Cubs 1, Reds 0: A blast from the past

One hour and forty-eight minutes!

That's all the Cubs needed to beat the Reds 1-0 on a very windy Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Before I get into the details of this game, a few notes about this season.

It is the fastest nine-inning game ever in MLB this year…in fact, it is the fastest nine-inning game in MLB in 14 years, since Cleveland and Detroit played a game at Comerica Park on June 2, 2010 played in 1:44. You may have heard of it – this is the famous, almost perfect game by Armando Galarraga.

It's the fastest nine-inning game at Wrigley Field since May 24, 2001, when a one-hit shutout by Jon Lieber … beat the Reds 3-0. What made this game special, however, was that there was a 1:37 rain delay in the fourth inning, meaning it was more than three hours from the first pitch to the last out.

The last nine-inning game at Wrigley that lasted 1:48 or less without any delay was the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies on June 30, 1978, which the Cubs won 3-0, a three-hit Shutout Mike Krukow.

The pitch timer was obviously one of the reasons for the speed of this game, but Cubs and Reds hitters also put balls in play. There were just two walks – both by Jameson Taillon – and seven total strikeouts. A total of 202 pitches were thrown, 95 by Reds starter Nick Martinez and 107 by Cubs pitchers (89 by Taillon, 10 by Tyson Miller and eight by Porter Hodge).

Martinez pitched the first eight-inning game by a visiting pitcher at Wrigley Field since the Royals' Jordan Lyles on August 20, 2023, a game the Cubs won 4-3. This had not previously happened since Gavin Floyd of the White Sox on June 13, 2010, a game in which Ted Lilly of the Cubs took a no-hitter into the ninth. (Many thanks to JohnW53 at BCB for looking this up for me when I emailed him about it!)

I absolutely love games like this. Good defense, great pitching and some small ball the Cubs played resulted in a single run. The wind didn't hurt either; At least four baseballs that would have landed in the stands on a normal day were held back by the wind, which was seen at 22 miles per hour on the first pitch.

Now let's get to the details.

In the top of the first with one out, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz hit a double to deep center field off the glove of Pete Crow-Armstrong.

But PCA then threw him out and tried to increase it to a triple (VIDEO).

In the second, Isaac Paredes showed off a glove (VIDEO).

The Cubs lost modestly in the first four innings, with just two singles, one by Nico Hoerner, the other by Miguel Amaya. Neither Cub got past first base until Nico led off fifth base with a double (VIDEO).

PCA followed with a fierce attempt. Obviously he wanted to score a hit, not a sacrifice, but he managed to achieve the latter as he was ejected and Nico took third place.

Amaya followed with a sacrifice fly and scored Hoerner (VIDEO).

Then it was up to the Cubs to finish off the pitching. Taillon went seven innings, allowing four hits and two walks and striking out two. Yes, the wind and good defense helped him, but Taillon had a very strong second half and an excellent 2024 season overall. Here is a video from his outing (VIDEO).

And here's a recap of how Taillon performed on this cloudy afternoon (VIDEO).

Tyson Miller, warming up in the seventh inning in case Taillon got into trouble that inning, came in to pitch the eighth inning. With two outs, he hit Jonathan India with a pitch but then struck out De La Cruz to end the inning.

Then it was up to Porter Hodge to save the chance and he did it quickly, with just the aforementioned eight throws. A fly ball to center was the first out, then Hodge hit Spencer Steer to the ground. Here is the finale (VIDEO).

Here are a few details from that game, from JohnW53 of BCB;

This was the Cubs' 100th shutout at home against the Reds since 1901, the first season of the modern era. That 100 is the Cubs' most against any opponent. They blanked the Braves 95 times; the Pirates, 91; and the Cardinals, 88.

The Cubs have played 1,131 home games against the Reds. They won 610, lost 512 and drew 8.

This was their 967th meeting at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs have a record of 497-465-5, including 79 shutout wins.

Sacrifice Flies became an official statistic in 1954. Today's win was the ninth since then for the Cubs in which they scored their only run on a sac fly. They lost 100 and drew three. They did this on May 1 in New York against the Mets, making 2024 the first season in which they have won two such games.

With a game as crisply played as this, you know what to expect…

With the victory, their 82nd, the Cubs secure a winning season, their second in a row. Hopefully they can win the next two and surpass last year's win total. Ultimately this means little, but it would at least be a step in the right direction.

The Cubs will win two straight against the Reds on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Kyle Hendricks will likely make his final start as a Cub and Rhett Lowder will choose the Reds. Game time is again at 1:20 p.m. CT and the TV broadcast will be on Marquee Sports Network.