The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs played a wild game that saw both clubs put together big innings later in the game. It was Cincinnati that was able to get it done, though, as they scored eight runs against the Cubs bullpen in a come from behind win to open up the 3-game series at Wrigley Field.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (64-71) | 10 | 13 | 0 |
| Chicago Cubs (76-59) | 8 | 13 | 2 |
| W: Lowder (6-8) L: Thornton (5-5) SV: Pagan (18) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Cincinnati Reds would get two runners on in the top of the 1st inning but they were unable to capitalize on that opportunity. In the bottom of the inning Seiya Suzuki hit a 1-out double and then came in to score on a 2-out double by Alex Bregman to put the Cubs up 1-0.
Two innings later the Reds once again got two runners on. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt moved Elly De La Cruz up to third and Sal Stewart up to second with just one out. But David Peterson buckled down from there and struck out Tyler Stephenson and Eugenio Suarez to strand both runners. Chicago would add to their lead in the bottom of the frame when Michael Busch hit a 2-run home run to push the lead to 3-0.
Cincinnati was able to come through in the top of the 4th. JJ Belday led off the inning with a single and he moved up to second base on a wild pitch. Bleday then took third base on a groundout. Hector Rodriguez singled into center with two outs to drive him in and make it a 3-1 game. They would tack on another run in the top of the 5th when Sal Stewart crushed his 29th home run of the season into the seats in left center.
After five solid innings from David Peterson the Cubs went to the bullpen to begin the 6th inning. After Trent Thornton retired the first batter he saw he left a fastball up in the zone to Jose Trevino and he turned on it and put it into the seats in left center to tie the game up at three.
They weren’t finished there, though. Hector Rodriguez followed up with a walk and then Elly De La Cruz singled and that left runners on the corners for Sal Stewart. He hit a grounder in the hole that Nico Hoerner fielded and tried to make a Derek Jeter-esque jump throw to first but it wasn’t in time as Stewart beat the throw, Rodriguez scored, and De La Cruz took third base on the play as Cincinnati took the lead. Tyler Stephenson, like Trevino before him, got a fastball up in the zone and he didn’t miss it, crushing a 3-run home run into left center to make it 7-3.
Things weren’t over for the Reds offense on the day at that point, though. They went right back to work in the 7th inning. Matt McLain was hit by a pitch with one out to get things going, but it was Hector Rodriguez beating out an infield hit on a grounder to second base that extended the inning with two outs that played a big role. Dane Myers hit a chopper to third base that Alex Bregman couldn’t come up with cleanly and it loaded the bases and brought Elly De La Cruz to the plate. He took a breaking ball on the outside corner and line it the other way and into left field for a 2-run single to push Cincinnati’s lead to 9-3.
The Cubs weren’t going to just roll over. Luis Mey, tho went 1-2-3 in the 6th returned to the mound for the 7th. And he retired the first two hitters of the inning but he then ran into trouble. He walked Carson Kelly, threw a wild pitch to move him up a base, and then gave up back-to-back singles with the last one bringing in a run. That ended Mey’s day and the Reds brought in Brock Burke. The lefty walked Michael Busch on four pitches to load the bases. Burke battled with Alex Bregman and was down 3-1 in the count before getting a foul ball and a called strike to send him back to the dugout and end the threat.
Tejay Antone came out of the bullpen for Cincinnati to begin the 8th inning and things went south quickly. He gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning before Pedro Ramirez hit a 3-run home run. Antone didn’t record an out and was removed from the game as Terry Francona walked to the mound and called on Sam Moll from the bullpen in a 9-7 game. The lefty gave up a double to Matt Shaw to start his outing and then a 2-out, RBI double to Seiya Suzuki that made it a 9-8 ballgame. A groundout would strand Suzuki and send the game to the 9th.
TJ Friedl came up in the 9th with two outs and just missed an insurance run on a foul ball that missed being a home run by about five feet to the wrong side of the pole. Two pitches later he didn’t just miss, this time he pulled the ball into the seats about ten feet to the correct side of the pole to make it 10-8.
Emilio Pagan entered the game for the bottom of the 9th. He got Alex Bregman to hit a lazy fly ball to shallow left on the first pitch he threw. Three pitches later he struck out Ian Happ on a challenged and overturned call. That left the game up to Nico Hoerner, but he couldn’t get it done as Pagan got him to fly out to left to end the game as the Reds held on for a win to open up the series.
Key Moment of the Game
You could probably pick a few but we’re going with Tyler Stephenson’s 3-run home run in the 6th inning to cap off a 5-run inning that turned a deficit into a lead that the Reds never gave up.
Notes Worth Noting
Five Reds players had multi-hit games. Elly De La Cruz led the way with three hits, but Sal Stewart, Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino, and Hector Rodriguez all added two hits.
Sal Stewart’s home run was his 29th of the year. He’s been in second all time in franchise history in home runs for a while now and has a ways to go to catch up to Frank Robinson’s 38 from 1956. But Stewart did climb the rookie home run list in Major League Baseball history and with 29 is now tied with six others (including fellow 2026 rookie Munetaka Murakami) for 33rd all time. If Stewart can homer one more time he will only be the 14th rookie to ever have 30 home runs and 100 RBI in a season.
Hector Rodriguez has been on fire over his current 6-game hitting streak. He’s hitting .455/.520/.909 during that stretch.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs
Saturday August 29th, 2:20pm ET
Andrew Abbott (6-9, 4.15 ERA) vs Kevin Gausman (7-11, 4.37 ERA)
I think H-Rod has gained confidence after getting hot so he knows now he can hit in the big leagues and it would be very welcome in the Reds team…
The bullpen is in trouble again because Antone & García have been kind of gassed recently and haven’t been as good as they were a pair of weeks ago added to Santillan didn’t pitch well after last outings coming from the IL , Moll has been abysmal and Pierce Johnson hasn’t been used often…Mey has done a really nice job but he still isn’t that so reliable reliever even though he has improved a lot…
The offense has awakened since the 9th inning of last game at SF…nice to see
I’m expecting to see Arroyo at 3rd when Geno is DH and QB1 is C. I’m glad Hector came through versus LH starter. It will be interesting to see if Friedl is rewarded with a start in CF tomorrow versus Gausman.
Not exactly great baseball. But it is fun to see some offense finally.
Still had double digit strike outs with 10.
Glad you noted that and not me! Some on the RLN site think I’m being negative for harping on the double-digit SO games and the walks by Reds pitchers! Just glad they held on for the win!
You ARE! The score matters. The most R wins every time. The most SO is a meaningless stat.
You aren’t Negative Dennis, some people are weirdly obsessed with your comments about strike outs and walks.
Still had double digit strike outs with 10. Even tho just enough runs to win, making consistent contact is lacking.
Last two games have been something else in a year that has not gone as planned.Great to see Friedl with a homer.I start him and Arroyo both tomorrow and give Myers and MMC a day off.Hrod back to the lead of spot.Sal with a great year at the plate while learning a new position at the big leagues level.He is ROY if there ever was one.
Was the fly ball that Friedl could not get to in the 8th catchable. I could not tell from the side angle I had on the TV.
In my opinion no
No. Even the Cubs announcers said that Friedl had no shot at it. There is a replay on MLB.com.
Hey, Doug! Sorry to bother you so late after today’s game but I have a question. Refresh my memory how Lowder was credited win the W despite the Reds trailing 3-2 after 5 innings! Lowder completed the bottom of the 5th inning and was replaced by Mey in the 6th inning! Is it because Lowder was technically still in the game when the Reds started the 6th inning and retook the lead 7-3?
Yes
Thanks, Kevin! I think it was more complicated back in the day when pitchers still batted and were often removed for pinch hitters!
Lowder was NOT technically in the game he was IN the game still when the Reds took the lead. It’s always been that way. Even w/o a DH and Lowder in the lineup and replaced by a pinch hitter in the 6th as in the old days he would have still been the winner.
Fun game all way around.
Winning is always fun!
Great win. Happy for Friedl. Always great to beat the stupid Cubs, esp with the wind blowing.
A classic, typical Wrigley Field game with the wind blowing out.
Been there, seen that! My grad school (Notre Dame) advisor and professor was a huge Cubs fan in the late 70’s! He is still teaching at the University of Chicago and, I assume, still a Cubs fan! Got to see Rick Reuschel, Bruce Sutter, Bill Buckner, etc.!
Reds hit home runs, good things usually happen.
Sal. What can I say? What a phenomenal young talent who bats like a season veteran. What a special player he is.
Great to see Stephenson contribute. HRod gaining confidence every game. That’s fun to watch.
On the downside, McLain 2 for his last 22 with 8 strikeouts. Every time he takes a step forward, he then takes 3 steps backwards. He’s just been pretty atrocious offensively since the start of 2025. Time to move on from him starting.
I’d be more interested in seeing Arroyo start the last 25 games at 2b to see if he’s improved defensively and offensively. Maybe McCain figures out hitting over the off-season but his stats are consistently bad hitting now for 250 games, so this last 20 games i dont see him breaking out.
The Reds need to make a firm decision I think soon on McLain. Also, could help Arroyo play better if he has the full backing of the Manager , Front Office, etc. Not sure he would be the answer to take over for McLain, but would be interesting to see him get a chance to play a lot.
Arroyo struggled at 2B his first time up. SS is his natural position.
Homers are good, Jason, but considering that the Reds are fifth or sixth in homers and in last place and near the bottom in offense, it seems clear that the things that happen are frequently not good enough.
Beating the Cubs is always good. Lowder didnt have a QS but pitched ok. Sal continued his record book assault, HR kept his hitting streak going. Good all around. Except for McLain. Man he’s a head scratcher for me. Rooting so hard for him and he just cannot turn the corner. He’s not chasing but not having good swings either
From a team starved for runs to have back to back high scoring games … it’s a beautiful thing, and should restore some confidence going forward. There is really no telling what’s going to happen when the Reds get it together on offense. Let’s just keep taking it one game at a time…
Worst scoring offense in NL or close to it. Amazing their hitting coach has his job. They are due to to bottom third territory. So happy for Sal. What a kid. Ashcraft can’t get back soon enough. 3rd worst in NL in runs allowed.
Just a thought: is Sal’s unabashed faith hurting his profile with the BBWAA? Because his underdog status for the last month plus makes very little sense.
The BBWAA is just like every other group of people in a workforce: Diverse.
A large percentage of the league is wearing unofficial team branded-looking (the fonts all resemble the team font) Jesus Won shirts pre-game. I’ve probably seen at least a dozen Reds players wearing it this year. I’ve seen Mike Trout wear it. I’ve seen Chase Burns wear it.
So I’ll just go ahead and say no. That’s not hurting him with the BBWAA just like it’s not hurting Mike Trout or Chase Burns.
But also, what gives you the idea that the BBWAA has changed their tune with Sal in the last month plus? Specific examples would be nice.
Doug I haven’t looked at it recently. It was just a thought. I was just surprised that Sal basically doubling up JJ in HR and RBI hadn’t put the debate between those two to rest.
The debate isn’t being had by 99% of BBWAA writers, though. It’s being had by fans and like five of multiple hundreds of BBWAA writers.
That could be some of the issue, but also I think some of the writers have taken an overly analytical statistical outlook on all players. I understand where they’re coming from overall, as there are a lot of new stats that measure players in a more detailed way on all parts of their game. I think some of the perspective is unbalanced though in certain situations.
ESPN has their own ranking system called AXE, and not only is JJ Wetherhold first in ROY, but 4th in Mvp race according to their standard. A Brewers pitcher I’d never heard of, Logan Henderson, who I think has pitched about 70 innings, was ahead of Stewart in their rookie of the year rankings. I thought that was pretty silly, and an example of how some of these new stats don’t always align correctly in my opinion with deeper impact players are having on their teams.
The idea that JJ Wetherhold is 4th in the MVP race is almost beyond the absurd.
Matt Olson? Shohei Ohtani? Pete Crow-Armstrong? Kyle Schwarber?
I know that the Washington Nationals are not in any Wild Card race, but James Wood has the 2nd highest OPS in the NL, after Ohtani. But JJ Wetherholt is 4th for MVP? I don’t know what kind of Advanced Metrics analysis could come up with that one.
A long time ago but in 1960, Frank Robinson led all of MLB in SLG, OPS, and OPS+ but did not make the NL ASG team and finished 20th in MVP voting. Only the SLG % was used then but the 1960 Reds were not very good.
Sometimes voting is based, in part, on how well the team (not just the player) did.
@ Oldtimer
Yes, but all those guys above are playing for contending teams. Wetherholt is not, really. The Cardinals have not been eliminated in the WC race, but for all practical purposes, they are not going to make it.
Not criticizing Jeremiah for reporting this, just how absurd any rating system could make Wetherholt any kind of MVP candidate is just absurd.
The BBWAA is not responsible for the AXE system or what some individual person at ESPN writes.
@ Doug
Yes, obviously. Anyone can say anything absurd on TV/cable/internet with limited repercussions.
Sal should be Rookie of the Year for 2026, but he is also playing for a last place team in a small market.
Joey Votto should have been RoY in 2008, but instead it was Geovany Soto playing for the Cubs, who went on to….what?
And we can all banter about what was and what should be, and that’s just talk because we are fans.
Both of the things you say there are very debatable, though.
Joey Votto turned out to be much better than Soto for their career. In 2008? Soto had a 119 OPS+ with 35 doubles, 2 triples, 23 home runs, and he was a catcher. Votto had a 125 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 3 triples, and 24 home runs while playing first base. Offensively they were pretty close to the same hitter. Defensively one guy was a catcher and the other guy was a first baseman….. It doesn’t, nor should it matter that Votto will likely be a Hall of Famer and Soto never found that level of play again.
Sal is having a pretty good season. Right now he’s basically hitting at the same level that Votto was back in that 2008 season – a 123 OPS+ as things stand this morning. Good company to be in. Nolan McLean has a 3.21 ERA and has thrown 148.2 innings with 168 strikeouts. His ERA+ is 127. I feel that I could make a good argument that he’s been better than Stewart has without ever touching any “advanced stats” at all that seem to be the biggest issue people are having with the JJ Wetherholt is actually really good argument.
But the whole issue I’ve got is making claims like “Does the BBWAA not like Sal Stewart because he’s a christian?” That is absolutely absurd without an ounce of evidence. It also has the potential to take conversations to places I absolutely do not want it to go on the pages I spend a whole lot of money on to maintain.
so many good things to like about Sal . just the winning attitude he has I believe can become infectious.
I know he is only a rookie but what about anointing him to team captain for next year? i feel he has leadership qualities that the reds have been missing for quite some time.
this is the first time i have seen Hector Rodriguez play an entire game. the comparisons to Ken Griffey Sr are spot on. all you need is the black Pony shoes and you have the perfect match.
i do think you are starting to see a little shift in the reds. if you squint hard enough, this could be a fairly potent line up in the next couple of years with Rodriguez, Stewart and Duno in the middle of the line up. i hope they can keep EDLC but honestly even if they don’t I won’t be too, too disappointed because I think the offense is heading in the right direction.
I actually think Spencer Steer will be a good guy to hang on long term . I think he can be a good 6 hole hitter for a long time. Then hopefully Collier will improve when he is fully healed from his injury. I still hold hope that he can be a 2 or 3 hole hitter for the reds at some point.
maybe, just maybe , this team can at least be an above average offensive team in the years to come.
I certainly hope you’re right. I like guys who go through the minors in a consistently impressive manner like HecRod. Duno so far is doing the same thing, and he may be offensively ready by late August next year. Hoping adequate defense will be there too. I still believe the Reds should ink QB1 to a contract that keeps him here beyond Duno’s arrival. It would be great for him to share the load with Duno plus he’d be a much better DH then Suarez in my opinion in addition to some games at 1B. Stewart was drafted a round after Collier, but Sal was impressive all the way Collier has not been. I’ll be shocked if Collier ever gains a fulltime MLB role. I’m worried about Spencer’s wrist being a threat to his career otherwise I agree, he is a player.
Collier is having another tough year. But he’s still young (21) and next year he’ll be another year away from his wrist injury, if that’s still an issue for him, so there’s still some hope he’ll get back on track to be a top prospect.
Hector the Hit Collector is rounding into full form. Love to see it.
Sally Long Balls continuing his normal S.O.P.
Reds win! Fun day to be a Reds Fan.
Sal Stewart has it all together emotionally and physically. He’s the team leader the Reds have needed since Brandon Phillips left 10 years ago. Sign Sal up long term. The Red’s nucleus along with the emergence of HROD has awakened, imo, some needed offensive ‘mozy’ that the Reds, over the years, have usually possessed.
Resign Stevo, please.
Yes please. ASAP.
I would not count on it. The better Tyler Stephenson finishes, the more allure there is to try Free Agency. There are a lot of teams out there looking for a good catcher, and would pay a premium over what the Reds would pay.
Anything could happen, just not very likely.
26 games in August Sal has 18 rbi and 6 HR. If he repeats in the next 26 games, he’ll end up with 120 rbi and 35 HR. Not breaking 38 hr record but his numbers are video game like for any player let alone a rookie. His batting average in August is .294, wow. He can hit for power and average over a long stretch.
Easy to see why Suarez and Friedl weren’t traded atdealine. Teams wouldn’t take them for nothing.
Suarez won’t be back and shouldn’t be playing. Also time to shutdown Burns and for his future Antone appears to be shot as well.Santillan hasn’t been the same since he was overused and obviously shot at end of last year, and kept being used. Don’t want same for TeeJay next year. Know they won’t but Wouk like them to call up Duno in September just to see how close he is.
I would not shut down Burns unless his velo is way down or his command is bad. Let him learn how to pitch a full season if he is healthy. None of that prevents injuries anyway. Nor does pitch counts.
Would love for him to finish with 16 or more wins and 200 K’s. Dwight Gooden all over him.
Guessing only one of our 3 September call-ups will likely be a pitcher. Guessing its Williamson, but maybe a non-roster guy gets the nod for having a good season in AAA.
Guessing Banfield is one of the other guys called up to spread out the catching innings. Or is he already up?
That leaves one more guy. I’m guessing that all 3 of the guys called up we have already seen this year.
Duno does not need added to the 40MR until Dec ’27, so they won’t call him up now whatsoever.
“I would not shut down Burns unless his velo is way down or his command is bad. Let him learn how to pitch a full season if he is healthy. None of that prevents injuries anyway. Nor does pitch counts.”
From what I understand their plan for Burns is to finish out the season but just limit his pitch counts and how deep he goes in games.
Maybe I just don’t understand your post, but you seem to be arguing that fatigue from high pitch counts or multiple starts across a very long season do not contribute to soft tissue injuries?
Pitching in general breaks down soft tissue. My point is this is their profession. The only way to win championships is to prepare pitchers to pitch throughout the regular season and the post season.
The limitations are not helping anybody. There are more injuries today than ever. I would build pitchers up, not shut them down. You don’t prepare for a marathon by running 1/2 of the race all the time. Pitching is about endurance. While never a professional, I pitched for 15 years. We never had to worry about Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander and the like in their prime. They posted. Only the Dodgers can afford to carry 9 SP and stagger them throughout the season.
Burns is a budding #1. A #1 is a workhorse. He carries the team and carries the load. He ends losing streaks. He wins series. If he is constantly limited, he is not a #1. He is a #5. Hunter Greene was never allowed to evolve into a #1 – and he keeps getting injured anyway.
Let starting pitchers pitch. I don’t need or want to see Sam Moll in the 5th. I’m not paying for that. No offense to Moll or any player that grinds their way to the majors and makes a nice living for their families.
Hold on a second….
Did you just say that Chase Burns is a #5?
Interested to see Doug’s and other’s analysis of Duno – defensively – this winter. He has only thrown out 2 of 27 stolen base runners in AA and his FLD is .980. He only has 1 PB in AA though. His defensive numbers were arguably fine at A+.
If he can stick, and if their is defensive growth, we could look at Carson Kelly or Christian Vazquez in free agency. If Banfield can clear waivers again, I think he still has options going into 2027. That would give us depth until Duno proves ready and claims the job.