Chicago Cubs Cruise to Victory Over Cincinnati Reds

Marcus Stroman put a bowtie on his solid first season with the Chicago Cubs while the offense used five first-inning runs to coast to an 8-1 win.

Author:
Payton Havermann
Publish date:
Oct 2, 2022 8:51 PM EDT

In this story:

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs just keep on winning, as the team completed a three-game sweep with an 8-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the team's final series at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have now won 11 of their last 12 and are 38-29 since the all-star break, building momentum into what should be a pivotal offseason.

Following a scoreless top of the first from Chicago starter Marcus Stroman, the Cubs went to work against Reds starter Chase Anderson, loading the bases with no one out before an Ian Happ walk, Nico Hoerner fielder's choice, and a Franmil Reyes single made it 3-0 with runners on first and second.

Anderson then walked PJ Higgins to again load the bases, ending his day after recording just one out. A Nelson Velasquez double would score two more runs, each charged to Anderson, and made it 5-0 Cubs after just one inning.

Marcus Stroman, making his final start of the season, then went into cruise control. In his usual stingy-with-baserunners fashion, the righty allowed none of the seven baserunners against him to score, pitching six shutout innings while striking out seven and allowing just one extra-base hit.

Stroman finished his first season in Chicago with a 3.50 ERA. The righty was magnificent after an injury-plagued first half, finishing with a 2.56 ERA over his final 16 starts. The Cubs have been rumored to be interested in several top free agent arms, but Stroman's resurgent second half makes the need for rotation help less pressing.

Chicago's offense would provide some more runs courtesy of a Hoerner sac-fly that scored Seiya Suzuki in the fourth and a Velasquez two-RBI triple in the seventh to complete the scoring at 8-1. The Reds' lone run came in the seventh on a Jonathan India single off of reliever Mark Leiter Jr.

Rowan Wick and Erich Uelman combined to pitch a perfect eighth and ninth to give the Cubs their 73rd win of the year.

Suzuki and Happ had good days at the plate, with Suzuki staying hot and going 2-for-4. The right fielder entered the day with a 161 wRC+ since Aug. 15, continuing to look more and more comfortable as his first season against major league pitching draws to a close.

Happ meanwhile went 3-for-4, hitting his 42nd double of the season, more than double his previous career high of 20. The 28-year-old entered the day with 3.5 fWAR, also more than double his previous career high of 1.6.

The Cubs kick off their final series of the season, also against the Reds, at 5:40 p.m. CDT Monday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Cubs will start Hayden Wesneski (3-1, 2.33 ERA) against the Reds Hunter Greene (4-13, 4.66 ERA).