Votto gets 2,000th hit, Reds hand Cubs 12th straight loss

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jonathan India homered and drove in five runs while Wade Miley threw seven shutout innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat Chicago 14-5 on Monday night, handing the free-falling Cubs their 12th straight loss. 

Canadian Joey Votto, the 37-year-old Cincinnati first baseman who has been on a tear since the all-star break,  got the 2,000th hit of his career, a solid single in the seventh. The Toronto native came up again later in the inning and drove in a run with another base hit during an eight-run Reds outburst.

Votto became just the second Canadian to reach the 2,000-hit plateau, joining Larry Walker of Maple Ridge, B.C.

Miley (10-4) allowed four hits and struck out seven as the Reds won for the ninth time in 13 games and moved within 1 1/2 games of San Diego for the second NL wild card.

“Ain’t nothing better than playing meaningful games late in the season,” Miley said. “And hopefully we can keep going and just see where this thing takes us.”

Following a huge selloff at the trade deadline last month, the Cubs have lost 12 in a row for the first time since 2012.

India’s two-out drive into the upper deck in the fourth scored Miley and gave the Reds a 2-0 lead. Aristides Aquino and Tucker Barnhart also slammed two-run homers.

Cincinnati’s outburst in the seventh was highlighted by India’s bases-loaded double, his third hit of the night. 

Cubs right-hander Justin Steele (2-2), making his second major league start, allowed five hits and two runs over four innings. 

Chicago scored five runs off two Reds relievers in the eighth, but Jeff Hoffman retired the side in order in the ninth.

JOLTIN’ JOEY

Votto became the second major league player to get his 2,000th hit, 300th home run and 1,000th RBI in the same season. Hall of Famer Billy Williams did it with the Cubs in 1971. Votto joins Johnny Bench as the only Reds with 2,000 hits and 300 homers, and his 26 homers this season are his most since he hit 36 in 2017.

“More than anything, to be done with a game and get a win and also to feel momentum toward something we’re collectively doing, and then to be a part of that with these individual milestones, is really pretty special,” Votto said.

Cubs manager David Ross was a catcher with the Reds during Votto’s rookie year in 2007.

“Having seen him early on in his career, it was pretty special to see him become a mainstay here in Cincinnati,” Ross said.

REALLY, THE DOG ATE IT

Votto said he got the ball from his first major league hit but gave it to his dog Maris, who promptly chewed it beyond recognition. He said he’s not sure what he’ll do with the ball from No. 2,000. 

A BAD RUN

After shedding their biggest bats in a trade-deadline fire sale, the Cubs continue to swoon. They are 2-15 since July 30 and haven’t won since Aug. 6. Combined with an 11-game skid June 25 to July 6, this marks the first time the club has had multiple double-digit losing streaks in one season since 1954. 

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RF Jason Heyward (index finger inflammation) was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday and was in the lineup. OF Greg Deichmann was sent back to Triple-A Iowa to make room.

Reds: LF Jesse Winker (intercostal strain) went on the 10-day injured list. Winker missed three games with the injury, a strain of the muscles around the ribs. Then he aggravated it after returning to the lineup Sunday, exiting after three innings. … INF José Barrero — known last season as José Garcia and expected by many to be the Reds’ shortstop of the future — was called up from Triple-A Louisville.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (13-5, 4.15 ERA) starts for the Cubs against Reds RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (8-3, 3.95). Hendricks had a rough outing Thursday in Chicago’s loss to the Brewers, giving up nine runs and 11 hits in four-plus innings. Gutierrez has pitched at least six innings in his last four starts, winning them all.

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Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press