Reds Feel at Home in Great American Ballpark West

There has been some mention of selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field as part of the plans to renovate the old fashioned stadium and generate further revenue for what should be a big market ball club. With the way Cincinnati has been successfully playing at the Friendly Confines, the Reds may want to have their own stadium sponsor look into buying the name at Addison and Clark and changing it from Wrigley to Great American Ballpark West. Edwin Jackson made an improved showing after getting knocked around in his last start, but it was not enough to keep down the Reds. The Cubs starter managed to get through the Reds deep line up the first time around with no damage, but the visitors got to him in the fourth inning.

May 5, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier (21) is congratulated by first base coach Billy Hatcher (22) after hitting a two RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Four straight hits allowed plated three runs for the Reds and they added one more on a sac fly in the fifth. The Cubs offense responded with a series of hits of their own on the bottom half of the fifth, all with two outs. Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo hit back to back singles before Alfonso Soriano chased them both home with a double. They were all of the bloop variety, with Soriano’s double a result of outfielder Shin Soo Choo and second baseman Brandon Phillips knocking into each other. Nate Schierholtz added a single of his own to drive in Soriano and suddenly the North Siders were only down by one run. Despite only 86 pitches thrown by Jackson, manager Dale Sveum decided to go with Carlos Marmol to tackle the sixth inning. The beleaguered reliever provided a perfect inning of work, an effort that would have come in more handy on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Cubs and their fans, Sunday afternoon was Shawn Camp’s turn to struggle. The rubber armed righty allowed two runs to the Reds on two hits and a walk in his lone inning of work. The Cubs offense answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh, but Kameron Loe gave that one right back in the top of the eighth.

The end result was a 7-4 victory for the visiting Reds, completing a sweep of the weekend series on the North Side and extending their winning streak at Wrigley to nine straight games.