The Cubs needed a late answer in a tie game, and Alex Bregman finally gave them one.
Chicago snapped a two-game skid on Saturday with a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, pulling even in the series and setting up a rubber-match finale on Sunday. The victory also put the Cubs in position to go 12 games over .500 before the All-Star break, a notable place for a club that once dropped 10 straight two months ago.
It also helped Chicago keep moving in the standings. The Cubs picked up 1.5 games on the Milwaukee Brewers over the last two days and now sit six games back with a 1.5-game lead in the top Wild Card spot.
Bregman’s first season in Chicago has drawn plenty of criticism, and the numbers explain why. The 32-year-old entered Saturday hitting .236, well below his career .270 mark, and his July and June production has lagged badly. But when the Cubs needed a big swing, he delivered it.
With one away and a runner aboard, Bregman launched a two-run shot to the left-field seats to break the tie. It was his eighth homer of the year, and his first go-ahead home run since August 11, 2025 - before he ever donned the blue pinstripes.
Javier Assad helped make sure that blast mattered.
Given the injuries around the pitching staff, every Cubs starter has had to serve as a bridge to the bullpen, and Assad has handled that job well for the most part. Entering Saturday, opponents were hitting just .125 against him in high-leverage situations, and he backed that up again with a pair of escapes when Cincinnati threatened early.
The Reds opened the first inning with men on the corners and nobody out, but Assad struck out J.J. Bleday and then got a ground ball for a double play to end the threat.
In the third, back-to-back singles by T.J. Friedl and Elly De La Cruz put two on with nobody out again.
Sal Stewart then flied out softly, Assad and Michael Busch combined to catch De La Cruz leaning at first for a pickoff, and Bleday followed with another flyout to end the inning.
Assad worked five innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits while striking out four. His season ERA is 4.11, but he has been rolling over his last seven outings, posting a 2.80 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP across 35.1 innings.
The bullpen had to finish the job from there, and it was a group effort. Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, Ryan Rolison and Trent Thornton all took a turn.
Pomeranz, who rejoined the Cubs on July 3 off waivers, has had a rough return with an 8.10 ERA in 3.1 innings. He gave up a homer on his first pitch Saturday, but that was the only damage before he settled in for an inning.
Thielbar and Webb each threw a scoreless frame, and then Rolison, working on his birthday, was asked to secure his second save of the season. Tyler Stephenson opened the inning with a single, and De La Cruz later drew a walk, which pushed the final out to Thornton.
Thornton needed just three pitches to finish it. Sal Stewart rolled an 0-2 pitch to Nico Hoerner for an easy grounder, and Thornton celebrated the save.
Sometimes it takes a village, and that is exactly how Craig Counsell has managed this bullpen this season. Next man up, and the next man can get the job done.
The Cubs close out the first half on Sunday at 12:40 p.m. CT, with Matthew Boyd set to start for Chicago and Andrew Abbott scheduled to pitch for the Reds. Chicago returns from the break on July 17, when it hosts the Minnesota Twins in a Friday night opener at 7:05.
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