CHICAGO (AP) — Phillip Ervin hit a two-run homer to snap a tie in the seventh inning and had four RBIs in his first major league start as the Cincinnati Reds rebounded from blowing a nine-run lead to defeat the Chicago Cubs 13-10 on Thursday.
Ervin, in right field in his fifth game, also had a single and double in four at-bats. On Wednesday, the 25-year-old homered as a pinch hitter for his first hit.
Joey Votto lofted a three-run homer in a nine-run, second-inning rally as Cincinnati raced to a 9-0 lead against Cubs starter Jon Lester on a warm day with the wind blowing out.
Ian Happ hit two solo shots and a sacrifice fly, and Alex Avila went deep and had three RBIs for the Cubs, who used six homers to erase a nine-run deficit for the first time since August 1989 versus Houston.
Drew Storen (4-2) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win, then Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 23 chances. Justin Grimm (1-2), who gave up Erwin’s homer and was the second of five Cubs relievers took the loss.
Happ, Avila, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez homered in the fourth as the Cubs went deep four times in an inning for the first time since June 2008 to cut it to 9-6.
Kyle Schwarber homered to lead off the fifth, then Anthony Rizzo and Avila drove in runs with doubles against Michael Lorenzen to tie it at 9.
The Reds sent 13 men to the plate in the second. Eugenio Suarez and Ervin each had a single and a double in the eight-hit outburst.
Lester was pulled with left lat tightness with two outs in the inning. The lefty was charged with nine runs, seven earned, and was replaced by Mike Montgomery after facing 11 batters in the inning and Cincinnati leading 8-0.
It was Cincinnati’s biggest rally since scoring 10 runs in August 2015 versus Detroit. Lester gave up 10 runs in 2/3 inning at a start at Pittsburgh on July 9.
Bryant led off the fourth with a drive to left that bounced off the bleachers and onto Waveland Avenue. Avila’s two-run homer was followed by consecutive solo shots from Happ and Baez off Reds starter Scott Feldman, who allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Cincinnati permitted four homers in an inning for the first time since September 2007 versus Milwaukee.
After Chicago tied it 9-all in the fifth, Ervin put the Reds back in front 11-9 in the seventh. Happ’s sac fly in the bottom half made it 11-10.
The Reds added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth.
OFFENSIVE BUZZ
During the Reds’ rally in the second, four of the Navy’s Blue Angels fighter jets repeatedly buzzed Wrigley Field in formation at low altitude. They’re part of the Chicago Air & Water show, which runs this weekend.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Reds: Manager Bryan Price said OF Scott Schebler (strained left rotator cuff) should rejoin the club Friday in Atlanta. Schebler has been on the 10-day disabled list since Aug. 1. and began a rehab stint at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. . RHP Robert Stephenson (bruised right shoulder) is scheduled to return to the rotation against the Braves on Saturday.
Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon said C Willson Contreras, on the DL since last week (right hamstring strain) “is feeling pretty good,” but there’s no timetable for his return. Contreras, injured running to first base at San Francisco on Aug. 9, was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. . RHP Koji Uehara (neck strain) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday, but Maddon didn’t have an update before Thursday’s game. Uehara is on the 10-day disabled list.
UP NEXT
Reds: RHP Sal Romano (2-5, 6.05) faces Braves RHP R.A. Dickey (8-7, 3.89) on Friday night in Atlanta. Romano, one of three rookies in Cincinnati’s rotation, has lost four straight.
Cubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (12-8, 3.73) takes the mound against Toronto LHP J.A. Happ (6-8, 3.63) in the opener of a three-game set at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Arietta is 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA in eight starts since July 2. Happ, 20-4 last season, has won three straight with a 1.45 ERA after getting off to a 3-8 start.
