Hoerner impressive in Cubs win over Reds |
CHICAGO - There aren't many cases when a starting pitcher can give you a complete game, but can't come away with a victory. That happened to the Cincinnati Reds (76-84) at Wrigley Field on Friday as Nick Martinez went the distance and found himself on the losing end of a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs (82-78).
The win secures the Cubs' second consecutive winning season, a small victory in what has otherwise been a rough season. A big reason for the Cubs' victory was another great pitching performance from Jameson Taillon, who caps off the season with a 12-8 record and a 3.27 ERA. Taillon has been one of the Cubs most consistent starters this season and although he doesn't have the swing and miss stuff you like to see out of a starter, he knows how to get guys out. The right-hander dominated the Reds through seven innings, allowing four hits and striking out two before yielding to Tyson Miller and Porter Hodge. Taillon did walk two but was backed by a Miguel Amaya sacrifice fly, which is all the offense the Cubs would need. The game's turning point came two batters in as you could see the momentum shift in the Cubs favor. With Elly De La Cruz lacing one into the left-center field gap, De La Cruz used his speed and attempted to leg out a triple. The only problem was having Pete Crow-Armstrong firing the ball back in as the Cubs rookie nailed De La Cruz at third to take what could've been the first run of the game off the bases. One inning later, it was the Reds once again keeping the pressure on as it took Taillon a little bit to settle in. Backed by a pair of one-out walks from TJ Friedl and Ty France, the Reds offense was threatening again, only to come away empty. Those are the chances you have to convert on, as Taillon went on to retire eight of the next nine batters he faced, and the Reds offense was handcuffed most of the day. Unlike the Reds, the Cubs offense had a bit of a hard time getting things rolling as Nico Hoerner and Miguel Amaya picked up singles in the second and third innings and were responsible for three of the team's four hits. Neither one was able to score as this remained a 0-0 game entering the fourth. It took five innings for either team to cash in, and it was the bottom of the order doing the damage as a leadoff double from Hoerner gave the Cubs a baserunner and them up with their best scoring chance of the day. Hoerner would eventually move to third on a PCA bunt and then came into score on the Amaya sacrifice as the Cubs took a 1-0 lead. That was the only run they would need, and little did anyone know it was the final run of the day for either side. Some credit has to be given to Martinez who was equally as good as Taillon and managed to pitch an inning longer. Even after allowing multiple leadoff hits to start an inning, including the sixth with an Ian Happ single, Martinez found a way to limit the damage as the double play ball was his friend in a big way. With Taillon out of the game after the seventh, it was up to the Cubs pen to hold the lead as Miller entered the game to pitch the eighth and worked around a hit batter. The Cubs had a chance to add a huge insurance run in the eighth, but after leading off the inning with a single, Crow-Armstrong was picked off as this game went to the ninth with the Cubs in front 1-0. Needing just three outs to close things out, the Cubs again turned to Hodge, as it appears he will be the closer for the foreseeable future. Hodge has been near perfect since arriving in the majors in June as he lowered his ERA to a 1.93 ERA while picking up his eighth save in the Cubs 1-0 win. Hoerner led the way with two hits, with Happ, Crow-Armstrong, and Amaya adding the remaining hits. The Cubs will look to win the series tomorrow as the Professor Kyle Hendricks takes the mound for what could be his last ever start as a Cub.
