Eugenio Suarez hit a go-ahead homer off Jose Quintana in the fifth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds held on for their fifth straight victory Friday night, 6-3 over the Cubs .
The Reds have won the first two games in the four-game set, a recent rarity in the rivalry. It’s only the second time in the last two years that they’ve won back-to-back games in a series against Chicago. The Cubs are 43-21 against the Reds over the last four seasons.
Cincinnati’s winning streak is one shy of its season high. The Reds are last in the NL Central at 30-45.
”We’re playing really good baseball right now,” Suarez said . ”When you play like that, good things can happen.”
Suarez’s two-run shot in the fifth inning off Quintana (6-6) gave him a team-high 16 homers and put the Reds ahead 4-3. Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto also singled home runs off Quintana, who had allowed only six earned runs in his last four starts combined.
Quintana hung a changeup on his second pitch to Suarez, who has four homers in his last six games.
”I just missed my spot – a bad pitch,” Quintana said through a translator. ”A bad time to have that happen.”
Suarez also singled twice and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games, the longest by a Reds third baseman since Todd Frazier hit in 14 straight in 2014.
Javier Baez drove in a run with a bunt single off Luis Castillo (5-8), and Kyle Schwarber followed with a two-run homer, his third in four games. Castillo went 5 2/3 innings for his first victory since May 24, ending a streak of four straight losses.
Raisel Iglesias retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.
”That was one of our cleaner ballgames of the season,” interim manager Jim Riggleman said. ”We played a good ballgame – offensively, defensively, ran the bases well Jake Ryan Jersey , timely hitting.”
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went a combined 0 for 8 with three strikeouts as Chicago’s offense struggled again, managing only four hits.
”We’ve played maybe two of our least-impressive games in a month,” manager Joe Maddon said. ”It’s just not been us playing our typical game.”
DUENSING BACK
Left-handed reliever Brian Duensing was activated off the bereavement list before the game. He had been gone for four days to attend his grandfather’s funeral. The Cubs optioned right-hander Justin Hancock to Triple-A Iowa.
GREAT GRAB
Cubs reliever Justin Wilson made a diving grab of Jesse Winker’s bunt in the seventh, landing on his chest while stretching for the ball. He was shaken up for a moment but stayed in the game.
STATS
Each of Schwarber’s last three hits has been a home run. Schwarber grew up in nearby Middletown and attended Reds games at Great American. He’s batted .318 in 30 career games against the Reds with nine homers and 25 RBIs.
TOP PICK, FIRST PITCH
Bengals center Billy Price threw a ceremonial pitch pregame, bouncing it to the plate. Price was the Bengals’ top pick in the draft.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Yu Darvish could begin a rehab assignment next week. He threw 50 pitches in a simulated game without problem on Wednesday. Darvish has been sidelined since May 23 because of tendinitis in his right triceps.
Reds: Homer Bailey will make a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, throwing between 75 and 90 pitches. Bailey has been sidelined since June 2 with a sore right knee. He’s 1-7 with a 6.68 ERA.
UP NEXT
Cubs: Luke Farrell (2-2) will make his first start of the season after a dozen relief appearances.
Reds: Anthony DeSclafani makes his fourth start. He was sidelined for the first two months with a strained oblique suffered during spring training. DeSclafani is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA.
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The New England Patriots have handled every bit of adversity that has been thrown at them this season – from a string of injuries to the recent off-field firestorm created by reports of purported discord within the core of the franchise.
Now, they’ll have a chance to play for yet another AFC championship.
The Patriots’ 35-14 victory over the Titans in Saturday’s divisional round was yet another reminder of the defending Super Bowl champion’s unique ability to not only compartmentalize, but play some of their best football in the face of it.
Tom Brady chuckled when he was asked after the game about his name being mentioned in a swirl of media reports last week about alleged bickering between himself, coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft.
”Noooo,” he responded sarcastically, when a reporter asked about Brady’s name being mentioned in a negative light.
But Brady said it ”just goes with the territory.
”I just try to be consistent, show up and do the best I can do every week for the team and regardless of whether I’m the worst quarterback in the league or the best quarterback in the league or somewhere in-between,” he said.
It was Brady’s 10th career postseason game with at least three TD tosses, moving him past Joe Montana for the most in NFL history. It also brought out some of the best football in his teammates.
James White caught a touchdown pass and ran for another, and Danny Amendola had 11 catches for 112 yards – his first career 100-yard receiving game.
”All the hard work we put in is for these moments Seth Jones Jersey ,” White said. ”We have to make the most of these opportunities.”
Marcus Mariota tossed an early touchdown pass to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead. But Tennessee faltered down the stretch as the Patriots defense swarmed the third-year quarterback and sacked him a Patriots playoff-record eight times.
Titans coach Mike Mularkey revealed after the game that Mariota suffered a strained quadriceps muscle in the first quarter. But Mariota said it was no excuse.
”Everybody plays with something,” he said.
He said he walked off the field feeling ”embarrassed” a week after leading his team back from 18 points down against Kansas City. But he said watching the efficiency of Brady and the Patriots was a learning experience he will take with him moving forward.
”You don’t play to come and lose in the divisional playoff. You play to win the whole thing,” Mariota said. ”Obviously, this is the blueprint. New England’s been in the playoffs consistently. We can learn a lot from them.”
FAMILIAR POSITION
Brady will be making his 12th AFC championship game appearance in his 18 NFL seasons. He now has 221 career wins as a starting quarterback (regular season and playoffs), extending his NFL record. Peyton Manning is next with 200 career victories.
RARE COMPANY
Gronkowski finished with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. It was his 10th career postseason TD. He’s tied with five others for third all-time. But it’s the most for a tight end. Only two players in NFL history have more receiving touchdowns in the playoffs: Jerry Rice with 22 and John Stallworth with 12.
But Gronkowski said it’s not something that is even registering right now.
”That’s great to hear and everything, but that’s not really the main goal,” he said. ”Maybe down the road you can look back and look at that stuff, but as of right now, what our main goal is just keep on grinding, get the win and that’s what we did tonight.”
HARD CRITIQUE
The Patriots feasted on third down against the Titans’ defense, going 11 of 17 in those situations.
Titans safety Kevin Byard said they allowed Brady to control the game.
”We didn’t play well enough to give our offense a chance,” Byard said. ”We were giving up too much, especially on early downs.”
He said New England’s 31 first downs stood out.
”(Brady) definitely outplayed us tonight.”
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