CINCINNATI -- Alex Bregman broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the seventh and Carson Kelly homered in the sixth to power the Cubs past the Reds, 5-3, on Saturday night before 34,199 at Great American Ball Park.
The Cubs were able to overcome three solo homers from the Reds to post their fifth win in six meetings with Cincinnati this season.
Nathaniel Lowe and Eugenio Suárez went back-to-back in the fourth while JJ Bleday added his 16th in the sixth for the Reds, who fell to 3-5 on their season-long nine-game homestand. For Suárez, it was his 10th of the season and No. 199 in a Cincinnati uniform, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Barry Larkin for 11th in club history.
Drew Pomeranz (2-0) allowed the game-tying home run to Bleday to open the sixth, but the lefty finished the inning to earn the win. Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless seventh and Jacob Webb pitched the eighth, before Ryan Rolison started the ninth but left with runners on first and third and two outs. Trent Thornton came on to retire Sal Stewart for the final out and his third save in as many chances.
Heading into his at-bat in the seventh against Cincinnati reliever Julian Garcia (0-2), Bregman was 2-for-18 on the road trip. His eighth homer came on an 82 mph sweeper, and was his first since June 30, landing in the hands of a fan in the first row of seats down the left-field line.
Like Shota Imanaga on Friday night, Chicago starter Javier Assad danced around trouble in the first three innings, working out of a first-and-third, no-out jam in the first, and a first-and-second situation with none out in the third -- without yielding a single tally.
But like Imanaga, the long ball eventually got to him. Lowe and Suárez opened the fourth with back-to-back home runs to put Cincinnati up, 2-0.
The Cubs also had their chances early, but Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo worked out of trouble.
Finally, the Cubs broke through in the fifth with a two-out RBI single from Seiya Suzuki, scoring Miguel Amaya. Lodolo left a 92 mph sinker up to Kelly, who crushed it 410 feet to left-center, tying the game at 2-2. Lodolo then looked down at his left index finger, with Cincinnati trainer Sean McQueeney and manager Terry Francona observing on the mound. Lodolo’s night was done after five-plus innings, allowing five hits and two runs, striking out four and walking three. The Reds confirmed he left the game with a blister.