The Reds won the last two games after dropping the first two to their division rivals.
Rookie Hunter Greene was the beneficiary of the outburst to post his second career win. The Reds had scored just 24 runs in his previous eight starts. In Greene's last two starts the Reds managed a total of two runs. He lost a 1-0 game against Pittsburgh after pitching 7 1/3 innings without allowing a hit.
Greene wasn't as sharp as he was in his last two outings either.
The Cubs jumped on Greene for two runs in the first inning. Christopher Morel led off the game with a single. Ian Happ walked. Frank Schwindel delivered both runners with a double right over third base and down the line.
Nico Hoerner, just returned from a back injury hit his third home run in the second inning.
The Reds got two back against Steele in the second with three straight hits. Tyler Stephenson opened it with a single. Kyle Farmer, who missed four games with general soreness, hit his second home to get within a run. Aristides Aquino got jammed but doubled down the first base line. Aquino misread Matt Reynolds line drive with one out. Happ, who tortures the Reds with his bat, picked the ball off the grass and doubled up Aquino who had already rounded third.
The game was delayed for :59 minutes between the fifth and sixth innings.
The Reds continued the assault on Steele in the third. Nick Senzel opened it with a walk. Brandon Drury singled on a hit and run that sent Senzel to third. Tommy Pham tied the game with a double. Joey Votto walked to load the bases. Stephenson hit a two-run single through the hole at shortstop. Farmer bunted to move the runners up. Pinch hitter Tyler Naquin was walked intentionally. Albert Almora Jr. singled to score two more runs. Matt Reynolds hit a two-run triple. Senzel drove in Reynolds single.
Greene pitched two quiet innings retiring six of seven batters.
Willson Contreras and Happ hit back-to-back home runs off Greene to open the fifth. Greene needed to complete the inning to get credit for a win. He accomplished that by retiring the next three Cubs batters routinely.
Happ now has 15 home runs in 38 games in Great American Ball Park. The former University of Cincinnati graduate has 10 doubles and a triple along with 32 RBI.
Farmer got one ot the runs back with his second home run of the game. This one off Brandon Hughes. It was Farmer's first multi-home run game. Farmer drove in two more runs in the sixth against Chris Martin. The Reds loaded the bases. Farmer's ground ball up the middle was knocked down by second baseman Jonathan Villar. Pham hustled around third to score.
The Cubs used shortstop Andrelton Simmons to mop up and the Reds added five more runs to score 20 runs for the first time since, September 4, 1999 at Philadelphia when the beat the Phillies 22-3. Farmer singled in the inning to give him four hits for the game. Senzel also had four hits as the Reds pounded out 20 hits total
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