Nine runs were not enough to settle this one until the final out. The Cincinnati Reds outscored the Chicago White Sox in a game that changed hands three times, holding on for a 9-8 win at Rate Field after Chicago chipped away with two rallies in the final three innings.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| CWS | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 1 |
Sal Stewart was in the middle of everything. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk, scoring four times. His leadoff homer in the first inning put Cincinnati ahead immediately, and he came around to score again in the third, fourth and sixth innings as the Reds kept finding ways to cross the plate. Eugenio Suarez backed him up with a 1-for-3 night that included a two-run homer and finished with four RBIs, while Tyler Stephenson added a three-run homer of his own and scored twice.
The decisive swing came in the fourth inning. With the score tied 4-4, Stewart singled to right to score Hayes and put Cincinnati back in front 5-4, a lead the Reds would not relinquish. Stephenson followed with a three-run homer to left center, scoring De La Cruz and Stewart to push the margin to 8-4. Cincinnati had trailed briefly after Chicago tied it in the third on a Suarez sacrifice fly that scored Stewart, but the fourth inning put the Reds in control for good.
Chicago starter Davis Martin lasted just 2.0 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 2 hits, and Erick Fedde took over and struggled, going 3.0 innings with 4 runs allowed on 5 hits and a loss that dropped him to 6-8 with a 4.51 ERA. The White Sox bullpen covered 7.0 innings and allowed 5 runs. Chicago chipped away late, with Edgar Quero driving in runs in both the fifth and ninth innings and Andrew Benintendi's single scoring two more in the eighth, but the deficit proved too much to overcome. Quero finished 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Chase Meidroth added a 2-for-3 day with two doubles and an RBI.
Tejay Antone earned the win for Cincinnati with a scoreless inning of relief, striking out three, improving to 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA, and Julian Robert Garcia closed it out for his second save. The result snapped a White Sox winning streak, dropping Chicago to 62-58, while Cincinnati improved to 58-62. Suarez remains two hits shy of 1,500 for his career and three RBIs away from 1,000.