CINCINNATI — The Cubs’ offense came alive Wednesday to avoid a sweep against the Reds in the series finale.
The Cubs had season highs in runs, extra-base hits (10) and hits (17) in their 13-4 victory. And their nine doubles, one shy of tying the franchise record, were their most since 2010.
“I know there’s an anxiety that players have; there’s, like, an uncertainty that is created at the deadline,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday, shortly after the 5 p.m. deadline. “I feel bad for players, genuinely, because that uncertainty is hard to deal with. But now that we don’t have that anymore . . . I’m hoping that we stabilize and start to show that we could be a solid offense like we were last year.”
It didn’t happen immediately. The Cubs had only three runs and seven hits Tuesday. But when the offense broke out, it did so in a big way.
Trade-deadline addition Isaac Paredes smacked two doubles, his first hits with the team, and scored three runs. Ian Happ, who went 3-for-4, fell a triple shy of the cycle.
“You look at the lineup that we’ve rolled out the last two days, I feel like on paper, it’s the best version of us that we’ve had so far this year,” said Nico Hoerner, who went 2-for-5 with a stolen base. “And I’m really excited to see what that looks like, especially since it’s filled with guys that are going to be back in years to come, as well.”
Bellinger easing back
Cody Bellinger was in the lineup as the designated hitter for a second consecutive game. That was the plan when the Cubs activated him Monday as an emergency player, knowing he’d be back in the lineup Tuesday. Throwing continues to aggravate his fractured left middle finger.
“Throwing has taken a little longer just because the ball comes right off that finger,” Bellinger said. “And so there’s not many ways around it. But I’m going to keep on working.”
The Cubs will continue monitoring his throwing, and Bellinger will DH until he’s confident in his throws.
The early returns on his swing have been promising. He homered Tuesday in his first game in nearly three weeks.
“You can’t really [replicate] a live swing,” Bellinger said after that game. “You can try your best off the machine and in batting practice. So it was good to get out there because I felt good in my work, but you never know, so you get out into the game. And, overall, I felt pretty good.”
On Wednesday, Bellinger hit three singles.
This and that
- Speedy Pete Crow-Armstrong stole second base in the sixth inning and advanced to third on an errant throw. With that, he reached 20 stolen bases in as many attempts this season to tie Tim Raines (1981) for the third-longest successful stolen-base streak by a rookie to begin a season since 1951.
- Catcher Tomas Nido (right knee) is expected to return in four to six weeks, manager Craig Counsell said, after having a debridement procedure on his meniscus.
- The Cubs activated right-hander Caleb Kilian (strained right shoulder) from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. He suffered the injury in spring training.
