CHICAGO _ The Cubs, opening a stretch of 13 consecutive games against last-place teams, erupted with a 17-hit attack Monday night to pull away to a 15-5 victory over the Reds at Wrigley Field.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back home runs to knock out starter Asher Wojciechowski in the fourth. Second baseman Ben Zobrist was scratched from the starting lineup due to neck stiffness.
Jon Jay cemented his place in the leadoff spot by reaching base safely four times. Jay's triple in the fourth snapped a 2-2 tie, and Tommy La Stella, who replaced Zobrist, followed with an RBI single. Rizzo poked a two-run, opposite-field single in the first.
Cubs starter Jose Quintana struggled against the bottom of the Reds' order during a 36-pitch second inning. Quintana allowed a game-tying single to Billy Hamilton after loading the bases with no outs in the inning. Quintana managed to pitch five innings in a 105-pitch outing to earn credit for his third win since joining the Cubs for the second half.
Quintana also contributed to his own mess by trying to shuffle a throw out of his glove to home plate, only for the toss to sail wide of catcher Alex Avila that allowed the first run to score in the second.
Left fielder Kyle Schwarber bailed out Quintana by making a strong throw from left field to nail Tucker Barnhart trying to score from second base.
