seven innings and no runs.

A slow, lazy ground ball up the middle by Brandon Phillips with two outs in the first inning was the Reds only hit until the eighth inning.
Billy Hamilton broke the spell with a one-out solo in the eighth and when pinch-hitter Jose Peraza singled with two outs Lester’s night was finished.

Rondon, owner of 13 saves in 15 opportunities arrived on the scene and quickly threw a wild pitch to put the tying run in position. Then first baseman Anthony Rizzo made a long run and leaned into the stands to snag Zack Cozart’s foul pop to end the inning.

MEANWHILE, ONE OF REDS starter John Lamb’s problems this year year bit him. He has trouble retiring the first batter go of an inning and it led to both Cubs runs off Lamb during his six innings.

When the game began the first batter of an inning was hitting .404 against Lamb (19 for 47) and the first Cubs batter of the game struck hard. Ben Zobrist led off the game with a home run into the left field seats.

Trouble didn’t surface again for Lamb until the fifth when Matt Szczur opened the inning with a double to left field. With one out, Lamb had opposing pitcher Lester 1-and-2. But Lester, owner of two previous hits this season, punched a run-scoring single up the middle to make it 2-0.

But the real fun didn’t begin until Maddon began his fun and games by playing three pitchers in left field in the same game — most certainly a major league record.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — If ever the Cincinnati Reds were going to beat Jake Arrieta this year, Monday night should have been the night. The Chicago Cubs’ 11-game winner, the guy who pitched a no-hitter against the Reds the last time he was on the Great American Ball Park mound, was off his game on a steamy night on the banks of the Ohio River.

Arrieta’s line: five innings, five runs, four hits, five walks. For Arrieta, that’s awful. And he didn’t lose. He won, 11-8.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE REDS, Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant went batting berserk — three home runs (two into the upper deck in left field), two doubles, four runs scored and six driven in. Bryant’s 16 total bases is a franchise record. And he is the first player in major-league history to have three home runs and two doubles in one game.

Those numbers are way beyond anything Ernie Banks or Dave Kingman or Hack Wilson or Hank Bauer or Ron Santo ever amassed in one game for a Cubs team.

Somebody asked Reds manager Bryan Price after the game, “What did you think of Bryant?” Price recalled a long ago incident when Chicago’s Dave Kingman did something close to the same thing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA manager Tommy Lasorda was asked, “What did you think of Dave Kingman?” He erupted into a long stream of F-bombs and expletives for his answer.

“That’s like the Dave Kingman-Tommy Lasorda question, isn’t it?” said Price “That’s a real stunner of a question. Three homers. Two doubles. So instead of tearing this place down and going after you (the inquisitor) I’m just going to acknowledge the fact that he had a great day.”

AND BRYANT WASN’T The Lone Ranger. The Cubs were on a hit spree.

“I counted 20 balls that the Cubs hit hard and that’s a lot,” said Price. “That’s a lot for two games. We had eight hits, six walks and eight runs. That’s enough to win a ballgame. Tonight it wasn’t. The Cubs had their hitting shoes on and they did a lot of damage — five homers, eight extra base hits, 11 runs, 17 hits, 20 balls on the numbers. That isn’t going to play too well toward winning a ballgame.”

Bryant’s brutal blasts more than covered Arrieta’s sins and the Cubs won going away in front of an ocean of blue-clad Cubs fans, far outnumbering and outshouting the Reds fans in the crowd of 31,762. In fact, after Bryant hit his third home run the crowd demanded a curtain call out of the dugout.

It was to acknowledge his five extra base hits in one game — only the third time it has been done. Both Josh Hamilton and Joe Adcock had four home runs and a double in one game.

ALSO UNFORTUNATELY FOR the Reds, Dan Straily was even farther off his game than Arrieta.

Straily’s line: 3 2/3 innings, seven runs, nine hits. He gave up two home runs to Kris Bryant and a run-scoring double — five RBIs for Bryant against Straily.

“Just terrible execution on my part, the whole night,” said Straily. “Just an off night. I’d try to throw a ball down-and-away and miss up-and-in. I’d try to throw a slider down-and-in and threw it right down the middle. Throwing too many pitched up in the zone cost me, really hurt me. Bryant did what good hitters do to bad pitches. They do heavy damage to them.”

Fortunately for Arrieta, the Cubs score in bunches when he pitches, averaging more than seven runs a game for him, best support for a pitcher in the National League.

So, after the Cubs victory, Arrieta escaped with a victory, pushing his record to 12-and-2, a victory the Cubs needed desperately after losing seven of their previous eight games.

IT WAS EVIDENT BEFORE the sun even went down that this was not an artful Arrieta. His team gave him a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Bryant’s run-scoring double and Miguel Montego’s sacrifice fly.

He gave it right back in the bottom of the first with a pair of walks and a two-out, two-run double by Adam Duvall.

Bryant gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the third with his first home run of the game and the Reds tied it, 3-3, in the bottom of the third on Jay Bruce’s two-out, run-scoring single.

The Cubs scored four times in the fourth, most of them on Bryant’s second home run of the game, a ball hit into the upper deck 444 feet from home plate, a three-run rip that landed into next week. That made it 7-3.

AMAZINGLY, ARRIETA WASN’T pitching up to snuff, but he was hitting like a position player. He singled and scored on Bryant’s second home run in the fourth. In the fifth he homered over the right field wall to give himself an 8-3 lead.

It wasn’t enough for him to survive.

He walked Billy Hamilton to open the fifth, his fifth walk, and Joey Votto homered into the right field seats. It was Votto’s second extra base hit in his last 65 plate appearances and his first home run since June 4.

At the end of the fifth Arrieta was gone and the Reds extracted a run from relief pitcher Trevor Cahill in the sixth on a leadoff walk to Jose Peraza, a stolen base and Tucker Barnhart’s double, cutting Chicago’s lead to 8-6.

The Reds scored another run in the seventh off former teammate Travis Wood and Pedro Strop. Wood gave up a one-out double to Duvall. Strop replaced Wood and Duvall scooted to third on a fly ball and scooted home on a wild pitch and it suddenly was a one-run Chicago lead, 8-7.

THAT COMEBACK WAS QUICKLY thwarted in the Cubs eighth when Bryant struck for his third home run, a bat-ringing drive into the far reaches of the park against Ross Ohlendorf. And Ohlendorf’s next pitch also left the park, a home run by Anthony Rizzo to make it 10-7.

The Cubs scored another run, an unearned one, in the top of the ninth and Votto homered for the second time in the bottom of the ninth to bring the run barrage to 19, but only eight for the Reds.

After all the wreckage and carnage Bryant did, Price remembered one pitch that said it all, a fastball thrown to Arrieta by Michael Lorenzen.

“Arrieta hit a 100 miles an hour fastball out of the ball park,” said Price. “They were just on it tonight. And we weren’t, from a pitching standpoint.”