Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs

· Major League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds

76-84, 37-42 Away

Final
0 - 1

Chicago Cubs

82-78, 43-36 Home

Taillon pitches 7 crisp innings as the Cubs blank the Reds 1-0

Taillon (12-8) allowed four hits, struck out two and walked two on a blustery, overcast afternoon at Wrigley Field. The right-hander went 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in the last six starts of his second year with the Cubs.

“I had a little bit of a rough patch there in like early, mid-August,” Taillon said. “To be able to bounce back from that and finish strong is a good feeling.”

Tyson Miller got three outs before Porter Hodge finished the four-hitter for his eighth save.

At 1 hour, 48 minutes, it was the majors' fastest nine-inning game since Armando Galarraga nearly threw a perfect game for Detroit against Cleveland on June 2, 2010. That game was completed in 1 hour, 44 minutes.

It was the fastest nine-inning game for the Cubs since they finished a 3-0 victory over the Reds in 1 hour, 48 minutes on May 24, 2001, at Wrigley, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“That was quick, yeah. That was nice,” a smiling Taillon said after his 200th career start. “Hit it into the wind. Good luck.”

Chicago (82-78) clinched a winning season and improved to 4-7 against Cincinnati this year. The Cubs began the season with playoff aspirations under new manager Craig Counsell, but they were derailed by injuries and an inconsistent lineup.

Cincinnati (76-84) wasted another stellar performance by Nick Martinez (10-7), who pitched a five-hitter for his first career complete game. The right-hander went 4-1 with a 0.83 ERA in five September starts.

“Didn't have a great feel for my changeup today,” Martinez said. “So knowing what the wind is doing, kind of play to the elements and at times try to see how far they can hit it, knowing that it's going to be a benefit for me.”

The Reds lost for the sixth time in eight games. They failed to advance a runner to third.

“With the wind blowing in as hard as it was, it was a challenge,” Cincinnati interim manager Freddie Benavides said.

The Cubs got their only run in the fifth. Nico Hoerner hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on Pete Crow-Armstrong's sacrifice bunt and scampered home on Miguel Amaya's sacrifice fly.

Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson grabbed Jake Fraley's throw from right field and made a sweeping tag attempt, but Hoerner slid in safely.

Counsell applauded third base coach Willie Harris' decision to send Hoerner on the tricky flyball.

“I think when that ball went up in the air, Willie was yelling at Nico, which was really cool, like, ‘You’re going. I don't care where the ball ends up,'” Counsell said.

Cincinnati had multiple baserunners in just one inning. TJ Friedl and Ty France walked with one out in the second, but Fraley and Santiago Espinal flied out.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Reds: C Tyler Stephenson was checked on by a trainer after he was clipped by a foul ball in the fifth. But he stayed in the game.

Cubs: OF Seiya Suzuki (ankle) missed his second straight game. Counsell said Suzuki hit in the cage and did some running. “Optimistic he can play tomorrow,” Counsell said.

Right-handers Rhett Lowder (2-2, 1.40 ERA) and Kyle Hendricks (4-12, 6.28 ERA) take the mound on Saturday. Lowder pitched five scoreless innings in Cincinnati's 7-1 victory over Pittsburgh last weekend. Hendricks, who is eligible for free agency after this season, is making what could be his last start for Chicago.

How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs?

TV Channel: Reds at Cubs 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
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Matchup Prediction

Cubs: 60.9%

Reds: 39.1%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Friedl grounded out to second.
	9th Inning	Steer struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Stephenson flied out to center.
	9th Inning	Hodge relieved Miller
	8th Inning	Alcántara grounded out to first.
	8th Inning	Amaya struck out swinging.

Statistics

CIN		CHC
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	0
11	Ground Balls	11
4	Strikeouts	3
0	Runs Batted In	1
0	Sacrifice Hit	1
4	Hits	5
0	Stolen Bases	0
2	Walks	0
0	Catcher Interference	0
0	Runs	1
1	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	1
29	At Bats	25
0	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
12	Runners Left On Base	5
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
1	Doubles	1
14	Fly Balls	13
0	Caught Stealing	1
107	Pitches	95
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	1
5	Total Bases	6
32	Plate Appearances	27
0.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
1	Extra Base Hits	1
0.4	Runs Created	0.2
.138	Batting Average	.200
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.172	Slugging Percentage	.240
.103	Secondary Average	.000
.219	On Base Percentage	.192
.391	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.432
0.8	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.8
0.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	0.3
6.0	Batter Rating	11.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.34	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.52
.034	Isolated Power	.040
0.50	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.00
.063	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.000
-.034	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.200
0.0	Runs Produced	2.0
0.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.2
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.2
61.5	MLB Rating	66.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0