VOTTO HOMERS IN SIXTH STRAIGHT
Torrid veteran first baseman sets franchise marks as Reds take series from Cubs in Wrigley Field.
Joey Votto continues to play in a league of his own.
Another game, another home run — eight in his last six. Hitting home runs in six straight games is a club record. In addition, eight home runs in a six-game span is a club record.
Once Votto retires, he can live happily ever after in the Reds’ history book, but at age 37 he is rejuvenated after a couple of subpar seasons.
The Cincinnati Reds once again took apart a moribund and lethargic Chicago Cubs team, 7-4, Thursday afternoon in Wrigley Field.
With rumors of significant salary dumping by the Cubs before today’s trade deadline, Cubs manager David Ross kept his two best players, Kris Bryant and Anthony
club
Rizzo, out of the lineup.
That lineup was filled with slump-shrouded participants and Reds pitcher Luis Castillo took full advantage.
He held the Cubs to three runs over six innings, his eighth quality start in his last nine. And the Cubs helped out by hitting or running into three double plays.
The story of the day, though, was another downrange missile by Votto. He is a magician with a bat instead of a baton. He makes baseballs disappear. He uses a round bat against a round ball, but he continues to hit the ball squarely on Commissioner Rob Manfred’s signature.
Votto was succinct in what his goal is this year on every at-bat: “I’m trying to homer this year. That’s the difference. I’m trying to homer.”
And he puts it into a team concept.
“It’s cool, but I’m just happy to come up with wins,” he said. “And we’ve played good baseball lately and I just want to be part of it. We’re doing it as a team and we have big goals. That’s where my target is. I want to perform well and home runs are fun, the ultimate swing. But we’re trying to win as a group.”
His home run came in the first inning against Alec Mills. It came after a Jesse Winker doubled, the fourth straight game Winker has produced an extra-base hit.
Votto’s sixth homer in the four-game series tied Matt Carpenter and Jose Abreu for most home runs in a series in Wrigley Field and gave the Reds a 2-0 lead.
The Cubs took a brief lead, 3-2, after rookie Patrick Wisdom homered in the fourth and Willson Contreras blasted a 464-foot, two-strike, two-out home run in the fifth. Contreras stood momentarily admiring his moon shot and Castillo gave him the evil eye.
Castillo was so angry with that he threw two 100-mph fastball to strike out the next hitter, Wisdom.
“I just hung one there for him and I was a little bit perturbed by what he did,” said Castillo. “He hit the home run and kept staring at it and it bothered me a little bit. I don’t do anything after strikeouts. That’s a batter’s thing.”
And Wisdom would like to thank Contreras for riling up Castillo so that his pitches to Wisdom arrived at home plate at the speed of sound.
Castillo also contributed a pair of infield hits and laughed and said, “Those were two hits my mom would be able to hit, too.”
The Reds quickly re-grabbed the lead after the Contreras home run in the sixth, 4-3, with a pair of runs after first baseman Wisdom bungled a double-play grounder. Tucker Barnhart made Wisdom and the Cubs pay with a two-run single to center.
Cincinnati put it away in the seventh on a double that scored two runs and a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Aristides Aquino. Mychal Givens, acquired Wednesday from the Rockies, struck out the side in the eighth.
The Reds took three of four from the Cubs, the last three after losing the opener. They move on to New York for a series against the Mets.