Under the lights on a national stage, Chase Burns gave the Reds another solid start and the lineup showed its power by hitting four home runs in a 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Sunday night.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (65-72) | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs (77-60) | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Chase Burns (15-3) L: Shota Imanaga (8-10) SV: Emilio Pagan (19) | |||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The game started about 25 minutes late due to rain in the Chicago area. When the game got started at 7:45 PM, the Reds threatened first with an Elly De La Cruz one-out double in the first, however, nothing would come of it. This would come back to haunt the Reds in the bottom of the inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong, frontrunner for NL MVP, crushed a fastball middle in off Chase Burns to lead off the game. It was his ninth lead-off home run of the season.
The Reds would threaten again in the second inning with back-to-back singles from Eugenio Suárez and JJ Bleday, but the bottom of the lineup in Matt McLain, Héctor Rodríguez, and Edwin Arroyo recorded three straight outs to leave them stranded on the bases.
The Cubs added a second run in the bottom of the second when Michael Conforto singled to drive in Ian Happ. The Reds would answer in a big way in the fourth inning. Suárez walked with one out, McLain singled with two outs, and then Rodríguez would launch a ball into the right field bleachers for a 3-2 Reds lead. The Cubs almost immediately tied it at three in the next inning after Happ and Nico Hoerner reached base to lead off the inning and Rodríguez made an error throwing the ball back into the infield after a fly ball out by Pedro Ramirez.
Dane Myers led off the fourth inning with a home run to get the Reds’ lead back to 4-3. After a De La Cruz single and a Stewart strikeout, Tyler Stephenson crushed a ball to the left field bleachers to extend the lead to 6-3.
Sal Stewart played add-on in the 7th with a 418-foot home run to straightaway center off a hanging breaking ball to make it 7-3. It was Stewart’s 31st home run on the season. The Cubs added a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Nico Hoerner, who only scored because Stephenson couldn’t hang onto an incredible throw from Bleday in right field.
Brock Burke, Luis Mey, and Emilio Pagan combined for 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, with Mey and Pagan each giving up one run. That last Cubs run that Pagan allowed was another Crow-Armstrong solo home run, his second of the game and 38th of the season.
Key Moment of the Game
Tyler Stephenson’s home run in the fourth inning gave the Reds a 6-3 lead, which was crucial with the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field and a Cubs lineup that can hit.
Notes Worth Noting
-Elly De La Cruz left the game after the top of the 7th with left quad tightness. After the game manager Terry Francona noted that there was a chance that he would play tomorrow and didn’t think the quad was very bad, according to the report from Fox 19’s Charlie Goldsmith.
-Chase Burns pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, with only one walk and seven strikeouts. He likely would’ve gone a full six innings, but he had a strict 100 pitch limit, and the final batter he faced, Pedro Ramirez, made him throw 11 pitches before flying out to right field.
-On the NBC broadcast, Jeff Brantley said this was Burns’ last true start and that it would likely be much shorter appearances going forward into September. He did not, however, say that Burns would be completely shut down.
-Speaking of that NBC Sunday night broadcast, the combination of Jason Benetti, Jeff Brantley, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto was an incredible viewing experience. It was a solid combination of baseball knowledge, funny anecdotes, and just all-around fun entertainment. Personally, it was my favorite baseball broadcast this season.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
San Diego Padres vs. Cincinnati Reds
Monday, August 31, 6:40 PM EDT
Michael King (8-9, 3.23 ERA) vs. Brady Singer (5-12, 4.72 ERA)
Reds now have 183 HR so far in 2026. This was the 12th game with 4 or more HR hit by Reds. I think that is MLB record going back to 1900 (but not sure).
@Ashley. Couldn’t agree more with your opinion of the great broadcasters. They brought back many memories. Thanks for the great article
Yes indeed. For me it brought back memories of stories from the great Waite Hoyt during Red’s rain delays on the radio.
In a season of disappointments, letdowns and unfulfilled promise, tonight’s win before a packed house of annoying “Cubbie” fans and a national TV audience was, for me, the most satisfying of 2026.
It was a good all around baseball night. I have never been a fan of Votto to put it politely, but he was not over bearing tonight, so his talking didnt bother me. Reds can hit low 90 fastballs, that’s all there is to it. A couple incredible things to point out: the sound of HJR homerun hit and the throw from Bleday that could have nailed Bregman at home had Stevo been able to hang on to the ball.
what did Votto do, besides being one of the best players in the history of the franchise? To put it mildly.
One of the most exciting plays for a catcher, nailing the runner at home. It’s natural to want to make the tag before you’ve got the ball secure.
Votto took the Cub Curse seriously, and while Brantley chuckled, Votto didn’t.
Yeah, the booth with Brantley and Rizzo providing depth … just awesome. Votto was either in or next to the Reds dugout, and he and Rizzo had some history and insights you wouldn’t normally get.
The Reds looked like a big league club today, and Craig Council didn’t look too happy with the loss either.
It was touch and go with that Ty Steve play at the plate. The ball bounced twice, went into and out of his glove on the swipe. Not sure if the runner would have been called out or not.
This was the first full Reds game I actually got to watch this year, and it was a real good one !
“The reds looked luke a big league club today”
The reds are a big league club. They are playing in major league baseball. Not sure what you are meaning.
The sound of HJR Homerun hit, Sal 31st HR, and the throw from Bleday stood out to me. I have never been a fan of Votto to put it politely but he was not overbearing tonight, so it was ok, didnt ruin the night. 3-7 record against Cubs with a 3 game weekend series in Cincy in about 3 weeks. Our division record has improved of late but we dug too big of a whole early in the season.
Per Ashley’s comment about the broadcast, I think kudos should go to Benetti for knowing when to step back and let the “talent” take over. Joey has a future in broadcasting if he wants it.
I’m beginning to think he actually is campaigning for Krall’s job.
“-Speaking of that NBC Sunday night broadcast, the combination of Jason Benetti, Jeff Brantley, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto was an incredible viewing experience. It was a solid combination of baseball knowledge, funny anecdotes, and just all-around fun entertainment. Personally, it was my favorite baseball broadcast this season.”
Yep. Probably the best all year.
Agreed. They were good. 4 HRs doesn’t hurt either. HRod looked a little rough vs the lefty, but keep running with him. You’re not risking anything
You do realize HRod hit a towering 3 run homer vs a lefty?
The 2nd one with a big breaking ball. He’s 2 for 11 off lefties including the HR
I loved every bit of the broadcast. You could tell Votto and Rizzo really enjoyed talking baseball and history with each other…and Brantley was having a blast not only getting to chat with Votto to add to his solid insight, but calling a game with two other ball-players.
It’s normally play by lay with John or Tommy, with him being the seasoned ball-player.
I bet it was probably Brantley’s favorite game to call this season, if not during his time with the Reds.
Made all the better by this team playing both spoiler to this cocky Chicago team, and not playing scared after last night. Our boys said let’s do this again real soon.
What a nice evening of weekend baseball featuring the Reds instead of the usual lineup of Yankees/Red Sox or a couple West Coast teams. The banter of Votto, Rizzo, and Brantley among others was fun. I think Votto will soon have an important position in the Red’s organization.
I think Votto’s newfound freedom to speak his mind scares ownership. I mean, just on the broadcast, Joey didn’t everything but call them out for the state of the franchise with his lavish praise of the Wrigley Field experience and saying there’s too much baseball history in Cincinnati for it not to be a core team in the league. The only thing unquestioned was who is responsible for the state of the franchise, but anyone with a brain could infer his meaning imo.
So I stayed up a little past my bedtime … but what a reward for doing that. And that broadcast team was off the charts great to follow. Rizzo and Joey were fantastic with their ribbing and memories. I didn’t even mind some of the “creative” camera angles that go along with one of these broadcasts.
Suggestion … just walk “the kid” (or plunk him in the shins). The talent is undeniable. But the presentation is something only a Stupid Cubs fan could love.
One of my favorite banters last night occured when I think it was Brantly that asked Rizzo how the Chicago hitting coach helped him. Rizzo’s answer was not that insightful (be a friend, work with him daily, if he said jump, I’d say how high) When the question turned to Votto, he said he didn’t listen to the hitting coach at all, but relied on himself. When Brantley noted how Votto would spend hours practicing off the tee, including placing the tee practically at this belly button, to practice staying ‘behiind the ball’ Votto attributed that drill to his hitting coaches in the minors which he credited for making him a better hitter. And that the minor league coaches job is to hand the batter off, supposedly read to go.
I thought that was a very insightful comment. It harkens back to the days of Tony Perez being hitting coach and his comment of “see the ball , hit the ball”. That shows a very hands off approach to me. I wonder if Votto when he went into a slump then turned to the hitting coach – or just studied film to see what he was doing wrong.
By the time you get past the minors, it should be tweaks or further adjustment on recognizing the non-strike pitches.