CINCINNATI -- Anthony Rizzo says that, for him, the components of a sizzling hot streak pretty much resemble the components for any other day at the office.
"You just play baseball really," the Cubs' first baseman said Sunday after extending his hitting streak to 12 games during a 7-5 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. "You just hit balls where they're not standing. You go through the process. It's no different than not getting any hits."
The results can sometimes be different, however.
• His fourth-inning, two-run home run off Bronson Arroyo was Rizzo's third in three days, totaling eight RBIs. He had three RBIs during his first 74 plate appearances this season.
• He is batting .370 (17-for-46) during his hitting streak, the 12 games tying a career high.
• He had reached base at least twice in 11 consecutive games before Sunday, also tying a career high.
Rizzo turned on Arroyo's 71-mph slider and drove it 387 feet into the right-center-field seats for his fourth homer of the season. That was the only damage the Cubs were able to inflict on the 40-year-old right-hander, who rarely broke 80 mph in his six-inning start.
"You have to take it like every other at-bat and let him hang one," Rizzo said. "Fortunately for me, he did. Everything else, he was splitting the plate."
Arroyo admitted the slider might not have been the best plan of attack against Rizzo.
"I threw him a back-door breaking ball and gave him an opportunity to pull it where he didn't have to hit it into the wind," Arroyo said. "Maybe I should have stayed a little stiffer there with some hard stuff and tried to get a double-play ball. That's hindsight, man. You go out and battle and see what happens."
Will Rizzo's streak continue Monday in Pittsburgh? Either way, it will continue to be business as usual for the Cubs' star.
"You try not to live and die with the results," Rizzo said.