Chicago Cubs Crush Cincinnati Reds in Season Finale

The Chicago Cubs won the third and final game of their series against the Cincinnati Reds 15-2, handing them their 100th loss of the season.

The Cincinnati Reds were unable to avoid the 100-loss mark. After winning the first two games of their final series of the season, the Chicago Cubs finally pushed the Reds' loss column into the triple digits with a 15-2 victory to close the season on a high note.

The Cubs set the tone early in the top of the second inning after a quiet first from each side. David Bote, fighting for a 2023 roster spot, hit his first opposite-field home run since the 2020 season, a three-run blast that would put the Cubs up 3-0.

The Reds got an unearned run back in the bottom of the second off of Cubs starter Adrian Sampson on a passed ball from catcher PJ Higgins. Sampson didn't last too long in this one, departing following an RBI-single from the Reds Spencer Steer that made it 3-2.

Sampson emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the Cubs 2022 season, finishing with a 3.11 ERA in 19 starts and making a serious case to be in the 2023 major league rotation after entering the season as nothing more than minor league depth.

Adbert Alzolay took over for the Cubs, pitching 2.1 shutout innings with three strikeouts, ending his season escaping a bases-loaded jam. The righty finished the season with a 3.38 ERA after missing most of the year due to injury, and could be a key piece out of the bullpen in 2023.

Chicago put the game out of reach in the sixth, plating six runs in the top of the frame. Higgins walked in a run, a Bote double gave him his fourth and fifth RBI of the game, and Zach McKinstry, who could be competing with Bote for a 2023 roster spot, hit a three-run home run to make it 9-2, his fifth longball of the year. McKinstry finished 2-for-6.

The Cubs kept up the onslaught in the seventh and eighth innings as well. A Franmil Reyes RBI-single, Higgins two-RBI double, and  Chris Morel RBI-Single made it 13-2. Reyes struck again in the eighth, tacking on two more runs on his fifth home run as a Cub. The 27-year-old entered the day with an 86 wRC+ in his time with Chicago, and with a pricey arbitration number coming, games like this are key to proving he's worth the gamble for the Cubs.

Meanwhile, Mark Leiter Jr. and Michael Rucker, two relievers vying for a bullpen spot each tossed a scoreless inning, and each finished their 2022 with an ERA below 4.00. Rowan Wick also tossed a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout, finishing his campaign with 4.24 ERA.

Fittingly, it was Brandon Hughes who finished off the game and the season for the Cubs. The lefty has in many ways become a posterchild for Chicago's revamped pitching infrastructure, going from converted outfield prospect to emerging as the Cubs closer in the second half of the season. 

The 26-year-old tossed a 1-2-3 inning to finish the season with a 3.12 ERA. Hughes also picked up the save in eight games this season.

The Cubs finished with a 74-88 record, but finished the year with a strong 39-31 record after the all-star break. With the extra wild card spot now in effect, and Chicago rumored to be among the big spenders this offseason, the potential to be a  playoff-contending team 2023 could be very real for the Cubs. 

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