Cubs Outlast Reds in Slugfest, Escape Cincinnati with 5-3 Win

The Chicago Cubs came to Cincinnati on Saturday and did what good teams do against mediocre pitching: they won ugly. A 5-3 victory over the Reds wasn’t pretty, wasn’t dominant, and frankly, shouldn’t have been as close as the final score suggests. But a win is a win, and the Cubs will take it.

Let’s be honest about what we witnessed at Great American Ball Park. This was a game that belonged in a minor league park, not in a Major League Baseball stadium. The pitching was so bad it bordered on criminal. Drew Pomeranz got the win after pitching just one inning. One inning. Julian Garcia took the loss after pitching the same amount of time. If this is what passes for starting pitching in 2026, baseball is in serious trouble.

Bats Carry the Day in Sloppy Affair

The Cubs’ offense was their saving grace, and Alex Bregman was the unlikely hero. The former Astro blasted a two-run homer in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference maker. Bregman went 1-for-4 with that crucial two-run shot, and honestly, that’s all the Cubs needed from him on this Saturday.

Carson Kelly added some respectability to the Cubs’ lineup with a solo homer in the sixth, while Ian Happ drove in a run with a double in the same inning. Michael Busch was the only Cubs hitter who looked remotely professional at the plate, collecting three hits in four at-bats. At least someone showed up ready to play baseball.

The Reds, for their part, couldn’t get out of their own way. Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suárez each launched solo shots in the fourth inning, and JJ Bleday added another in the sixth. Three home runs should be enough to win most games, but Cincinnati’s pitching was so atrocious that it didn’t matter. You can’t expect to win when your starting pitcher Garcia gives up two earned runs in one inning of work.

Bullpen Heroics Seal a Sloppy Victory

Trent Thornton saved the game without throwing a pitch that mattered. A 0.1-inning save. Let that sink in. This is what baseball has become. The Cubs’ bullpen managed to navigate through the seventh inning without completely imploding, and that was enough.

The reality is this game was decided by which team’s pitching was slightly less terrible than the other’s. The Cubs’ bullpen was marginally competent, while the Reds’ arms were a complete disaster. It’s not a recipe for playoff baseball, but it’s what we got on Saturday in Cincinnati.

The Cubs didn’t dominate. They didn’t impress. They didn’t show why they’re a contender. But they showed up, their hitters made some key contact, and they escaped with a win. Sometimes that’s all that matters in the dog days of July. The Reds, meanwhile, go home knowing they lost a game they had no business losing with three home runs on their side of the scoreboard. That’s the kind of loss that eats at a team.