Benches clear as the Cubs win Saturday against the Reds 6-0, holding on to their lead in the NL Central. Jose Quintana pitched six scoreless innings, giving their bullpen a rest. He gave up six hits and struck out four. It is Quintana’s first win since May 5th.
With no runners on and two outs in the second inning, Jason Heyward hit his 13th home run of the year, putting the Cubs up 1-0. It stayed that way until the eighth inning. This is where things really got interesting.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth, Javier Baez hit a grand slam to the opposite field. It was his 20th of the season, putting the Cubs up 5-0.
Benches Clear In Chicago Cubs Win
Pedro Strop came in to pitch in the bottom of the 8th. With two outs and a man on first, Yasiel Puig stepped up to the plate. To avoid any damage, Strop was avoiding the strike zone. Everything about Puig’s body language said he wasn’t happy about it. After throwing up his hand and shaking his head in disbelief, Strop threw at Puig, hitting him and sending him to first. He walked towards the mound yelling at Strop. Both players were held back and no punches were thrown and no ejections were given. Warnings were given to both teams.
Strop was asked about the incident between him and Puig.
“He just reacted like that,” Strop said. “Maybe because it was a 3-0 pitch, maybe it looks weird. I wasn’t commanding my sinker, and I didn’t want to leave a cookie 3-0. He’ll swing 3-0 and hit it way out of the park. He just acted stupid.” (ESPN)
He continued: “It’s not a secret he’s stupid. He’s stupid as f—. I have nothing against him, but he’s stupid. There’s no doubt about it.”(ESPN)
In the top of the ninth, Addison Russell hit a single and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw to first. Kyle Schwarber then hit a double to drive him in, making the score 6-0.
In the bottom of the 9th, Dillon Maples unintentionally hit Jose Peraza, sending him to first. Home plate umpire Mark Wagner did not eject Maples, upsetting Reds manager David Bell. He came out to argue and was soon ejected.
The Cubs will play the Reds Sunday in the final game of the road series at Cincinnati.
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