McCoy: Steer’s home run, 4 RBIs lifts Cincinnati Reds to 5-1 victory at Chicago

What did he do?

His starter, Shota Imanaga, put a firm clamp on the Reds for six innings, one run on three hits. And he struck out Elly De La Cruz to open the seventh.

Out came Counsell to take the ball from Imanaga’s talented left hand. He brought in Andrew Kittredge, acquired from Baltimore at the trade deadline.

Counsell knew better, didn’t he? Imanaga had thrown only 92 pitches and certainly could have finished the seventh. And the Cubs are 8-and-9 since the All-Star break with their bullpen pitching to a 5.50 earned run average.

Kittredge retired nobody. Five straight Reds reached base, including a three-run home run by Spencer Steer.

On the flip side, Reds manager Tito Francona permitted his newest pitcher, Zack Littell, to pitch through the seventh inning.

Making his Reds debut, Littell gave up one run, three hits, walked one and struck out a season’s best eight. And he was exactly what the Reds needed after their starters pitched only 2 2/3 total innings in their last two games.

It hasn’t been an easy path for Littell. The Reds are his sixth team in eight years. He has been released and he has gone to camps as a non-roster invitee.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

And his start was shaky. The first two Cubs reached on a single and a walk. Then he struck out the side and retired eight straight.

“I was a little nervous, to be honest,” he said during a post-game interview. “A new team with expectations to perform. It was a big game on top of my first one here. I was a little amped up, so it was good to get out of it (the first inning).”

Reds manager Tito Francona was more than impressed.

“That was pretty good,” he said in a massive understatement. “The first two guys get on with some really dangerous guys coming up and he gets out of that. Man, he got us deep into the game and put up zeros. That was really exciting to watch.

“I had heard that he is a pro’s pro and somebody compared him to Nick Martinez, which in my book is pretty high praise.”

In clinching the series with their second straight win over the slumping Cubs, the Reds climbed six games over .500, matching their best over .500 mark this season.

The first 13 batters Imanaga faced were retired. TJ Friedl dragged a perfect bunt for a hit to lead off the fourth, then Imanaga picked him off at first.

The Reds reached him for a run in the fifth on newly-acquired Miguel Andujar’s ground rule double that bounced over the right-center wall and a single by Steer, who drove in four of the Reds five runs.

Littell’s one problem this year while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays was giving up home runs. And he gave one up in the fifth inning. Matt Shaw, batting ninth, cleared the right field wall, the league-leading 27th giving up by Littell.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

But that was all he gave up and the Reds put it to Kittredge in the seventh.

The inning began with Austin Hays drawing a full-count walk. Miguel Andujar, another acquistion at the trade deadline, doubled and scored the first run, followed the walk with a single. And Steer unloaded.

“It has been an up-and-down year for me, so I show up at the park every day with a clean slate,” said Steer. “What happened in the past, happened in the past. I just try to be a tough out that day and try to help the team win.”

The wind was blowing straight in from center field, making home runs a Herculean effort.

“I got it off the end of the bat a little bit,” said Steer. “I was shocked that it went. I was fortunate that ball got out.”

So were the Reds.

Steer, indeed, has had his struggles, but Francona gives him a pass because he fought an early-season shoulder issue and survived on cortisone.

“Good for him, because he has hit the ball right on the screws several times and hasn’t gotten rewarded for it,” said Francona. “If you take his first 50 or 60 bats away, his numbers aren’t that bad. He did that (play hurt) because he is a team guy. He probably shouldn’t have been playing. So he is the guy he is right now.”

While his offensive numbers are down, his play at first base, a position he never played until this year, has been a degree or two above spectacular, rated the best defensive player on the Reds. And close to being the best first baseman in MLB.

The Reds go for a sweep Wednesday afternoon, with their best on the mound, 9-and-1 Andrew Abbott.

NEXT GAME

Who: Reds at Chicago Cubs

When: 2:20 p.m.

TV: FanDuel Sports

Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM