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Cards, Cubs Lose Wednesday

>>Reds Outlast Cubs

 

Yasiel Puig hit an RBI single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Wednesday night, rallying the Reds to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. He tossed his bat away in celebration and got soaked with ice water by teammates.

 

Puig's had a mostly disappointing debut with the Reds, who got him in an offseason trade with the Dodgers. He was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts when he came to bat in the 10th against Brad Brach (3-1). The bases were loaded and the Cubs used five infielders, hoping for a groundball.

 

Instead, Puig drove the ball to center - it smacked off the base of the wall - and flipped his bat away in celebration. Puig is batting only .212.

 

Amir Garrett (3-1) escaped a two-on threat in the 10th inning.

 

The Cubs' stingy bullpen let a solid start by Yu Darvish go to waste. Darvish fanned 11 and Addison Russell hit a two-run homer - his first since returning from a 40-game suspension for domestic violence - to help the Cubs to a 5-3 lead.

 

Eugenio Suarez's homer off Carl Edwards Jr. tied it in the eighth, only the fourth time the Cubs have blown such a late lead.

 

The Cubs were encouraged by Darvish's best performance of the season. He allowed five hits and a pair of runs in 5 1/3 innings at the ballpark where his 2018 season ended.

 

Russell and Albert Almora Jr. connected off Sonny Gray, who came to the Reds in an offseason trade with the Yankees and has yet to win in nine starts. Kyle Schwarber also homered.

 

Kris Bryant singled in the 10th, extending his streak to 24 consecutive games reaching safely. It's the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by a Cub since Ben Zobrist reached in 25 straight games in 2017. Javier Baez singled in the 10th, extending his career-best hitting streak to 13 games.

 

Jose Quintana (4-2) is 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA in his last six starts. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts at Great American Ball Park.

 

Luis Castillo (4-1) went 2-1 in five starts against the Cubs last season with a 4.74 ERA.

 

>>Braves Blank Cardinals

 

Austin Riley homered in his big league debut Wednesday night, leading Atlanta to a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and signaling the arrival of another top prospect for the Baby Braves.

Mike Soroka turned in another strong start with three-hit ball over seven scoreless innings, but this night belonged to the 22-year-old Riley. He was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game after Ender Inciarte went on the injured list with a sore back.

 

Riley, who started in left field and batted sixth, struck out swinging against Michael Wacha in the first at-bat of what the Braves hope will be a long major league career.

 

Then, leading off the fourth, Riley showed why he was leading the International League with 15 homers and 39 RBIs.

 

Riley launched a high fastball deep into the left-field seats, a 438-foot drive that gave the Braves a 2-0 lead.

 

Riley hit another drive to the edge of the warning track his next time up, and handled a couple of chances without any problem in left. Normally a third baseman, he figures to mostly play left field at least during his initial stint in the big leagues. Josh Donaldson is locked in at third base for 2019 with a one-year, $23 million deal.

 

After taking over as a defensive replacement for Riley, Charlie Culberson sealed the victory with a two-run homer in the eighth.

 

Even younger than Riley, the 21-year-old Soroka (4-1) lowered his ERA to 0.98 in six starts. The right-hander has yet to allow more than one earned run in any of his appearances, and this was his best one yet.

 

Soroka escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third, getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground into an inning-ending double play. He stared down another trouble spot in the sixth when the Cardinals put runners at second and third, fanning Jose Martinez to snuff out the threat.

 

In the eighth, Dan Winkler walked the first two St. Louis hitters on eight pitches, but Luke Jackson worked out of the jam - this time, it was Paul DeJong hitting into a double play - and finished up for his fifth save in six chances.

 

Wacha (3-1) surrendered only four hits and one earned run over five innings.

 

Atlanta also scored when the Cardinals pitcher threw one away at third base after appearing to pick off Ronald Acuna Jr., who was able to trot home when the ball skidded under the glove of Matt Carpenter.

 

In the rubber game of the series, RHP Adam Wainwright (3-3, 4.15) goes for the Cardinals against Atlanta RHP Julio Teheran (2-4, 4.26).

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