None of that mattered once the Cubs started hitting. Chicago plated multiple runs in five separate innings, capped by a 4-run 7th and a 3-run 8th, and never let the Reds within shouting distance for long.
The final line was as lopsided as it looked: 19 hits and zero errors for the Cubs against 7 hits and an error for the Reds. Cincinnati had rallied for 9 unanswered runs to beat this same Cubs team the day before, but there was no encore — Chicago's offense simply overwhelmed whatever Abbott and the Reds bullpen threw out there.
It's a much-needed answer for a Cubs club that had dropped 3 straight and needed a response before the schedule turns. For the Reds, at 64-71 and buried outside the race, days like this are what a stretched, injury-riddled pitching staff produces against a lineup this deep.