Crucial Points in the Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs Clash: Game Analysis

The Cincinnati Reds held on to take down the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

We broke down the critical points in the game below.

Top of the Second Inning

Spencer Steer reached on a leadoff walk, but Jake Fraley followed by grounding into a double play. Tyler Stephenson followed with a single before Nick Martini popped out to end the inning.

Bottom of the Second Inning

Christopher Morel started off the inning with a single up the middle. Ian Happ, who destroys Reds pitching, hit a two run home run to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. It was his his 30th Home Run against the Reds in his career. Christian Hoerner reached on an error by Jeimer Candelario and advanced to second. Fraley made an awesome catch up against the ivy in right field before Graham Ashcraft was able to strand the runner at third to end the inning.

Top of the Third Inning

Will Benson hit a one-out double that just missed leaving the yard. TJ Friedl followed with a strikeout, and Elly De La Cruz got ahead in the count 3-1 before chasing a ball in the dirt for a strike three.

Bottom of the Third Inning

Mike Tauchman started the bottom of the third with a single to right field. The next pitch, Ashcraft hit Seiya Suzuki with a pitch. The Cubs had runners on first and third before Jonathan India turned an unassisted double play to get the Reds out of the inning.

Top of the Fourth Inning

Steer started off the inning with his second walk of the game. Fraley hit a single to opposite field before Tyler Stephenson roped an RBI single on a 3-0 pitch to get the Reds within one. Nick Martini followed with the Reds third straight hit on the inning to score Fraley and tie the game at two. Jonathan India grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Hittin' back. pic.twitter.com/JK6EKEyExh
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 31, 2024

Bottom of the Fourth Inning

With two outs and Pete Crow-Armstrong at the plate, India made a really smart play to end the inning. Realizing he had no play at first base, he threw it to third base and got Dansby Swanson caught in a rundown to keep the game tied at two.

That's some high baseball IQ, @JonathanIndia. pic.twitter.com/YmyL3se0i3
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 31, 2024

Top of the Fifth Inning

Benson got on base to start off the fifth inning and was able to advance to second on a wild pitch, but was stranded there after a De La Cruz strikeout and Candelario lineout.

Bottom of the Fifth Inning

The Cubs got two men on base wtih no outs when Yan Gomes was hit by a pitch and Trachman walked. Ashcraft was able to strike out Seiya Suzuki and get Cody Bellinger to ground into a force out before walking Christopher Morel to load the bases. David Bell brought in Fernando Cruz to face Ian Happ. In a nine-pitch at bat, Happ drew a walk to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Cruz was able to get Nico Hoerner to fly out to right field to end the inning, but the Cubs were able to score a run without even getting a hit.

Top of the Sixth Inning

Fernando Cruz pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

Top of the Seventh Inning

India lead off the inning with a walk. Santiago Espinal followed with a two-run home run and his first ever pinch-hit home run to give the Reds a 4-3 lead. De La Cruz walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there.

PINCH-HIT ESPI pic.twitter.com/JDdkZ2VbtA
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 31, 2024

Bottom of the Seventh Inning

Sam Moll came on to pitch to the top of the Cubs order and tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning.

Bottom of the Eighth Inning

Lucas Sims gave out a two-out single to Hoener before getting Swanson to ground out to end the inning.

Top of the Ninth Inning

India lead off the ninth with a double down the left field line before being lifted by pinch runner Jacob Hurtubise. Espinal dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Hurtubise over to third with only one out. TJ Friedl hit a single through the drawn-in infield to give the read a 5-3 lead.

Bottom of the Ninth Inning

Alexis Diaz came on in the ninth for the Reds to try to close it out. Crow-Armstrong started the botton half of the inning off with a single to right field. Pinch hitter Michael Busch walked to give the Cubs runners on first and second with no outs. After a ground out, Suzuki doubled to left field to score a run, but Hurtubise and De La Cruz made the perfect relay to cut down the would-be game-tying run. Diaz got Bellinger to fly out to end the game.

93.3 MPH MISSLE FROM ELLY @ellylacocoa18 pic.twitter.com/aA6Cqv7knW
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 31, 2024

The Cincinnati Reds move to 25-32. The Reds face off against the Cubs tomorrow at 7:15 ET.

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