The Cincinnati Reds outslugged the Chicago Cubs 10-8 at Wrigley Field on Friday, erasing an early deficit with a five-run sixth inning and holding off a late Chicago rally to take the series finale.
Chicago jumped ahead early, taking a 3-0 lead after Michael Busch's three-run homer in the third inning, part of a night in which Busch and Seiya Suzuki each finished with three hits for the Cubs. Cincinnati chipped away against Cubs starter David Peterson, who worked five innings and allowed two runs, with Sal Stewart cutting the deficit with a solo homer in the fifth.
The turning point came in the sixth, when Chicago turned to reliever Trent Thornton, who had not allowed a run in August across his previous 10 innings pitched. Stewart sent a 3-1 curveball from Peterson over the wall in center field to trim the Reds' deficit, and Trevino deposited a first-pitch fastball from Thornton to forge a 3-3 tie. Cincinnati kept the inning alive from there, and Tyler Stephenson delivered the biggest blow of the night, depositing a 1-2 fastball from Thornton over the wall in center field to stake Cincinnati to a 7-3 lead. Thornton's outing lasted only two-thirds of an inning, but it turned the game, as his ERA jumped from zero to 4.22 after surrendering the two homers.
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Cincinnati wasn't finished. Elly De La Cruz ripped a two-run single as part of a three-hit night, extending the Reds' lead to 9-3, and Jose Trevino added a solo homer while TJ Friedl also went deep for Cincinnati, which scored 10 runs for the second straight game.
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The Cubs mounted a response in the eighth, when Pedro Ramirez hit a three-run homer off Tejay Antone that curled inside the right-field foul pole, cutting the Reds' lead to 9-7. Suzuki added an RBI double off Sam Moll to trim the margin further, but Cincinnati answered right back. Friedl homered again in the top of the ninth, and closer Emilio Pagan retired the side in the bottom half to lock down his 18th save of the season.
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Rhett Lowder earned the win for Cincinnati despite a rocky start, allowing three runs on six hits over five innings, while the right-hander settled down to pitch two scoreless frames after Chicago built an early 3-0 lead against him. Stewart's night carried extra significance beyond the box score: his fifth-inning homer marked his 101st RBI of the season, snapping a tie with Jim Greengrass for the Reds' franchise rookie RBI record, set in 1953.
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The loss dropped Chicago to six defeats in its last eight games as the Cubs continue to search for consistency down the stretch, while Cincinnati picked up back-to-back double-digit-run performances to close out the series on a high note.