Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Billy Hamilton's single in the ninth
inning completed a comeback from a five-run deficit and helped the Cincinnati
Reds sweep a day-night doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs with a 6-5 win.
Brayan Pena blooped a single into shallow left to begin the ninth off Hector
Rondon (1-3) before Devin Mesoraco ripped a single into left that sent pinch-
runner Mike Leake to third.
Hamilton then slapped a single into left that drove in Leake to give the Reds
their fourth straight win. Cincinnati won the opener of the twinbill, 4-2,
behind 6 1/3 innings from Johnny Cueto and a two-run homer from Jay Bruce.
Logan Ondrusek (3-2) capped 6 1/3 scoreless innings from the Cincinnati
bullpen with two innings of relief to earn the win in the nightcap.
"Our bullpen did a tremendous job and shut them down in the middle of the
game," said Cincinnati's Skip Schumaker. "It gave us a chance to come back."
Three straight singles from the Reds to begin the fifth put Chicago starter
Tsuyoshi Wada into some trouble. The Japanese southpaw struck out pinch-hitter
Chris Heisey for the first out of the inning and got Hamilton to pop out to
shallow center, but Junior Lake's throw back into the infield hit the
pitcher's mound, allowing Schumaker to scamper home for Cincinnati's first
run.
Catcher Welington Castillo then snapped a throw down to first that was in
time to get Tucker Barnhart for the third out.
Todd Frazier doubled to lead off the sixth and scored on a Bruce groundout
later in the inning as the Reds cut the deficit to 5-2.
Three straight walks with no outs loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Mesoraco
in the seventh. Mesoraco, who entered the game 4-for-4 with two grand slams in
bases loaded situations this season, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to
score a run and Hamilton then tripled to right-center that cut the deficit to
5-4 before Frazier grounded out sharply to shortstop to end the inning.
Brandon Phillips singled to open the home eighth and tied the game when Bruce
flicked a double into the left-field corner. However, Bruce was stranded on
second as the game headed to the ninth knotted at 5-5.
Earlier, Mike Olt walked with one out in the second and Chris Coghlan, who
homered for Chicago in the first game, skied a two-run shot just over the wall
in right for his second homer in as many games to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.
Anthony Rizzo led off the third with a solo blast to right that increased the
cushion to 3-0. Starlin Castro followed with a single and Olt brought him in
with his 12th homer of the year two batters later.
"We stopped scoring after those five runs," said Chicago manager Rick
Renteria. "They kept plugging away and found a way to get it done."
Cincinnati starter David Holmberg then allowed a walk to Coghlan and an
infield single to Darwin Barney before Wada moved the two over with a
sacrifice bunt. Carlos Contreras was called upon to get out of trouble and he
got Lake to pop out to end the inning.
Game Notes
The start of the second game was delayed 35 minutes due to a forecast of rain
that never came ... Wada was dealt a no-decision in his big-league debut,
allowing one unearned run on five hits and a walk over five innings. Wada
compiled a 107-61 record with a 3.13 ERA over nine seasons in the Japanese
Pacific League ... Holmberg, who made his Reds debut, was tagged for five runs
on seven hits and three walks over 2 2/3 innings. He went 0-4 with a 5.28 ERA
in 10 starts for Triple-A Louisville. The left-hander made his major league
debut a season ago with Arizona, giving up three runs and six hits in 3 2/3
innings on Aug. 27 against San Diego ... Frazier was selected as a participant
for the 2014 Home Run Derby prior to the game ... Reds first baseman Joey
Votto was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day due to a
lingering left quad injury. The Reds activated Pena from the paternity leave
list to fill the roster spot ... Chicago has been swept in three doubleheaders
this season ... The five-run deficit marked the Reds' largest comeback of the
season ... Coghlan extended his hitting streak to nine games ... The Reds'
last doubleheader sweep came against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 31, 2009.
