Abbott pitches 7 crisp innings as the Reds hold off the Cubs for a 6-2 win
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Abbott pitched seven shutout innings in his third consecutive win, helping the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Friday.
TJ Friedl, Tyler Stephenson and Jake Fraley homered for Cincinnati, which improved to 3-1 on a six-game trip. Will Benson had two hits and scored twice.
The Reds played without outfielder Austin Hays, one of their best hitters. Hays was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left foot contusion.
Abbott (5-0) allowed one hit, struck out eight and walked one. The left-hander improved to 3-0 with a sparkling 0.55 ERA in six May starts.
Emilio Pagan got two outs for his 14th save, working out of a jam in the ninth.
Chicago had won four in a row and seven of eight overall. The NL Central leaders took two of three against the Reds in Cincinnati last weekend.
Cubs right-hander Colin Rea (3-2) was tagged for six runs and a season-high 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Friedl drove Rea's third pitch of the game deep to right-center for his fourth homer of the season. Friedl also singled in the third for his seventh consecutive game with multiple hits.
Stephenson connected for a two-run shot in the fourth, a 435-foot drive to center for his fourth homer. Fraley added another two-run shot in the sixth in his first game back after being sidelined by left calf tenderness.
Chicago scored its two runs in the eighth. Michael Busch hit an RBI triple and scored on Matt Shaw's single to right. Key moment
The Cubs had runners on first and second when Graham Ashcraft replaced Tony Santillan on the mound in the eighth. Ashcraft got Kyle Tucker to bounce into a 3-6-1 double play, ending the inning. Key stat
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out swinging in his first three at-bats before reaching on a bloop double in the ninth. He flung his bat off to the side in frustration after striking out for the final out in the fourth. Up next
Left-hander Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.39 ERA) starts on Saturday for the Reds. The Cubs were contemplating going with an opener, depending on Friday's game.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
recommended
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cubs Predicted to Pair Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong With .370 Average Youngster
Cubs Predicted to Pair Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong With .370 Average Youngster originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Cubs have two players on their roster who should be with them for the next 10-plus years: Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Whether the organization decides to keep Crow-Armstrong and Tucker around remains to be seen, but the hope and expectation is that it will be the case. Advertisement As the Cubs enter the 2025 MLB draft, they could pair both players with another star talent. Baseball America recently predicted them to do so in the form of Brendan Summerhill, an outfielder from the University of Arizona. 'Summerhill missed a chunk of time this spring with a fractured right hand, but he's back in the lineup for Arizona and increasingly being discussed as one of the more impressive pure hitters in the college class. He's still hitting over .400 and has a well-rounded profile with solid-average tools across the board led by his strong approach and contact skills,' Baseball America wrote. Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8), center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4), and right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) celebrate after beating the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Sieu-Imagn Images Summerhill impressed during his collegiate career, posting a .370 batting average with four home runs, 33 RBI, 11 doubles, and six triples during the 2025 season for the Wildcats. Advertisement In his three-year college career, he appeared in 119 games, hitting .330 with 14 home runs. He's never been much of a power hitter, which could be a bit concerning, as the Cubs have found out, but he has other tools and should be able to find his way into the first round of the draft if things go as planned over the next few weeks. Playing in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League last summer, he hit .286 with two home runs, posting a .798 OPS. Related: Cubs Linked to Orioles $13 Million Starter This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cubs Expected to Make Massive Moves at Trade Deadline for Potential Kyle Tucker Reason
Cubs Expected to Make Massive Moves at Trade Deadline for Potential Kyle Tucker Reason originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Jed Hoyer certainly has to view this trade deadline as one that could determine his future with the Chicago Cubs. Hoyer has done some good and some bad, but this feels like the first time in a very long time that the Cubs actually have a chance to compete for a World Series. Advertisement And according to the Chicago Sun-Times, that means the Cubs will surely be going after a starter on the trade market. Vinnie Duber added that the Cubs will be buyers, and there are multiple players they could go after, including Sandy Alcantara. 'For the first time in awhile, Cubs fans have reason to be excited about the possibilities the trade deadline could bring. Will the Marlins' Sandy Alcantara shrink his 8.47 ERA and make himself a trade target? Or will team president Jed Hoyer's front office turn to more surprising sellers in its search for pitching reinforcements? 'One thing's sure after the Cubs moved to 15 games above .500 with a win on June 1: They will be buyers,' he wrote. There isn't any reason for the Cubs not to be buyers. Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) during the ninth inning against the Hanshin Tigers at Tokyo Yamashita-Imagn Images Not even factoring in that they're in first place in the National League Central, but this could be the last year they have Kyle Tucker, despite it being his first season with the club. Advertisement Tucker hits free agency at the end of the season, meaning there's a possibility that he may leave. However, if the Cubs are even slightly concerned about that happening, as it remains to be seen how things will play out, it's essential that they demonstrate to Tucker that they want to win. When he was with the Houston Astros, that's all they did. While money will likely be the deciding factor here, it never hurts to show a player that the organization is committed to winning. Trading for an ace at the deadline would do exactly that. Related: Cubs Predicted to Pair Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong With .370 Average Youngster This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MLB Insider Floats Cubs as a Suitor for Diamondbacks' Pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly
MLB Insider Floats Cubs as a Suitor for Diamondbacks' Pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Cubs' pitching situation has been anything but pretty. With Shota Imanaga on the mend, the Cubs will soon be getting one of their impact arms back from the IL. However, with Justin Steele gone and Javier Assad still out for the foreseeable future, the Cubs are still lacking a reliable mid-rotation pitcher. Advertisement Cubs' president Jed Hoyer has already stated his intentions to fix this problem. With several quality trade candidates gracing this trade deadline's hot stove, one MLB insider has pitched a solution that's a little outside the box. In an appearance on ESPN 1000, Jesse Rogers proposed the idea that the Cubs should look into Arizona Diamondbacks' starters Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen. He justified his stance that the D-Backs will be sellers saying this: 'I think, I truly think, there's going to be a new player in the seller's market, one I would have never predicted. '… [The Diamondbacks] have a horrendous bullpen. Corbin Burnes might be out [for a long time with an elbow injury], that team is already ten out of first; they're well out of the Wild Card race and going backwards. Think about this, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are free agents both at the end of this year. How would one of those guys look in a Cubs uniform? Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen throws to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second inning at Chase Field in Phoenix, on May 28, Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images 'So, this is a huge developing story in my mind when it comes to the trade deadline…. I think Gallen and Kelly are both going to be on the market.' Advertisement No one truly expected the D-Backs to best the Dodgers in the NL West, but any rumor of a D-Backs sell-off would be premature. That said, Arizona's pitching staff hasn't been good, and two of their best-performing arms (Corbin Burnes and Justin Martinez) are on the IL. And since both Gallen and Kelly are in their walk years, the unexpected could potentially come to fruition. This season, Gallen owns a 5.54 ERA while Kelly owns a 3.78. Both have showcased All-Star talent at times during their careers, but this season, it appears there are better options. Still, if the Cubs are able to land either of these two and have him revert back to All-Star form, this would work wonders for them. Related: Cubs Expected to Make Massive Moves at Trade Deadline for Potential Kyle Tucker Reason This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
