But Lackey allowed four consecutive hits to start the sixth, highlighted by a three-run home run by Eugenio Suarez.
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It was the first time the Reds had hit three home runs in an inning since Mike Leake, Cozart and Drew Stubbs did it against Atlanta’s Mike Minor on May 21, 2012.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher John Lackey heads to the dugout after being removed during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Cincinnati. Carrie Muskat and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com recently quoted Cubs catcher David Ross on that subject.That one didn’t wind up too far from where his Thursday night homer landed.In fact, he had the upper hand over all of Cincinnati.
The Cubs improved to 13-4, the best record in the majors and one of their best starts in the last 100 years.
The Cincinnati Reds were no-hit by Jake Arrieta on Thursday and had only five hits against Jon Lester the following day.
A 2-minute, 17-second crew chief review of Rizzo’s first-inning home run confirmed that the ball did leave the field of play and there was no fan interference.
“Crazy game”, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
Sonny Gray (3-1) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings for Oakland.
“I had good stuff for the most part”, Lackey said. He looked fresh, looked fine. Guys like him can be annoyed they never get a starting opportunity.
Hammel (3-0) allowed three hits and struck out a season-high seven. Scott Schebler started in CF.
In September 2014, Arrieta lost a no-hit bid against the Reds on Brandon Phillips’ one-out double in the eighth at Wrigley Field.
“I think it’s possible, yeah”, he said on Friday, after his off-day workout. “We have to get him back to being sharp and getting his pitches down”.
“I gave up a couple of two-strike hits on some balls away”, Lackey said. There’s a way to avoid that. “You try not to put too much pressure on yourself to score runs”. The result was eight earned runs and two homers in 2 2/3 innings. The four homers were a season high for Cincinnati, as were the 13 runs. He had a 12-1 record and an eye-popping 0.75 ERA in 107.1 innings over 15 starts – the lowest ERA in Major League Baseball history for a full-time starter over that span.
Cincinnati’s comeback ended the Cubs’ streak of eight straight wins over the Reds since last season.
Against the Reds, they’ve done a little of everything, outscoring them 46-7 while winning their five games this season. Chicago’s record over 19 games is its best since the 1969 team started 14-5.
“Well”, he said, “you’ve got to play the games”. “But if we come back and win the series tomorrow, it will be OK”.
“It feels different the second time”, said Arrieta, who did his best pitching in the last few innings with the no-hitter in reach.
Jon Moscot (0-1, 5.06) made his second start for the Reds. Will he have back to back 20 win seasons?
Reds: CF Billy Hamilton missed a second straight game with a sore left thumb, injured while trying to make a catch at the wall in St. Louis last weekend.
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Seven pitches into Sunday’s game, you just knew it was going to be a good one for the Chicago Cubs. It was the first time he’d scored three runs in a game since April 26, 2013, when he was playing for the Boston Red Sox. Alfredo Simon takes the hill, and he’s 0-1 with a 12.15 ERA and nine strikeouts this season.
