Reds Beat Cubs 5-4 In 10th
CHICAGO (AP) -- Eugenio Suarez drove in Todd Frazier with an unearned tie-breaking run in the 10th inning, and the banged-up Cincinnati Reds rebounded for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday, their fifth win in six games.
Suarez, playing in his second game after being called up for the injured shortstop Zack Cozart, singled through a drawn-in infield off Hector Rondon (3-1) for his first RBI with the Reds.
Cincinnati's J.J. Hoover (5-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth for the win. Aroldis Chapman struck out two in scoreless 10th for his 13th save in 14 chances
Frazier, who reached in the 10th on third baseman Kris Bryant's throwing error, hit his team-leading 18th homer and drove in a run with a double. Ivan Dejesus Jr. and Brayan Pena also had RBIs in Cincinnati's three-run first inning.
Starlin Castro's two-run homer, his fifth, in the sixth inning tied it at 4. Cubs starter Jason Hammel and Addison Russell also had RBIs.
Until Rondon struggled in the 10th, the Cubs' bullpen sparkled. Four relievers -- Zac Rosscup, James Russell, Jason Motte and Pedro Strop -- pitched four hitless innings while striking out six.
Reds starter Johnny Cueto was sailing along with a 4-2 lead until Castro tied it with one out in the sixth on drive that cleared the bleachers just inside the left field foul pole. Cueto finished with nine strikeouts and no walks through seven innings, while allowing four runs.
Partly done in by Russell's game-opening error Hammel labored and allowed four runs -- two earned -- through five innings before leaving after 103 pitches. He permitted seven hits, struck out four, walked three and hit a batter.
Hammel had been solid in his previous two starts, winning both while allowing a combined three earned runs and striking out 18 in 14 2/3 innings at Miami and Washington.
Fog rolled in and out of soggy, chilly Wrigley Field. Combined with a strong wind blowing in from the north, that made some normally routine plays adventurous.
Russell, Chicago's rookie second baseman, couldn't handle leadoff man Skip Schumaker's routine grounder in the first. That set the stage for Cincinnati's three-run inning when eight men batted.
Dejesus Jr. and Frazier had RBI doubles, and Pena knocked in the third run with a sharp single.
Hamel helped his own cause as the Cubs cut it to 3-2 in the second. His single drove in Chicago's first run with a single, then scored on Russell's double.
Frazier's solo shot leading off the third on an 0-2 pitch made it 4-2.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Reds: CF Billy Hamilton (sore left hand) was back in the lineup and batted ninth after missing three games. He entered the game leading the majors with 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts.
2B and three-time All-Star Brandon Phillips (groin) pinch hit in the eighth after missing three games. He was hurt Tuesday sliding into second base.
Devin Mesoraco, an All-Star catcher last season, will discontinue a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville where he was playing left field -- a position the Reds hoped would put less strain on a left hip injury.
"He's still sore," Price said. "He's going to be going back to Cincinnati and spending some time doing rehab work there."
Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon said OF Jorge Soler, on the 15-day DL (left ankle sprain), is making progress, although he hasn't resumed baseball activities. "He said he's feeling better," Maddon said. "I don't have any kind of final analysis.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati RHP Mike Leake (3-4, 4.29 ERA) faces Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.96) on Saturday. The 6:15 p.m. scheduled first pitch marks the third starting time in the four-game series.
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