Nick Madrigal delivered a tiebreaking, two-run single in the sixth and Hayden Wesneski threw five scoreless innings of relief in his major league debut as the Chicago Cubs snapped a three-game skid with a 9-3 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
Seiya Suzuki clubbed a tying two-run homer in the fifth and had three RBIs, while Ian Happ also went deep for Chicago (57-78), which scored all of its runs after two outs and took advantage of a season-high 11 walks by Cincinnati pitchers.
Back from a shoulder issue that kept him out since June 10, Chicago’s Wade Miley allowed a two-run triple and a solo homer to Kyle Farmer, plus two walks while striking out six in four innings.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Wesneski (1-0), acquired from the New York Yankees as part of last month’s deal for reliever Scott Effross, allowed two hits and one walk while striking out eight over the final five innings.
Miley’s return began with a four-pitch walk to Jonathan India, who moved up on Madrigal’s throwing error off Albert Almora’s grounder to second base. Both scored when Farmer dropped the ball down the right field line and it took a strange hop past Suzuki.
Chicago got a run back on Happ’s solo homer into the left-center-field bleachers in the bottom of the first off Reds starter Justin Dunn. Farmer gave the Reds another two-run lead with his homer just over the ivy in left in the third.
Suzuki went deep into the same left field bleachers with a man on in the fifth to make it 3-3. That ended the night for Dunn, who also allowed four hits while walking four with a strikeout over 4 2/3 innings.
The Cubs took their first lead in the sixth when Madrigal lined a single to right field off Francisco Cruz with the bases loaded, scoring a pair. Christopher Morel’s two-RBI single highlighted Chicago’s three-run seventh.
Ian Gibaut (1-1) took the loss for the Reds (53-80).
The Cubs placed star Willson Contreras (ankle) on the 10-day injury list. Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s Nick Senzel was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup, also with an ankle injury.
–Field Level Media
