Reds Use Flubs To Drub Cubs

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The punchless Reds fresh off being shut out last night opened up the bat rack but more importantly watched the Cubs infield flub, fumble and fidget for three errors, two in the decisive fourth inning that led to a 7-5 win.

The youthful show of defensive buffoonery spoiled the debut of 22-year old Cuban phenom, Jorge Soler, who homered on his first Major League swing off Reds starter Mat Latos.

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Veteran Luis Valbuena, the aged 28-year old, showed Soler how it was done by hit,ting a Latos pitch into the rightfield seats.  Soler took two balls, then a strike before he crushed a pitch 423 feet onto the netting above the Reds' bullpen.  He was the first Cub player to homer in his first at-bat since Starlin Castro took Homer Bailey deep on May 7, 2010.

"I had trouble with my release point," Latos said. "Both were two seamers that were supposed to be down in the zone but I pulled them across the plate.  Later I got my release point back."

The Reds retaliated against young Jacob Turner, who landed with the Cubs earlier this month in a trade with the Miami Marlins.  Turner faced the Reds five days before the exchange.  The Reds solved him then with nine hits and five runs.

Devin Mesoraco hadn't had many hits lately.  He had just one in his last 32 at-bats.  Mesoraco singled to open the second.  Jay Bruce walked.  Mesoraco scored on the first of Skip Schumaker's two hits, a double in the leftcenterfield gap.  Bruce came home when Zack Cozart grounded out.

The fourth was a nightmare for Turner.  Kristopher Negron doubled.  Schumaker singled Negron home. With two outs, Starlin Castro couldn't come up with Billy Hamilton's slow roller which trickled into left to score Schumaker.  It was ruled an error but later changed to a hit.  Hamilton pilfered his 50th base of the season, becoming the ninth Reds' player in history to steal at least 50 in a season.  Brandon Phillips and Mesoraco off Carlos Villanueva before Bruce struck out looking.

Negron also turned in a double play in the first inning that impressed Latos.

"He turned in a double play on a nice stab.  I like the way he plays.  He's a dirty player and I like it," Latos said.

Bryan Price liked that he treated it as double all the way rather than being a spectator.

"He didn't break stride.  He was going to make the outfielder stop him.  That's how you do it," Price said.

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Latos blanked the Cubs from the third through the seventh but gave up back-to-back singles to pinch hitter Lagan Watkins and Chris Coughlan.  Bryan Price went to usually reliable Jonathon Broxton.  Javier Baez brought both of them home with a double.  Starlin Castro nearly tied the game with a drive to deep center but Castro got caught admiring the drive that hit high off the centerfield fence.  Hamilton got the ball back in so quickly that Castro held first and Baez only made third.  Valbuena struck out but Soler had his second career hit that produced his second RBI.

"I wish I could have stayed out there a little longer," Latos said.  "The bullpen came in and did its job."

Broxton got out of the jam by getting catcher Wellington Castillo to hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

Chris Heisey hit his fifth home run of the season as a pinch hitter against Zac Rosscup.  It was his third pinch homer of the season, ninth of his career.

Aroldis Chapman allowed a hit but turned in his 28th save in 30 tries with two strikeouts.