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Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds

Sun Sep 201:40 PM ETCincinnati, OH
By JR·2 min read
Chicago CubsCHC(86-69)
Cincinnati RedsCIN(72-83)
9—1
FINAL
Final123456789RHE
CHC
1040300109131
CIN
000100000140

TLDR: The Cubs came to Cincinnati for a wild-card push and left with a laugher, though the day got scary before it got fun when Alex Bregman took a foul ball to the face in the on-deck circle.

David Peterson gave Chicago exactly the outing it needed to close out the series, and Rhett Lowder gave Cincinnati exactly the outing it's been trying to avoid all September.

FINAL
Spread
WIN
Total
Cubs
(86-69)
WLWLW
9
Reds
(72-83)
LWLWL
1
1st pitch88°

The Cubs beat up on Rhett Lowder and a thin Reds pitching staff for a 9-1 win, backed by 3 home runs and a strong start from David Peterson. The game's other headline was an injury scare — Alex Bregman left after a foul ball struck him in the face in the on-deck circle, an issue Chicago will be monitoring the rest of the way.

Cubs
  • Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-3-ish with a homer, 2 RBIs
  • Peterson cruised 6 innings, 1 run, 7 strikeouts
  • 3 home runs, 13 hits in a laugher
  • Bregman left after a foul ball hit his face
  • Scoreless first 2 innings before the 3rd broke it open
Reds
  • Bleday's solo homer got Cincinnati on the board early
  • Relief arms kept it scoreless in the 6th, 7th and 9th
  • Lowder allowed 5 earned runs in just 3 innings
  • Offense managed only 4 hits and 1 run all day

The scare came in the 4th, when Michael Busch fouled a pitch off the bat and it struck Bregman in the face as he stood in the on-deck circle. He left for the clubhouse with blood visible and didn't return; Matt Shaw pinch hit in his spot. It's the kind of fluke injury a contender can't afford this time of year, and the Cubs won't know the extent of it until the swelling goes down.

David Peterson
David Peterson
(9-8)·4.96 ERA
Sep 14 vs Braves
W
6.0IP
1ER
7K
3BB
85P
09/20 Lineup
Rhett Lowder
Rhett Lowder
(6-12)·6.01 ERA
Sep 15 vs Dodgers
L
5.0IP
3ER
4K
2BB
91P
09/20 Lineup

None of it slowed Chicago's lineup down. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Pablo Ramirez both piled up 3 hits, and the Cubs turned a tight early game into a laugher with a 4-run 3rd.

Chicago Cubs
(86-69)
09/19W@Reds5-2
09/18L@Reds4-6
09/16WvsBraves8-4
09/15LvsBraves3-6
09/14WvsBraves7-3
Cincinnati Reds
(72-83)
09/19LvsCubs2-5
09/18WvsCubs6-4
09/17LvsDodgers2-8
09/16WvsDodgers6-2
09/15LvsDodgers0-4

Crow-Armstrong's 2-run shot and a Michael Conforto solo homer both left the yard in the 5th, and Seiya Suzuki added another in the 8th just to pad the final margin. That's 3 home runs and 13 hits for a Cubs offense that was already rolling into this series.

Chicago Cubs
(11)
  • 15-Day-ILTrent Thornton (RP) — Thornton (5-4) worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless inning of relief and earn the win in Thursday's 3-2, extra-innings victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out one.09/12
  • 15-Day-ILGavin Hollowell (RP) — Hollowell (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.09/04
  • 60-Day-ILShelby Miller (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday that the Cubs have shut down Miller's (elbow) rehab, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.09/15
  • 60-Day-ILBen Brown (RP) — Brown (neck) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.09/03
  • 60-Day-ILJustin Steele (SP) — Steele will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.09/01
  • 60-Day-ILPhil Maton (RP) — The Cubs transferred Maton (knee) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.08/19
  • 60-Day-ILRiley Martin (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Martin (elbow) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.08/19
  • 60-Day-ILHunter Harvey (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Harvey's (triceps/shoulder) rehab hasn't come along as hoped, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.08/19
  • 60-Day-ILPorter Hodge (RP) — The Cubs transferred Hodge (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
  • 60-Day-ILCade Horton (SP) — The Cubs transferred Horton (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
  • 60-Day-ILTyler Austin (1B) — The Cubs placed Austin (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
Cincinnati Reds
(6)
  • 15-Day-ILChase Burns (SP) — The Reds placed Burns on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right groin strain.09/20
  • 15-Day-ILJulian Garcia (RP) — The Reds placed Garcia on the 15-day injured list Friday with loose bodies in his right elbow.09/18
  • 60-Day-ILSpencer Steer (1B) — The Reds transferred Steer (wrist) to the 60-day injured list Friday.09/18
  • 60-Day-ILBlake Dunn (CF) — Dunn will have ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.09/15
  • 60-Day-ILMichael Toglia (1B) — The Reds transferred Toglia (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Friday.09/04
  • 60-Day-ILHunter Greene (SP) — Greene (elbow) will be out for 12-to-18 months after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.08/13

Lowder never had an answer. He was rocked for 5 earned runs on 6 hits over just 3 innings, extending a rough season that now sits at a losing record with an ERA north of 6. JJ Bleday's solo homer in the 4th was about all Cincinnati could scrape together against Peterson, who cruised through 6 innings on one run and 7 strikeouts.

The Polymarket chat lit up right as Chicago broke the game open in the 3rd, and the room's favorite lines afterward tracked the mood — one poster holding Chicago simply wrote "Big meat Pete," while another summed up Crow-Armstrong's day with "NICO HORNY." For a Reds team playing out a lost season, there wasn't much else to say.

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