Mike Leake shines as Cincinnati Reds defeat Chicago Cubs 2-1 – MLB Update
Mike Leake remained unbeatable and Francisco Cordero pitched a shutout ninth on Tuesday, September 13 to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at the Great American Ball Park.
The win levelled the four-game series by 1-1 as the Cubs had routed the Reds in the last encounter by 12-8.
Mike Leake, who has had 12 wins in the ongoing season with 3.86 ERA, remained a tough challenge for the Cubs’ hitters who found it beyond themselves to play Leake with the degree of effectiveness required in such games.
Leake, backed by a relatively well-performing Reds’ offence pitched some of the most solid innings on Tuesday to turn the game to his team’s favour. He started the game with a scoreless inning while Ryan Dempster failed to hold the Reds’ hitters back.
It was Brandon Phillips who went for a homer in the very first inning of Dempster to put the Cincinnati Reds in charge. Having provided a solid start to the team, Phillips had his third homer in the two games he has played.
While Leake remained unplayable with his fast pace, Edgar Renteria of the Reds doubled the lead to put his team in charge of the game. Renteria’s single to centre almost proved a result-oriented contribution as the game progressed.
Alfonso Soriano was the only hitter to score for the Chicago Cubs. His run came in the sixth inning when the Reds’ starter Leake kept throwing strong pitches. Having brought down the lead to 2-1, the Cubs failed to capitalise on the little gain they had
made.
Leake kept proving to be a headache for the Cubs while the latter’s hitters were unable to recharge the offence even though they had score 12 runs in the previous game.
Once Leake threw the eighth inning, allowing merely six hits and a run, Francisco Cordero went for the 33rd save of his career when he pitched a hitless inning to end the game with a 2-1 victory for the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds put in a tremendous performance as they got a much needed victory over the struggling Chicago Cubs.
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