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 "They called a meeting after the game and let me know. I had no
idea," Rizzo said of winning the final fan vote. "Great to get a win
on top of it. Nothing better."
Third baseman Luis Valbuena's triple drove in the go-ahead runs in
the 12th inning, lifting the Cubs to a 6-4 victory over the Reds on
an emotionally charged afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
J.J. Hoover (1-6) took the loss for Cincinnati. Blake Parker (1-0)
picked up the victory for Chicago.
Cubs second baseman Arismendy Alcantara went 4-for-5 with a double
and triple, his first career hits, and three RBIs.
With two outs in the 12th, Valbuena tripled off Skip Schumaker's
glove in right field, driving in two runs. Valbuena was thrown out
at home attempting to stretch an inside-the-park homer.
But there was an ugly side to Thursday's game.
Benches cleared in the top of the ninth when Rizzo approached the
Reds dugout between innings.
Rizzo was hit by a pitch in the first inning by Reds starter Homer
Bailey. There were three hit batters in the game. Reds closer
Aroldis Chapman threw two fastballs over Cubs outfielder Nate
Schierholtz's head in the ninth, resulting in some jawing from the
Cubs dugout. There were no ejections.
"I have the utmost respect for this city and the Reds," Rizzo said.
"I also needed to be a good teammate and stick up for them. Things
were said. You have 50 men competing at the highest level. Tempers
are going to flare sometimes. Hopefully, it's not something that
carries into the future. I don't think there's any bad blood."
Reds manager Bryan Price agreed.
"There was a lot of testosterone on the field," Price said. "That is
the way baseball is. We hit Rizzo, certainly unintentional. (Reds
shortstop Zack) Cozart got hit in the hand. Certainly that was
unintentional. Chapman had the ball get away from him up and in and
things got a little testy. It's baseball."
Bailey allowed three earned runs in five innings before leaving with
pain the patellar tendon in his right knee. He was diagnosed with a
strain and is expected to make his next start.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Cincinnati (49-43),
preventing its first five-game series sweep since 1976. Chicago
(39-52) snapped a six-game losing streak.
Lost amid Thursday's drama was the big-league debut of Cubs
right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who allowed three earned runs and four
hits in six innings. He struck out seven.
Hendricks' debut got off to an inauspicious start when he walked the
first two batters he faced on nine pitches.
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Catcher Brayan Pena's RBI double followed by run-scoring singles by
left fielder Ryan Ludwick and second baseman Ramon Santiago made the
score 3-0.
Cincinnati sent nine batters to the plate in the first against
Hendricks, who needed 33 pitches to complete the inning.
Hendricks settled in after the rocky first, retiring 13 of 14 with
four strikeouts. The only blemish in that stretch was Ludwick's solo
blast on a 1-0 pitch in the third inning that made the score 4-1.
"I thought he settled down. I thought he was throwing pretty well
early. I thought the zone was pretty small," Cubs manager Rich
Renteria said.
In the fifth, Alcantara doubled off the left field wall for his
first career hit, driving in two runs to cut Chicago's deficit to
4-3. Shortstop Starlin Castro's RBI single tied the score 4-4 in the
eighth.
"How about Arismendy?" Renteria said. "Some good at-bats. Guys were
excited for him. He had a nice day."
NOTES: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips will have surgery on Friday to
repair a torn ligament in his left thumb suffered in Wednesday's
game and could miss six weeks. "It is a big blow," Reds manager
Bryan Price said. "Brandon is a big two-way player. He has hit in
the middle of the order most of the year. Defensively, he has been
spectacular. It is a blow, but we'll weather it."... Reds RHP Homer
Bailey left the game in the sixth inning with a strained right knee.
... Prior to Thursday's game, the Reds selected from Triple-A
Louisville the contract of INF Kristopher Negron and optioned RHP
Carlos Contreras to Triple-A. ... Reds RHP Brett Marshall was
designated for assignment. ... Cubs RHP Dallas Beeler, who made his
second career start on Wednesday, was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to
make room on the roster for RHP Kyle Hendricks. ... Cubs 1B Anthony
Rizzo is the first left-handed Cubs batter to reach 20 home runs
before the All-Star break since Rick Monday in 1973.
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