The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs both did a bunch of scoring early on in the game. But the Reds slowed down by the middle and the Cubs did not as they continued to pule on runs in what turned into a blowout win to even up the series that has now seen 40 runs scored in the two games.

Chicago wasted little time in striking first in this game. After the Reds went down in order in their half of the 1st inning Pete Crow-Armstrong hit the second pitch from Andrew Abbott into the seats to put his team up 1-0. Seiya Suzuki followed up with a single before Alex Bregman then hit the second home run of the inning as the Cubs extended the lead to three runs.

In the 2nd inning the Reds got on the board thanks to a ground-rule double from Tyler Stephenson that was followed by a 2-run home run by Eugenio Suarez. The 1-run deficit didn’t last long because Chicago went right back to work against Abbott in their half of the inning. Back-to-back singles start the inning. A fly out to right field moved both runners up, but the throw to third was cut off by Elly De La Cruz and he tried to get the trail runner at second, but fired the ball into the outfield and allowed a run to score. Pete Crow-Armstrong then hit his second home run of the day to make it 6-2.

The day continued the way it had been going in the top of the 3rd. Elly De La Cruz worked a 1-out walk and then came around to score four pitches later when Sal Stewart crushed a 431-foot home run to make it 6-4. In the bottom of the inning the Cubs had a run wiped off of the board when Tyrone Taylor’s double bounced into the ivy and got lost and sent the baserunner back to third base. A walk and then an inning ending strikeout followed to keep the score at 6-4.

When the bottom of the 4th began it was Abbott headed back to the mound for the Reds. After giving up a leadoff single he was replaced by Julian Garcia. He gave up back-to-back singles to start his inning with the second one pushing the 7th run of the game across the plate for Chicago. Cincinnati got a run on a JJ Bleday sacrifice fly in the top of the 5th, but the Cubs got to Garcia again in the bottom of the inning on a 3-run home run from Carson Kelly that made it 10-5.

After Sam Moll tossed a shutout inning in the 6th the Reds turned the game over to Tony Santillan in the 7th. He retired the first batter of the inning but then walked back-to-back hitters on just nine pitches to put two on for Pete Crow-Armstrong. The MVP favorite did what you would expect and he clobbered a 3-run home run – his third home run of the game – to make it 13-5. Santillan then walked the next batter on four pitches. He hit the next batter before getting a pop up for the second out of the inning. Nico Hoerner then came through with an RBI single to tack on yet another run and made it 14-5.

When the bottom of the 8th inning began the Reds moved catcher Jose Trevino to the mound and brought in Will Banfield to take over as catcher. He would give up three runs as the home team continued to just pile it on. Cincinnati would get a walk from Hector Rodriguez in the 9th but that was it as Chicago held on for a 17-5 win.

Key Moment of the Game

Carson Kelly’s 3-run home run in the 5th that made it a 10-5 ballgame.

Notes Worth Noting

Sal Stewart became just the 14th rookie to ever hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs in the same season. During the game I wrote up an article about his accomplishment and if you want to see the other 13 players on the list we’ve got you covered right here.

Stewart and TJ Friedl both had two hits in the game. Elly De La Cruz went 1-2 and walked twice.

Jose Trevino’s ERA now sits at 16.50. It’s probably a good thing that he’s a catcher.

Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs

Sunday August 30th, 7:20pm ET

Chase Burns (14-3, 2.77 ERA) vs Shota Imanaga (8-9, 3.78 ERA)