Chicago Cubs go all out to win in 15 innings

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon has always said he loves National League baseball. Maddon took the NL game to new extremes Tuesday night during a 7-2, 15-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Javier Baez's grand slam in the top of the 15th keyed a 5-run inning, but that was only a fraction of the fun.

Maddon wound up using three pitchers in left field late in the game: Travis Wood, Spencer Patton and Pedro Strop.

He had Patton and Wood going back and forth between the pitcher's mound and left field in the bottom of the 14th inning. Patton (1-0) got the victory as he finished the 14th, and he was pinch hit for by starting pitcher Jason Hammel in the top of the 15th.

Maddon had setup man Strop ready to pitch the bottom of the 15th, if needed, but Wood took the mound and finished the game, facing four batters, with Strop looking eager for a play in left. None came his way.

The Cubs wound up using eight pitchers. At the beginning of this 4-hour, 43-minute game, Jon Lester was the starting pitcher for the Cubs, and he has quickly become the co-ace of the starting staff along with Jake Arrieta.

A pair of aces in the hand is always better than one, so Maddon and the Cubs won't mind that. When they signed Lester to a six-year contract before the 2015 season, the Cubs did so with the idea of him becoming the ace of their staff.

Arrieta, who had that role when Lester came aboard, never relinquished the mythical title, but this season, Lester is equaling Arrieta if not bettering him in several ways.

Lester worked 7⅔ innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball Tuesday. He wound up with a no-decision as closer Hector Rondon suffered a blown save by allowing the Reds to tie the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth.

"Hopefully, Jonny's going to make that all-star team because he's pitched it that well," Maddon said on his WSCR radio pregame show. "He's been on top of his game. This is a good lineup for him to pitch against. Just catch the ball and let Jonny pitch."

The comparisons between Lester and Arrieta have become very interesting:

• Arrieta is 12-2 with a 2.10 ERA and a WHIP of 1.02 and 10 quality starts. He has pitched 103 innings.

• Lester is 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97 and 14 quality starts. He has pitched 106⅓ innings.

The Cubs staked Lester to an early 1-0 lead when Ben Zobrist led off the game against Reds lefty John Lamb. That would be it for the Cubs until the fifth, when Lester singled home Matt Szczur, who led off the inning with a double.

On the mound, Lester was as good as he's been in his recent run of success, a run that has kept him without a losing decision since May 21. He allowed a first-inning single to Brandon Phillips but did the Reds did not get another until Billy Hamilton homered with one out in the eighth to move Cincinnati within 2-1.

Lester struck out Ramon Cabrera but exited in favor of Rondon after Jose Peraza singled as a pinch hitter.

The aim was to get Rondon a four-out save, and the plan started well enough as he got Zack Cozart to popout to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who dived over the stands to make the inning-ending catch.

Rondon got himself into trouble in the bottom of the ninth after he retired Joey Votto to lead off. He hit Phillips with a pitch before Jay Bruce singled to put runners on first and second. After Rondon got Adam Duvall looking, Eugenio Suarez singled to left field, with Phillips beating Szczur's throw to the plate.