Game Recap: PCA's 6-RBIs leads Cubs in comeback thriller over Reds

Katie Stratman - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 8 hours ago

CINCINNATI - It's rare to have a must-win series this early in the season. However, if the Cincinnati Reds (25-27) want to prove they have what it takes to win the NL Central this season, they need to win this series against the Chicago Cubs (31-20) this weekend at the Great American Ballpark.

With their Ace Hunter Greene on the mound, the Reds took that to heart as they struck early and often off of Michael Boyd and had the Cubs in an early 4-0. Then came the Cubs' offense, particularly Pete Crow-Armstrong, who continues to play at an MVP level. Not only did Crow-Armstrong put the Cubs on the board with a two-run shot in the fourth, but he added the eventual game-winning Grand Slam as part of the Cubs' sixth-run seventh inning.

Chicago would score 11 unanswered runs to end the game, with all of those runs coming from the seventh inning on for another dominating 13-6 win. Given that this was Greene's first start since coming off the IL, you knew he would be limited for how deep he would go as he gave the Reds four innings.

One of the more under-the-radar pickups this offseason was the Cubs' acquisition of Left-hander Matthew Boyd to their rotation. All he has done since joining the Cubs is emerge as one of their more consistent starters, as he had gone at least five innings in all of his starts, allowing three runs or less in each.

You knew that streak would end at some point, but no one expected it to end the way it did in this one, as Boyd allowed a season-high four runs in a season-low four innings. Part of that had to do with the first inning, as he couldn't have gotten off to a much worse start. Not only did TJ Friedl double to lead things off, but Santiago Espinal delivered an infield single immediately after, with Boyd picking up an error on the same play to put the Reds in front 1-0.

That was the start of five consecutive hits and six consecutive batters reaching base to get things going for the Reds, as an Austin Hays single and Spencer Steer double pushed the Reds' lead to 3-0 before their inning finally ended. This was one of those starts where Boyd not only didn't have his best stuff but saw his pitch count climb, and with Hays leading off the bottom of the third with a triple, it was the Reds again in business.

Hays scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to push the lead to 4-0 before a two-out rally had the Reds looking for more. Boyd managed to limit the damage with Matt McClain ending things with a flyout, but with another run crossing home, the Cubs were in big trouble, trailing 4-0.

After making Greene look like Nolan Ryan through the first three innings, the Cubs' offense started getting better looks off him in the fourth, leading to their first runs. All it took was a one-out double from Seiya Suzuki to ignite the offense, with Crow-Armstrong following that up with his first of two homers to pull the Cubs within 4-2. Chicago had a chance to add on with Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson working a pair of two-out walks, only to have Greene escape the inning without further damage.

In what was now a battle of the bullpens in the fifth, Craig Counsell called on Julian Merryweather, and his struggles continued as he put forth his fifth rough outing over his last six appearances. Not only did a leadoff single from Steer set the offense up, but a Tyler Stephenson double shortly after brought home another run to extend the Reds' lead to 5-2.

It only got worse from there for Merryweather, who walked Will Benson later in the inning before allowing another RBI hit to Friedl to put the Cubs in a 6-2 hole. Merryweather was lifted following that single in place of Chris Flexen, who finished the inning without further damage. That was the momentum swing the Cubs needed as Flexen returned for the sixth and retired the side in order, as this would come down to their offense.

As many of us have already seen, no lead is safe with this Cubs offense, as they can explode at any point. The seventh inning was that inning tonight, as the Cubs couldn't do anything wrong with Ian Gibault on the mound. What started with a one-out single from Nico Hoerner was followed by a Matt Shaw fielder's choice as the Cubs had two on and one out.

Ian Happ kept the line moving with a second single to load the bases, only to have Kyle Tucker come up huge once again with another single that pulled the Cubs within 6-4. Already with three singles in the inning, Suzuki made it four as the Cubs continued to keep the pressure on and loaded the bases for the second time in the inning.

That set the stage for the game's hottest hitter in Crow-Armstrong, and with just one swing, it was the Cubs leading 8-6 as PCA connected for the Grand Slam to close out what was a two-homer, six-RBI night. The long ball played a significant role for the Cubs the rest of the way, with Suzuki tacking on a three-run shot in the eighth to make this an 11-6 game, with Swanson adding a two-run shot in the ninth.

Throw in a trio of scoreless frames from Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Ryan Pressly, and it was the Cubs finding a way to battle back as they delivered another impressive 13-6 win. Suzuki, Hoerner, and Crow-Armstrong led the way for the Cubs as they combined for nine hits in the victory. Suzuki and PCA were also responsible for nine RBIs in the win, as they continue to play well.