The Cincinnati Reds fought through a 25-minute rain delay Sunday night to take down the Chicago Cubs 7-5, capping off a wild series where the rookie power just kept coming. It was Sal Stewart who absolutely mashed a homer for the third straight game, pushing his season total to a ridiculous 31 blasts for the Reds’ final run in the seventh. Seriously, this kid is on a tear!
Stewart’s Streak and the Reds’ Comeback
Stewart’s solo shot was big, but it was just one piece of the Reds’ offensive explosion. Dane Myers kicked off the fifth inning with a go-ahead homer off Cubs pitcher Shoto Imanaga, who now sits at 8-10. Tyler Stephenson then followed that up with a two-run bomb, right after Elly De La Cruz singled. That pushed the Reds to a 6-3 lead, but man, we gotta talk about De La Cruz, who had to leave the game with left quad tightness right after that hit. You hate to see that, especially when the bats are hot. Earlier in the fourth, Héctor Rodríguez launched his fourth homer, a three-run shot that put Cincinnati up 3-2, but then he had a throwing error in right field that led to an unearned run for Ian Happ, tying it back up. What a roller coaster!
MVP Front-Runner Crushes as Cubs Celebrate History
On the other side of the field, Cubs slugger Pete Crow-Armstrong was just an absolute monster. The dude hit two more homers, bringing his season total to 38, and he’s totally the NL’s MVP front-runner. His first homer against Reds pitcher Chase Burns (who still picked up his 15th win, now 15-3) gave the Cubs an early lead. And Crow-Armstrong wasn’t done, hitting his second of the night, a solo shot off Reds closer Emilio Pagán in the ninth, right before Pagán locked down his 19th save. Think about this: Crow-Armstrong has now hit four dingers in his last seven at-bats, including a three-homer game on Saturday! Despite the loss, it was a huge day for the Cubs, who inducted Jon Lester, Jody Davis, and Vince Lloyd into their Hall of Fame. Even Hall of Famer Greg Maddux threw out a wild ceremonial first pitch with over 20 members of the Cubs’ 150th anniversary team watching. The Reds needed this rubber game win too, especially after dropping six of their previous seven matchups against Chicago.
Cincinnati heads home to face the Padres on Monday, with RHP Brady Singer (5-12, 4.72 ERA) getting the start against Padres RHP Michael King (8-9, 3.23). The Cubs haven’t announced their starter for Monday’s game against the visiting Brewers and LHP Kyle Harrison (10-3, 2.79). Can Singer turn things around for the Reds, or will the Padres offense feast? You know we’ll be watching!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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