Reds Battle Back Against Cubs In Nightcap

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Billy Hamilton's single in the bottom of the ninth brought the Reds all the way back for a 6-5 win and doubleheader sweep over the Chicago Cubs.  The Reds came all the way back from a 5-0 deficit to pull off its first doubleheader sweep since 2009.

"Without a doubt that was the most exciting win," Bryan Price said.  "It is not about me but as a group we're really excited about this game."

Hamilton was mobbed by his teammates.

"I usually don't let them catch me but those old guys just played two games," Hamilton said.  "We have to save them for tomorrow.  I could play all day.  I'm ready to go right now.  Let's go.  Let's play three."

The odds are against sweeps no matter who the two combatants are, lofty leader or lower-than-a-snakes-belly cellar dweller.

"With Hamilton up there the way he is swinging the bat with runners on base, we were really confident," Price said.

The Reds have cut the deficit against the Brewers in half in the first six games of this home stand.  They are now 3 1/2 games behind Milwaukee, who lost to Philadelphia.  They closed to with 1/2 game of St. Louis and passed Pittsburgh in the standings.

There were a pair of wild cards, two pitchers called up from the minors expressly to pitch the second game of the doubleheader.

The Reds 22-year old left-hander David Holmberg to the mound.  The Cubs countered with 33-year old Tsuyoshi Wada for his Major League debut.  Wada was a star in the Japanese League but struggled with his health stateside.

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Holmberg wasn't sharp and the Cubs handled him.  Red hot Chris Coughlin followed a walk to Mike Ott with his second home run of the day and fourth of the season in the second inning. Coughlin hit one off Johnny Cueto in the first game.  Holmberg ran into more trouble in the third.  Anthony Rizzo hit his 19th to lead off the inning.  Starlin Castro singled and one out later Ott hit his 12th.

"He pitched from behind a lot. He wasn't sharp.  We know he's better than that," Price said.  "As an organization, we know he's going to help us."

Wada survived a double by Ryan Ludwick and the first of Zack Cozart's two singles in the fifth. Ludwick had to be held as centerfielder Junior Lake got to the ball quickly.  Wada made an athletic stab of Tucker Barnhart's bid for a single up the middle to keep the Reds scoreless in the second.

The Reds loaded the bases in the fifth on three straight singles to start the frame.  Wada struck out pinch hitter Chris Heisey.  Billy Hamilton the team's leading hitter with runners in scoring position flied to shallow right.  Skip Schumaker started down the line but held.  Lake's throw hit the mound and bounded toward first.  The error allowed Schumaker to score.  Rookie Tucker Barnhart got a taste of his own medicine. Barnhart is adept at picking runners off from his catching position.  This time he was the victim of Wellington Castillo's peg to first to end the inning.

"We looked like we would get back in that inning," Price said. "It could have been a letdown but it wasn't."

Carlos Contreras and J.J. Hoover kept the Cubs off the scoreboard for 4 1/3 innings with Hoover striking out six Cubs.

"The starters have been taking the innings away from the bullpen," Price said. "It was a big game with a lot of big moments."

"Today it was more about the team," Hoover said.  "I'm definitely well rested.  There is nothing to complain about with the way the starters have pitched.  It think the day as a whole was the best of the season."

The pair allowed the Reds offense to heat up against the Cubs bullpen.

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Todd Frazier opened the sixth with a double off Brian Schlitter.  Groundouts by Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce brought him home.

Wesley Wright walked Schumaker to start the seventh.  Carlos Villanueva walked Cozart and Barnhart.  Devin Mesoraco batted for Hoover.  He hit a bullet right at the feet of Castro at short, who turned it into an easy double play with Schumaker scoring.  Hamilton tripled high off the fence in rightcenter, inches from his sixth home run to narrow the margin to 5-4 as Cozart trotted home.  Frazier was picked by Castro again to allow Chicago to hold the lead.

Logan Ondrusek allowed a single to Rizzo in a scoreless eighth.

Pedro Strop gave up the lead after the first two batters in the bottom of the inning.  Phillips singled and Bruce doubled into the leftfield corner to take young Holmberg off the hook. Strop struck out Ludwick swinging and Schumaker looking.  Cozart's bid to break the tie, died in the rightcenter field gap and Justin Ruggiano ran it down.

Ondrusek struck out two in the ninth.

Hector Rondon came in to pitch for the Cubs.  Brayan Pena fresh off paternity leave hit for Ondrusek to start the ninth.  Pena dumped a bloop single down the leftfield line.  Mike Leake ran for him. Mesoraco singled him to third putting runners on the corner with two outs.  Hamilton finished off the Cubs with a broken bat single to left.

"They made it easy for me," said Hamilton, who now leads the team with a .353 average with runners in scoring position.  "I broke my bat but it died a warrior.  It was fun. I want to be the guy up in that situation.  They took the bunt off and that made it easier for me that I didn't have to worry about it."