Photo courtesy of Chicago Cubs Social Media
Iowa was heaven for the Chicago Cubs Thursday evening as they defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 in MLB’s special event.
The Cubs got the jump early on Cincinnati as they drove in three runs in the top of the 1st courtesy of right fielder Seiya Suzuki, shortstop Nico Hoerner and left fielder Ian Happ.
Chicago never let their grasp of the lead fade between the cornfields as left-handed starting pitcher Drew Smyly threw five innings of shoutout baseball. He struck out nine Reds and only walked two.
“It was awesome,” Smyly told Fox Sports. “Major League Baseball did an incredible job setting this all up. It’s a small park obviously and a very intimate setting. It’s just a memory that’s going to stick with us for a long time.”
The 2016 World Series champs collected an insurance run in the fourth inning as second baseman Nick Madrigal drove in center fielder Nelson Velazquez to make it a 4-0 game.
Cincinnati’s biggest threat came in the bottom of the 7th as 2B Matt Reynolds double to right-center that drove in pinch-hitting outfielder Jake Fraley and shortstop Jose Barrero.
With no outs, a runner on second and major momentum, the Cubs kept their cool and collected three-consecutive outs with CF Nick Senzel, 3B Kyle Farmer and 1B Joey Votto going down 1-2-3 to keep Chicago out front.
The Reds were unable to pull the late-inning, movie magic of the Chicago White Sox in last year’s inaugural event as Cubs closer Rowan Wick struck out two en route to his seventh save of the 2022 season.
Both teams will return to their big stadiums on Saturday to close out the series this weekend but both are virtually out of the postseason race as the Reds fell to 44-67 while the Cubs are now 46-65.
