The Sports Xchange
Sep 30, 2017
CHICAGO -- Jon Lester threw five scoreless innings and Kyle Schwarber homered and drove in four runs to lead the Chicago Cubs in a 9-0 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon.
Schwarber hit his 30th home run and had a two-run single in the regular season's penultimate game for the National League Central champions, who have won 15 of their last 18 games.
Lester (13-8) struck out seven and gave up four hits and no walks in his fifth victory in six starts and second scoreless outing of the season. He also threw seven scoreless innings April 16 against Pittsburgh.
Starter Jackson Stephens (2-1) gave up four runs and four hits, struck out five and walked three in four innings for the Reds, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
Schwarber hit a two-run home run in the second inning after Willson Contreras led off with a single. Schwarber has six home runs in his last 15 games.
Schwarber also had a two-run, broken-bat single with the bases loaded in the third inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 4-0.
Two runs scored on Rene Rivera's single when right fielder Scott Schebler lost the ball in the sun in the sixth inning. Ian Happ added a sacrifice fly and Tommy La Stella drew a bases-loaded walk in the four-run inning.
Rivera hit his 10th home run, a solo shot, in the seventh inning.
La Stella struck out looking on the 17th pitch he saw from Reds reliever Asher Wojciechowski in the fifth inning.
The Cubs continued to provide some rest to regulars, starting with first baseman Anthony Rizzo exiting the game after three innings and right fielder Jason Heyward and third baseman Kris Bryant departing after four innings.
NOTES: The Cubs have yet to announce their starting rotation for the National League Division Series. ...Reds INF Zach Vincej got his first career hit on a single in the eighth inning. ...INF Zack Cozart (quad) was out of the Reds lineup. ...Reds 1B Joey Votto is on pace to start all 162 games this season. He would be the first Reds player to start every game in a non-strike regular season since Pete Rose in 1975. ...Votto had his second three-strikeout game of the season Saturday. The other was Aug. 18 at Atlanta.