Hector Rodriguez hit a three-run homer, Tyler Stephenson added a two-run blast and Dane Myers and Sal Stewart each hit solo shots as the visiting Cincinnati Reds slugged their way to a 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Elly De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a double, but exited in the seventh with what was reported as left quad tightness. Chase Burns (15-3) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings as the Reds claimed the three-game series.
Emilio Pagan notched his 19th save.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two solo homers and Nico Hoerner was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Ian Happ collected two hits and Michael Conforto drove in a run for the Cubs.
Cincinnati took a 6-3 lead in the decisive fifth. Myers led off with a homer, De La Cruz singled and Stewart struck out swinging before Stephenson drilled a two-run bomb.
Stewart pounded a two-out solo homer to dead center in the seventh and Cincinnati extended its advantage to 7-3.
Earlier, Crow-Armstrong opened the scoring in the first when he launched a homer 417 feet over the wall in right-center.
The Cubs’ lead grew to 2-0 on Conforto’s RBI single in the second.
Cincinnati took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Rodriguez launched a two-out, three-run homer to straightaway right.
Chicago tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the frame. Happ walked and Hoerner singled to put runners on first and second. Pedro Ramirez flied out to right, but Rodriguez’s throw was wide of second, allowing Happ to tag from second and score on the error.
In the eighth, the Cubs cut their deficit to 7-4 on Hoerner’s sacrifice fly. Crow-Armstrong’s 38th home run traveled 431 feet in the ninth.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (8-10) allowed six runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts over five innings.