The Cincinnati Reds suffered their third straight loss on Thursday night, falling to the Chicago Cubs 5-3 in the series finale.
With Milwaukee’s win over Pittsburgh last night, the Reds drop to 2nd in the NL Central, trailing the Brewers by 1/2 a game. The Cubs are in third place in the division and are just 2.5 games back of the division lead.
Elly De La Cruz homered on the first pitch of the game to give the Reds an early 1-0 lead. Chicago tied the game in the bottom of the 1st inning when Nico Hoerner scored on a double by Ian Happ.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the 3rd, where the game would ultimately be decided. Cincinnati pitcher Luke Weaver nearly retired the side in order. However, Nico Hoerner was able to reach first as a result of a wild pitch on a strike out, keeping the inning alive. After Ian Happ was walked, Cody Bellinger knocked in Hoerner from second to give the Cubs a 2-1 advantage. Weaver walked three straight batters after that, allowing 2 runs to score. After the fourth walk, David Bell was ejected for the sixth time this season. Weaver struck out Yan Gomes to get out of the inning, trailing 4-1.
The Reds fought back and made it a 4-3 game, thanks to Christian Encarnacion-Strand scoring on a double play in the 4th and Spencer Steer’s solo home run in the top of the 8th.
Chicago put the game away for good in the bottom of the 8th when Dansby Swanson scored on a Yan Gomes sacrifice fly to right to make it 5-3.
Weaver took the loss on the mound, allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5 batters.
Steer had a productive night at the plate, batting 2-4 with a home run, a double, and an RBI.
The Reds return to Great American Ball Park tonight to begin a 3-game series against the Washington Nationals. Coverage on 103.9 WRBI begins at 6:10.