The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 Thursday evening in the 2022 edition of Major League Baseball’s Dream Field game. Like last year’s competition between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, Thursday’s competition was held at the film’s location in Dyersville, Iowa.
The Cubs took an early lead, flanking three runs (all with two naysayers) in the first half. Seiya Suzuki opened the scoring with a double that made it 1-0. Then Niko Honor Suzuki scored, and doubled the difference to 2-0, before scoring for himself a double of Ian Hap. The Cubs would add another run in the fourth, on Nick Madrigal’s single, but that initial blast proved enough to secure the win.
It is worth noting that the two sides met without any competition at home. Last year’s competition saw the White Sox and Yankees launch a total of eight.
Here are four more takeaways from the game, as well as a transcript of CBS Sports commentary provided via our live blog coverage.
1. The Reds failed to take advantage of opportunities
In some ways, the Cubs used a curved defense but not broken in the early stages. The Reds placed two runners at the base in each of the first three innings but were unable to convert any of them into races.
From that point on, the Reds wouldn’t put two riders in one round again until the seventh, when they scored their first runs on a Matt Reynolds double. monitor:
2. Smyly Payments
Cubs left-handed Drew Smiley deserves credit for the Reds’ inability to make money, and Chicago’s victory. He entered the night with a 3.97 ERA (105 ERA+) and a 3.47 strike-to-walk ratio in his first 14 start of the season. However, Thursday’s outing rivaled his best performance of the year, throwing five rounds of closing in.
Smyly gave in four hits and twice walked while hitting nine of the 22 hits he faced. He lowered his seasonal ERA to 3.69 in the process. It should be noted that Smyly threw 6 innings without goals against the Miami Marlins last time, and his goalless streak extended to 11 innings.
3. Contreras, India suffers injuries
Both sides paid physical losses during Thursday’s match.
Holding the cubs, Wilson Contreras appears to be rolling his ankle as he runs the bases. He seemed to be in excruciating pain while rolling on the ground, but he later managed to put a weight on his left foot and head into the bunker under his might. Remarkably, he ended up staying in the game and playing the chord.
Jonathan India, captain of the Reds’ second team, was not so lucky. He suffered a bruise in the leg after kicking a ball on himself. He was knocked out of the match and replaced by the aforementioned Reynolds to start bottoming fourth.
It is unclear if the availability of Contreras or India will be limited in the coming days due to the injuries they have had.
4. Construction may prevent the 2023 game
Earlier this week Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, part owner of the Field of Dreams complex, Proposed construction could hinder MLB hosting the game in 2023. “There’s a lot going on,” He told the Des Moines record. “They don’t want to come back if the pitch is not ready.” (The complex is installing youth baseball and softball fields as a way to expand the events it can host in the future.)
MLB has yet to officially say one way or the other if they will try to find a way to make the game happen next year. It makes sense that future games will be played at the site, even if they don’t happen until the 2024 campaign.
As for the Cubs and Reds, they will head to Cincinnati to resume their three-game series on Saturday.
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