The Chicago Cubs had a flair for the dramatic in the first three games against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.
They needed just one inning to bury the Reds in an 8-3 win in the series finale Thursday and continue to showcase to the rest of the league how much of a fortress the Friendly Confines are. The victory was the Cubs’ ninth straight overall and their 15th consecutive at home, their longest streak since an 18-game run in 1935.
“It’s a blast, especially with this group, in this city, in this ballpark,” Thursday’s hero, Michael Conforto, said after a 3-for-3 day with a home run and two RBIs. “Every day it’s an electric atmosphere, and the guys are having a blast. It’s been really fun.”
The Cubs are 18-5 overall at Wrigley Field, the best home mark in baseball, and are 19-3 in their last 22 games. It has helped them amass a four-game lead in the National League Central Division, in which all five teams have a winning record.
“Our job is to just stack up wins,” manager Craig Counsell said after the victory. “They count the same now as they do later in the season. So, you just stack up wins. That’s our job. We got to just keep doing that.
“Confidence is not going to be an issue, but you got to stack up wins because you do run into headwinds during a long season. So you stack them up while things are going well.”
After collecting three straight walk-off wins for the first time since 2009, the Cubs provided a little less drama to the 30,441 fans in attendance. Conforto, Monday’s walk-off hero, started the scoring in the second with a solo home run, his second of the season. The Cubs broke it open two innings later.
Reds starter Rhett Lowder walked the first two batters of the fourth inning, then threw a ball to Michael Busch before leaving the game with a trainer because of right shoulder discomfort. That forced manager Terry Francona to turn to his bullpen, a welcome sign for the Cubs.
They had scored eight runs, collected 10 hits and drawn 10 walks in the first three games against Reds relievers and continued that against Connor Phillips. The Cubs had four hits and a walk against the right-hander and scored seven runs in the frame, quickly building an insurmountable cushion.
“We took advantage of the walks,” Counsell said. “We took advantage of probably a defensive mistake, and that’s how you win games.”
That was plenty of support for left-hander Shota Imanaga, who has been the Cubs’ best starter this season. He struck out 10 in six innings of one-run ball, his fifth quality start in eight outings.
The left-hander, like the Cubs, has felt the comforts of pitching at Wrigley Field. He has a 1.74 ERA in his five home starts and has allowed as many earned runs in those five games (six) as he has in his three road starts.
“I’m not the type of person to believe something you can’t physically see, but I feel like at Wrigley, there’s this like power that you can’t see but you can kind of feel,” Imanaga said through an interpreter. “It’s like with the fans and the cheering, where the other team feels the pressure if you’re on the mound or if you’re up to bat. Then on the other side, when we’re up to bat or if we’re pitching, you feel that extra push and support of this power you can’t see. I think there is something there.”
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Performances like the one he turned in Thursday will be vital to the Cubs pitching staff. Counsell announced before the game that opening-day starter Matthew Boyd underwent a successful partial meniscectomy on his left knee. Boyd, 35, suffered the injury Wednesday morning with his kids.
“It’s probably closer to six weeks,” Counsell said of Boyd’s timeline before the game. “I think that’s with getting him ramped up, that’s what we’re hopeful for. Obviously see how it all goes. The important thing is how much time do we miss throwing? That’s probably the biggest thing right here.”
Imanaga, 32, has rediscovered the form that made him an All-Star in his rookie campaign in 2024, and that’s a welcome sign for a pitching staff that has lost two of its top pitching options in Boyd and Cade Horton, who is out for the year after Tommy John surgery.
“I’m just wishing the faster recovery,” Imanaga said. “But looking at our pitching staff, stuff like this happens, and so really everybody steps up and does what they need to do until he comes back and then just keep on pitching well.”
Right-hander Ben Brown, who has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this season, will start Friday against the Texas Rangers in the opener of a nine-game trip. Brown, 26, is 1-1 with a 2.10 ERA and a save in 12 appearances this season.
Roster moves
The Cubs recalled Gavin Hollowell from Triple-A Iowa before Thursday’s series finale. Right-hander Corbin Martin was designated for assignment to make room on the active roster. Hollowell tossed 1.2 innings, loading the bases in the ninth and bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle. Counsell turned to closer Daniel Palencia, who struck out Nathaniel Lowe to seal the win.
The Cubs announced after the game that they had acquired right-hander Tyler Ferguson from the Athletics for cash considerations. Ferguson allowed four runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings in his lone major-league outing this season. He has a lifetime 4.47 ERA in 105 games across parts of three seasons with four saves and figures to be a depth option for a team with 10 pitchers on their 40-man roster on the IL.
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
