|
 Soler homered in his first career at-bat and drove in two runs,
but a solid seven innings from Mat Latos and a pinch-hit homer by
Chris Heisey lifted Cincinnati to a 7-5 win at Great American Ball
Park.
Soler sparkled in his debut, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
"He looked very comfortable in the box, as we were told of him
before he got here," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "(The homer)
was a well-struck ball. Good for him."
Left fielder Skip Schumaker went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs
for Cincinnati (64-69), which improved to 10-5 this season against
the Cubs.
Latos (5-3) was making his first start since becoming a first-time
father. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and a walk, and he
tied his career high with 10 strikeouts.
Latos retired 20 of 22 following the consecutive second-inning
homers by third baseman Luis Valbuena and Soler.
"I didn't have a good release point early in the game," said Latos,
whose wife gave birth to a son Monday. "Both pitches were
two-seamers. The one to Soler came back over the middle of the
plate."
Cincinnati catcher Devin Mesoraco, who was 1-for-32 coming into the
game, went 2-for-2 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and an RBI.
Cubs starter Jacob Turner (4-8) gave up six runs, three earned, on
seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and fanned one.
"I would've like to get deeper in the game," Turner said. "That was
frustrating. I just didn't make a couple key pitches."
The Cubs (59-73) tied a season high with three errors and managed
just three hits off Latos after the second inning, but they fought
back.
Second baseman Javier Baez's two-run double in the eighth off
Jonathan Broxton made the score 6-4. Soler's RBI hit later in the
inning brought the Cubs within one run.
Heisey answered in the bottom of the eighth with his ninth career
pinch-hit home run, his third this season, off left-hander Zac
Rosscup. The blast handed the Reds a two-run cushion, ending a
20-inning scoreless streak by the Chicago bullpen.
"It's been a tough year for him," Reds manager Bryan Price said of
Heisey. "Playing time's been hot and cold. He can bring his power
off the bench. That separation was very important for us."
Aroldis Chapman recorded his 28th save, getting Baez to fly out to
the warning track with two runners aboard to end it.
"Baez put a good swing on it," Renteria said. "Everyone on the bench
thought it was going farther."
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In the second inning, Chicago hit back-to-back home runs for the
seventh time this season. One made history. First, Valbuena hit his 13th homer to put the Cubs ahead 1-0.
Then, it took Soler just four pitches to get acclimated in the big
leagues.
He crushed a 2-1 pitch from Latos an estimated 423 feet to dead
center field to become the first Cubs player to homer in his first
at-bat since Starlin Castro did it May 7, 2010, off Homer Bailey at
Great American Ball Park.
The historic moment occurred with Soler's father, Jorge Sr., in
attendance.
"I was real, real happy," said Soler via interpreter Franklin Font,
a Cubs staff assistant. "It was very exciting. I felt very
comfortable. I felt proud that my father was here. My whole family
was watching."
Turner, making his first start for the Cubs, allowed two runs in the
second inning, one on Schumaker's RBI double, tying the score at 2.
Chicago committed two errors in the fourth inning, and the Reds
erupted for four runs.
Schumaker, second baseman Brandon Phillips and Mesoraco provided RBI
hits to put the Reds ahead 6-2 before the late Chicago rally fell
short.
"Wasn't one of our better games," Renteria said, "but the guys kept
battling."
NOTES: The Cubs placed OFs Justin Ruggiano (ankle) and Ryan Sweeney
(hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled INF Logan
Watkins and OF Jorge Soler. ... Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo, who left
Tuesday night's game with lower back tightness, was out of the
lineup Wednesday. He is day-to-day. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto, on the
DL with a left quadriceps strain, could begin a minor league rehab
next week. "It's an injury that takes time to recover," Reds manager
Bryan Price said. "He's taking ground balls today for the first
time. He played some light catch. He had been on a running program.
It has been a real gradual rehab."
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