The 30-year-old righty is on the list with Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum and Homer Bailey, who threw the only other no-hitter at Great American Ball Park on July 2, 2013, against the Giants. They may have been mere echoes from the Cincinnati Reds’ cathartic outburst an inning before.
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With Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler getting the day off, Tommy La Stella had his first homer of the season and two doubles in his first start at leadoff since 2014 with Atlanta, and Jason Heyward added four hits and 3 RBIs as the Cubs rebounded from their worst loss of the season, 13-5, on Saturday. The change lifted the Reds’ hit total to 15, matching their season high. “If you were in the dugout, you would have felt it. Everyone kind of exhaled”. “Like maybe an exhale”. After starter Jon Moscot (0-1) gave up four runs (three earned) over five innings, the Reds got solid relief work from right-hander JC Ramirez in his Reds debut.Ramirez, who had his contract selected from Triple-A prior to the game, pitched a career-high three innings retiring eight straight at one point. A year ago he walked just 4.3% of the time, while striking out 23.6%. Surely the odds were against regaining the lead again. He squares off against the Cincinnati Reds Alfredo Simon who in his last start against the Cubs retired just two batters after allowing five runs on four hits on April 13.
“Suarez hitting the three-run homer was such a big blow because it didn’t just provide us with the three runs and the lead, it ignited the entire bench”, manager Bryan Price said.
The inning didn’t end until Holt was at the plate again. “If you make a mistake against them, it’s tough to get it back. I was a little off with in my command but was able to keep them off-balance and later in the game pound the strike zone with some good movement and keep the ball down”. Chicago’s pitching staff and defense as a whole have been firing on all cylinders so far, averaging an NL-best 0.0 runs allowed per game.
While Arrieta’s full 2015 season was dominant, the fact that he has not lost a regular season game since the beginning of August, 2015, shows that he is in one of the finest stretches ever by a Major League Baseball starting pitcher.
“We think about it, the possibilities of ‘what if, ‘” Lester said. He wound up giving up five hits, but gave the Chicago Cubs what they needed most.
In addition to shooting for their first seven-game winning streak in Cincinnati since 1937, the Cubs were trying to start 11-2 in road games for the first time in franchise history.
Even in a blowout, holding the Cubs’ offense down seemingly took Herculean effort.
Straily pitched fairly well in three appearances out of the bullpen before being pressed into the rotation.
Down 3-2 against Chicago starter John Lackey (3-1) entering the sixth, the Reds got singles from pinch-hitter Tyler Holt and Zack Cozart ahead of the Suarez shot to straight-away center.
Earlier in the evening, the Cubs had scored a run on a sacrifice fly by David Ross, and then two innings later Ross executed this flawless squeeze bunt [VIDEO].
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After Lackey walked Jay Bruce with two outs, Cubs reliever Trevor Cahill gave up a single to Devin Mesoraco and Duvall’s three-run blast to left.
