Yasiel Puig singled off the center field wall to fix a frustrating night and gave the Reds a 6-5 win over the red-hot Cubs in 10 innings. Puig struck out three times and popped weakly to first in his first four trips to the plate but his blast of losing pitcher Brad Brach eased the pain.
"I wanted Jesse Winker in that moment but they walked Jesse," Puig said. "I tried to do my best to make contact, The contact was good in hit the base of the wall barely missing a grand slam home run. "But we only needed one run. I was not hitting until then. Baseball is a little crazy sometimes. It was like Javy Baez, he kept striking out and kept striking out then he got a base hit. I got the base hit to win the game."
"Both Joey and Yasiel had tough nights until then," David Bell said. "That's why they are who they are. We get down and keep going. It shows a lot of toughness."
The Reds have had to be tough to keep from cracking. This game was their seventh win in 20 one-run games. They are also 3-6 in two-run games and are now 2-4 in extra inning games.
Joey Votto walked with one out and beat the throw to third base on Eugenio Suarez single to left. Suarez took second. The Cubs brought in five infielders leaving just two in the outfield and walked Jesse Winker intentionally. Michael Lorenzen ran for Votto.
Suarez followed Votto's eighth inning single with his 13th home run of the season to tie the Cubs. Votto, who struck out twice looking, laced a single to left center off Kyle Ryan. Suarez blast came against Carl Edwards Jr.
NIck Senzel got the Reds started against Yu Darvish with a single to center in the first inning. Joey Votto took a called strike three but Eugenio Suarez doubled to score Senzel.
Sonny Gray let the brief lead go. After getting two outs in the second inning. Alber Almora Jr. singled. Addison Russell, who was recalled last week, week hit his first home run of the season to the grassy knoll in center field.
Almora Jr. hit his third home run of the season in the fourth.
The Reds chipped away at Darvish, although he struck out 11, catching Votto looking twice. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth Derek Dietrich dumped a single into right. Jose Iglesias doubled in to the right center field gap to score Dietrich from first base.
Gray left after five innings, a pattern with him. Gray pitched into the seventh on April 5, his second start of the season but only logged six innings one other time in nine starts.
Reds baserunning let them down in the sixth. Jesse Winker singled with one out. Diertrich lined a double to the right field corner with two outs. Third base coach J.R. House sent Winker but the relay from Jason Hayward to Russell caught Winker at the plate easily. Winker wasn't close enough to slide.
Robert Stephenson turned in a scoreless sixth.
The Cubs came back with a threat against Jared Hughes. Russell hit a hard ground ball up the middle. Iglesias fielded the ball turned and threw the ball past Votto. The hit and error put Russell in position to score. Hughes got Taylor Davis to ground out but left for Wandy Peralta. Pinch hitter Daniel Descalso hit a sacrifice fly to put the Cubs up by two.
The lesson for not running yourself out of innings, even with two outs was painfully clear to the Reds when Iglesias greeted Brandon Kintzler with his third home run, bringing the Reds to within one of the Cubs.
David Hernandez entered the game in the eighth. Middletown, Ohio native Kyle Schwarber reset the cushion at two with his fifth home run. Schwarber has 12 home runs in his career against the Reds with six at Great American Ball Park.
Raisel Iglesias had little trouble with the first-place Cubs in the ninth inning but two outs into the 10th Kris Bryant, who was 0-for-4 singled with two outs. Javier Baez, as Puig said, was struck out in each of his four at bats but he singled Bryant to third.
Bell went to Amir Garrett to face the left-handed Schwarber with the game in the balance. Cubs' manager Joe Maddon countered with Wilson Contreras, who is the regular catcher and had a 10-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday. His 10 home runs is the most by a Cubs catcher in 37 games since Gabby Hartnett hit 13 in 1925.
Garrett got Contreras way out in front on his second pitch. Contreras topped the ball to the third base side of the mound. The athletic Garrett, who played basketball for St. John's University pounced on the ball as Bryant was streaking home. Garrett wield and fired to first to end the inning.
"When the ball was hit I thought damn, I've got to field it. I thought about tagging Kris. I knew it wasn't ideal," Garrett said. "I want to see how hard I threw it. I have no doubt when I throw the ball, if I bounce it Joey is going to get it."
The Reds last walk-off win was against San Francisco on August 17th of last season when Phillip Ervin hit an 11th inning home run.
The Reds completed their first walk-off win against the Cubs since May 19, 2018 when they beat the Cubs on a bases loaded walk in the 11th inning.
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