The Cincinnati Reds (71-68) are now in a 4-way tie with Miami, San Francisco, and Arizona for the 3rd and final Wild Card
spot after splitting their 4-game home series against the Chicago Cubs this weekend.
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In game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday, the Reds lost 6-2.
The game was scoreless through 3 innings until Cubs 1st baseman Cody Bellinger hit a solo home run in the fourth. The Reds tied it in the bottom of the inning when Nick Senzel scored on a Noelvi Marte single.
The Cubs scored 4 unanswered runs to take a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th. 2 runs scored on a Bellinger single in the 6th. The 3rd run came on Seiya Suzuki’s solo home run in the 8th. The 4th and 5th runs scored on an Ian Happ 2-run home run.
Cincinnati’s last run of the game scored in the bottom of the 9th on a Will Benson single.
Graham Ashcraft (7-9) took the loss on the mound, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings while striking out 6 batters.
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The Reds rebounded in game 2 of the doubleheader with a walk-off 3-2 win.
The Cubs led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th thanks to a solo home run by Cody Bellinger in the 3rd and Ian Happ’s RBI single in the 5th. Cincinnati’s run scored on a TJ Friedl RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd.
Nick Martini tied the game with a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the 9th. Christian Encarnacion-Strand reached on a single to left. Stuart Fairchild would come in as a pinch runner and reached 3rd on a throwing error by Yan Gomes after Will Benson struck out swinging. The next batter, Noelvi Marte, completed the Reds rally with an RBI single to give them the 3-2 walk-off win.
Closer Alexis Diaz (7-4) got the win on the mound, striking out 1 while allowing 1 hit in 1 inning of work.
TJ Friedl went 1-3 with a double and an RBI.
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The Reds rallied in the 9th inning for the second straight night on Saturday to win game 3 of the series 2-1.
The teams were deadlocked at 0 until the Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 7th on a Jeimer Candelario solo home run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Elly De La Cruz would knock in Harrison Bader on a single to right to tie the game at 1. Two batters later, Hunter Renfroe (appearing in just his 2nd game as a Red) knocked in the game-winning run on a fielder’s choice to give Cincinnati their 2nd straight win.
Elly De La Cruz went 3-4 with an RBI.
Sam Moll (1-3) earned the win on the mound in relief, allowing no runs while striking out 1 in an inning of work.
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The Reds allowed 7 runs in the 8th inning in a 15-7 loss to the Cubs in the series finale on Sunday.
Heading into the top of the 7th, the game was tied 5-5. Reds reliever Derek Law allowed thre to reach base before being replaced by Alexis Diaz. he closer gave up 2-run singles to Nick Madrigal and Mike Tauchman, giving Chicago a 9-5 lead. After that, Diaz was taken out of the game for Ben Kennedy. Kennedy didn’t fare much better, allowing 3 runs. One run came on a Cody Bellinger sacrifice fly. The following two scored on a Dansby Swanson double, making it a 12-5 game.
Cincinnati scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th on a Noelvi Marte double to cut the deficit down to 5.
However, the Cubs would answer with 3 more runs in the 9th on a Jeimer Candelario solo home run and a 2-run double by Ian Happ.
Tyler Stephenson went 3-3 with a home run and 3 RBI.
The Reds kick off a 3-game home series against the Seattle Mariners this afternoon. Coverage on 103.9 WRBI begins at 3:40.