Cincinnati Reds Start Hot, Rally Late to Beat Cubs 6-4

The Cincinnati Reds started a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs on Friday night. The Reds' offense came out early and often to defeat the Cubs 6-4 at Great American Ball Park.

Let's take a look at Friday night's takeaways:

Reds' Offense Scores Early

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) runs the bases after hitting a homer in the third inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

We haven't seen this much lately, but the Reds got two runs in the first inning on Friday. Outfielder Carlos Jorge started the bottom half of the inning with a triple. Elly De La Cruz walked and stole second base. Sal Stewart followed with a sacrifice fly to right field.

De La Cruz would score on a single that got through the infield by Ty Stephenson to make it a 2-0 Reds' lead.

The Reds added a run in the third when Stewart grounded into a double play, scoring Jorge from third.

With the Reds trailing 4-3 in the sixth, Eugenio Suarez roped an RBI single to left field with the bases loaded to tie the game at four. After a groundout by Hector Rodriguez, Jose Trevino hit a two-RBI single to make it a 6-4 Reds' lead.

Chase Burns Sees Mixed Results Through 3 Innings

Sep 18, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) throws against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cubs make Chase Burns work in the second inning. Chicago got on the board in the second with three straight singles. They then loaded the bases with Pete Crow-Armstrong at the plate. In an eight-pitch at-bat, Burns struck out the MVP frontrunner on a slider in the zone.

With two outs and the bases still juiced, Burns struck out Seiya Suzuki in a six-pitch at-bat to end the half-inning and strand the bases loaded.

With two outs in the third, Reds' killer Ian Happ took a changeup the other way over the right-field fence for his 24th home run of the season and to tie the game at two. Burns would leave the game after three innings due to his innings limit late in the season.

Julian Aguiar Pitches in First Game Since Tommy John Surgery

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Julian Aguiar (39) delivers a pitch in the fifth inning of a Cactus League game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Julian Aguiar came on in relief of Burns. It was Aguiar's first big-league game since September 19, 2024, and since he had Tommy John surgery.

The Cubs wasted no time against Aguiar, scoring two runs on a Suzuki single in the fourth.

Aguiar settled in, giving up just two runs on four hits over three innings of work.

Bullpen Shut Down Cubs

After Aguiar tossed three innings, Brock Burke and Tejay Antone both worked scoreless innings. Pagan nailed down his 24th save of the season in the 9th to secure the 6-4 win.

Up Next

Game two of the series between these two teams will be on Saturday night at 6:40 ET. Left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd will start for Chicago and lefty Nick Lodolo will start on the mound for the Reds.

Add us as a preferred source on Google