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Mike Minor put together his third straight solid start, while Aristides Aquino homered twice and picked up three hits for the Cincinnati Reds as they picked up a 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night.
The Offense
After going in order in the first two innings the Reds offense got going when Aristides Aquino hit a 438-foot home run out of Wrigley Field to tie the game up in the top of the 3rd. The next inning it was Jake Fraley’s turn to join the home run party as he clobbered an opposite field solo homer to put Cincinnati in front 2-1.
In the top of the 6th inning the Reds offense went back to work and they got some help along the way. Jonathan India and Kyle Farmer had back-to-back 1-out singles and then Jake Fraley walked to load the bases after a pitching change. Spencer Steer then came through with an infield single to third base, but Christopher Morel threw the ball into the stands to bring two runs in and make it a 4-1 game. Donovan Solano then singled in another run to make it 5-1 and the Cubs made yet another pitching change. That made no immediate difference as Aristides Aquino came through with an RBI single to make it 6-1. Michael Rucker did shut things down in the inning from there, but the damage had been done.
Cincinnati wouldn’t get another hit until the top of the 9th when Aristides Aquino homered once again, extending the Reds lead to 7-1. That was all the Reds would get, but it was more than enough to even up the series.
The Pitching
Mike Minor had to work around two hits in the 1st inning, but he was able to do just that. In the next inning he gave up three straight singles with the third one driving in a run to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. He would strike out Christopher Morel to follow and set up a webgem of his own when a grounder up the middle was grabbed by Minor behind his back before he fired to second base to begin an inning ending double play.
From there it was plenty of easy work for Minor, that is, until the 6th inning. Franmil Reyes began the inning with a single, but he was erased on a double play. But Minor then walked Nelson Velazquez and gave up a single to Yan Gomes. That was the end of the night for the lefty, who was removed from the game as David Bell called on Derek Law to come in out of the bullpen. Law needed just three pitches to get a ground out to end the inning and keep the Reds ahead 6-1. He would return for the 7th and once again keep the Cubs off of the board.
Joel Kuhnel took over for Cincinnati in the 8th and he struck out two batters in a perfect inning of work. He returned in the 9th and gave up a leadoff single, but picked up two more strikeouts and a ground out to finish the game off and seal a 7-1 victory.
Notes Worth Noting
Aristides Aquino didn’t have a 3-hit game in 2020. Or in 2021. And he didn’t have one in 2022 until a week ago. He picked up a second one in 2022 on Wednesday night.
TJ Friedl picked up his 5th triple of the season in just his 47th game. He’s currently in 3rd place in the National League in triples.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs
Thursday September 8th, 2:20pm ET
Luis Cessa (3-2, 5.18 ERA) vs Adrian Sampson (1-5, 3.95 ERA)
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