CHICAGO– Dansby Swanson hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5 on a rainy Saturday night.
Seiya Suzuki made a bad mistake and won his first career Grand Slam – in a wild entrance – as Chicago won for just the second time in the last 10 games. Nico Hoerner walked twice, scored two runs and drove in another.
Mark Leiter Jr. (2-3) got three strikeouts for the win, and Héctor Neris had the ninth for his seventh save in nine opportunities.
“It’s been a little tough and just to be able to fight and compete today regardless of the conditions and just being here all day and all the different types of obstacles, we really stepped up today,” Swanson said.
Spencer Steer had three hits for Cincinnati, which has won five of seven.
The start was delayed for nearly 3 1/2 hours because of rain, and the rain continued with varying intensity during the first innings at Wrigley Field.
The game was tied at 5 when Hoerner walked with one in the eighth against Lucas Sims (1-2). Swanson followed with a shot to left center on an 0-2 fastball for his fifth home run.
“I think we were all thrilled for Dansby,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You know he needed it, and having the hit that wins the game is really important.”
Cincinnati turned Suzuki’s second mistake of the season into four unearned runs in the second. With two outs and the bases loaded, Suzuki had Luke Maile’s routine flyball Take off your glove on the right before landing on the outside grass.
All three runners scored, and Stuart Fairchild followed with an RBI single by Justin Steele that led the Reds to a 4-0 lead.
Suzuki responded with a big hit in the bottom half, delighting what was left of the announced crowd of 36,430. With two outs and the bases loaded on three walks, the Japanese slugger hit a 3-2 fastball from Hunter Greene to left field for his sixth home run of the season.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really remember that at-bat,” Suzuki said through a translator. “It was another play where I should have gotten the ball in right field.”
Chicago pulled ahead on Hoerner’s RBI single in the third, but Cincinnati tied it at 5 when Jeimer Candelario scored Fairchild home in the fourth.
Greene allowed three hits in six innings but issued five hits and walked two batters. The right-hander was 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA in his previous six starts.
“At the beginning he had an entry where he lost control a little and the Suzuki caught him. He missed out on a spot,” Reds coach David Bell said. “And other than that he really pitched well. … An experience like this, he couldn’t have handled it better, in my opinion.”
Steele allowed one earned run and seven hits in five innings. The lefty struck out five and walked four.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture) won’t be back until sometime after the All-Star break, according to Counsell. … RHP Yency Almonte (shoulder strain) is increasing the intensity of his throwing program. “But he’s still in the phase of just playing ball, launching programs in the outfield right now,” Counsell said. “We’re not in a bunch yet, so there’s a long way to go.”
NEXT
Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo (4-2, 3.12 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (1-1, 2.72 ERA) start the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Lodolo pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory over St. Louis on Monday. Brown is coming off a dominant performance in Milwaukee, striking out 10 batters and throwing seven hitless innings in Chicago’s 6-3 victory on Tuesday.
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