Chi. Cubs 5, Cincinnati 2
When: 1:10 PM ET, Sunday, April 26, 2015
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
56°
Umpires:
Home -
Lazaro Diaz, 1B -
Chris Guccione, 2B -
Cory Blaser, 3B -
Jeff Nelson
Attendance:
38954
By The Sports Xchange
CINCINNATI -- Addison Russell's major league career had gotten off to a rough start with 11 strikeouts in his first 19 at-bats. But, the 21-year-old second baseman's confidence never waned.
"This whole process may take a few games," Russell said. "I'm just trying to stay patient, stay with my approach, and believe in my talent."
In the fourth inning Sunday afternoon, Russell came through with a bases-loaded double, driving home three decisive runs in 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
"It's just a stepping stone, I believe," said Russell, baseball's third-best prospect according to Baseball America. "I saw the ball a little bit better today. Fouled off some good pitches to keep me in the count. He gave me a fastball outside. I tried not to do too much."
Catcher Miguel Montero homered and Jake Arrieta pitched six solid innings helping Chicago (10-7) wrap up a 4-2 road trip, sending them to their best start since 2008.
"In the division, on the road, to come back with a 4-2 record is not a bad thing," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "The energy pregame and in the dugout, these guys are ready to play."
Montero went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for the Cubs, who swept the abbreviated two-game series in Cincinnati after Saturday's game was postponed due to rain.
Arrieta (3-1) survived a rough patch in the middle innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits in six innings.
The only blemish for Arrieta was third baseman Todd Frazier's fifth homer.
"He's just a big, strong dude," said Arrieta of Frazier. "It was a good breaking ball down. I sped up a little bit after that, got out of my rhythm which was a little uncharacteristic. My emphasis was on not making a mistake."
Cincinnati (8-10) went 0-for-20 in the series with runners in scoring position.
"It's not where we want to be offensively," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "We create opportunities. We just can't cash in. We've got to get better at it."
A scoreless streak for Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani (2-1) abruptly ended at 16 1/3 innings when Montero clubbed his third home run to put Chicago ahead 1-0 in the second.
Montero's RBI single made the score 2-0 in the third.
"I was missing too much over the plate," DeSclafani said. "I didn't have a really effective slider. I threw a good changeup to Montero. He put a good swing on it."
With the bases loaded and two outs in the third, Russell, who'd struck out in five of his previous six at-bats, drove a 1-2 pitch from DeSclafani to the right-center wall, driving in three runs to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead.
"Really big offensive play, and with two strikes," said Maddon. "He had some good swings to foul it off. He's only going to get better."
Just one of those runs was credited to DeSclafani since a fielding error by Frazier led to the rally.
DeSclafani allowed five runs, one earned, and five hits.
"He'll tell you today wasn't one of his best days, but he's going to be good," said Reds catcher Brayan Pena. "The stuff you see from him is impressive."
Arrieta retired the first 11 batters he faced before Frazier launched his fifth home run into the left field stands with two outs in the fourth.
The fourth was a rough frame for Arrieta who threw 30 pitches, but the only blemish was Frazier's homer.
Things unraveled further for Arrieta in the fifth when he issued three walks. But again he minimized the damage.
"He was a little off command-wise," said Maddon. "But, he never caved in."
Left-hander Tony Cingrani pitched two scoreless innings to keep Cincinnati within striking range.
But Hector Rondon pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fourth save, sending the Reds to their third straight loss.
"I'm pretty sure nobody in here is happy," said Pen
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Chi. Cubs
|
6 |
1 |
11 |
.182 |
13 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Cincinnati
|
6 |
1 |
12 |
.182 |
12 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
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