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Reds 8 Cubs 5
The Reds complete their first sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley since August of 2013. That's four wins in their last five games. They have moved alone into 3rd place in the NL Central, four games back of Milwaukee.
Since the Reds were 7-15 on April 23, they have gone 17-14 over their last 31 games.
The up and down the order contributions continue as seven Reds collected hits on a 14 hit day. They put at least one runner on base in all nine innings.
That's double digits in hits in four of their last five games.
Top 3: 7 H, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, HR, SB.
Matt McLain: 4 more hits, extending his hit streak to seven games. He does what he should do with a pitch and never tries to do too much with a pitch. Man, I love watching him hit. He’s 23 years old with the approach and awareness of a veteran. It’s fascinating to watch. There is a savviness I marvel at. He also made a really nice do-or-die charge of a grounder with two outs and bases loaded in the 6th.
Nick Senzel: 2 H, 2 RBI, R, BB.
Kevin Newman: On base five times with 2 H, 3 BB. He drew a 13 pitch walk with the bases loaded in the 5th to make it 5-3 Reds.
Nice move: 3-3 in the 5th, with runners on the corners, Cubs manager David Ross went to his pen for a RHP to face RHB Stuart Fairchild. David Bell got aggressive and turned to TJ Friedl, his best LHB off the bench. He smoked an RBI double for a 4-3 lead. It will be fascinating to see how many Bell critics acknowledge the early game/aggressive move with his bench.
Add on: Spencer Steer skied a two-run homer (7) in the 6th to extend the Reds lead to 7-3.
Graham Ashcraft: Give him credit, after giving up a 2nd inning three-run blast to Patrick Wisdom, he settled down. He didn't give up a run over the next four innings. 5 IN, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 92 pitches/54 strikes.
Tight spot: Lucas Sims got himself in a bases loaded one out jam in the 6th (BB, 1B, BB) but extricated himself with a pop up and ground out.
Closing it out: Alex Diaz picked up his 12th save and dropped his ERA to 1.74.