CHICAGO – The Cincinnati Reds finished a long, meat-grinder road trip with an unlikely series win over the contending Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Sunday, Aug. 30.
As tough as their gauntlet of a final stretch of games might have looked before their 7-5 victory in the series finale Sunday (Aug. 30), it might have just gotten uglier, pending the next medical exam on All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
De La Cruz, one of only two members of the Reds lineup who has performed consistently all season, left Sunday's game in the seventh inning because of "left quad tightness." His status as the team headed home with 25 games left on the schedule was not immediately clear.
For now, the Reds pocketed their third win in four games to finish a 4-5 road trip
through Arizona, San Francisco and Chicago.
The better individual news for the Reds coming out of Sunday was the status of rising ace Chase Burns, who pitched two outs deep into the sixth against one of the best lineups in baseball to earn the victory, bouncing back six days after his worst start of the season, in San Francisco.
Burns (15-3, 2.79 ERA) gave up just two earned runs, striking out seven with just one walk in his 26th start of his first full season in the majors.
Burns gave up long home run to MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong on a 99-mph 3-2 pitch to open the first – PCA's fourth home run in two days – then retired the next three in an otherwise quick first.
(Crow-Armstrong added a fifth homer in two days with two out in the ninth off Emilio Pagán).
The Reds made two errors behind him, including one that cost an unearned run and another that cost him an extra batter, which might have prevented a 12th quality start this season.
The Reds also hit four home runs in the game, setting a franchise record with their 12th such game of the season.
Rookie of the Year favorite Sal Stewart was the fourth to deliver a homer in the game -- his third straight game with a homer.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds pull off unlikely series win over Cubs, lose De La Cruz (quad)
