Wade Miley's dominant start – and help from the Wrigley Field ivy – lifts Reds to win

CHICAGO – The Wrigley Field ivy gave a second life to Cincinnati Reds starter Wade Miley and, perhaps, a second wind to the Reds’ playoff chances.

With a runner on first base and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Patrick Wisdom hit a rocket into the left-center gap. Miley didn’t hide his frustration, shouting as he slammed his glove hand to the ground.

"The ball got hung up there," Miley said after the Reds' 4-3 win Tuesday. "I thought it was a two-run homer." 

The ball bounced at the base of the left-field wall and didn’t drop out of the iconic ivy-covered outfield wall. Left fielder Max Schrock – and all his teammates in the infield – raised their hands to signal the play was dead.

Ian Happ, the runner on first, would’ve easily scored if he wasn’t instructed to return to third base on the ground-rule double. Miley received a gift from the ivy and made the most of it, pitching out of the inning and lifting the Reds to a victory against the Chicago Cubs in front of 24,925 fans.

"It's one of those plays, those breaks," Reds manager David Bell said. "I recall two or three times this year having the same conversation while we were on the other side of that."

The Reds had a banner day in the playoff race Tuesday. The San Diego Padres lost to the Los Angeles Angels, so the Reds moved into a tie for the second wild-card spot with 22 games remaining. The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, the two closest teams behind the Reds and Padres, lost too. 

Miley was phenomenal, permitting one run and five hits across seven innings. He tied a season-high with eight strikeouts and matched a career-high with 21 swings and misses. He said it was the best cutter he had in a while, working with pitching coach Derek Johnson in the last couple of days to use his legs more. 

After Wisdom’s ground-rule double, putting runners on second and third with two outs, Miley induced a soft comebacker to the mound against Matt Duffy to end the inning. He even reached 94 mph in his at-bat, the hardest pitch he’s thrown all season.

Miley has held opposing batters to a .158 batting average with runners in scoring position this year.

"Wade is special, man," Jonathan India said. "Everyone will tell you he’s one of the best teammates you could ever play with. He’s always so relaxed. I don’t know, it’s Wade. He’s such a happy guy all the time. 

"All of our pitchers compete. But when Wade is on the mound, it’s quick, it’s competitive, it’s in the zone and he uses his defense really well and he trusts us. It’s fun to play behind him.”

It was the 10th time Miley pitched at least seven innings in a start this season. He gave up a solo homer to Willson Contreras with two outs in the third inning, but the Cubs didn’t have any other runners touch second base until Wisdom’s two-out ground-rule double in the sixth inning.

The Reds have a 13-5 record in Miley's last 18 starts.

"He did what he’s done all year," Reds manager David Bell said.

The Reds had a 4-1 lead entering the bottom of the eighth inning. Michael Lorenzen, who called his changeup “the worst pitch on the face of the planet,” after giving up the game-winning run in Monday’s loss, surrendered a solo homer on a changeup to pinch-hitter Rafael Ortega.

Ian Happ added another solo homer off Lorenzen later in the inning, which came after shortstop Kyle Farmer made an over-the-shoulder running grab in the Bermuda Triangle between left field, center field and shortstop. 

"I think it was the best play a shortstop made all year," India said. "That’s got to be No. 1 on SportsCenter. I think that was amazing.”

The Reds gave themselves a little cushion with two runs in the eighth inning. After India hit a leadoff double, the Cubs intentionally walked Joey Votto with two outs. Mike Moustakas and Kyle Farmer responded with back-to-back RBI singles. 

Mychal Givens pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win and his sixth save of the season.

"Those add-on runs," Bell said, "you just felt how important they were at the time."

India gave the Reds a lead on the first swing of the game, pummeling a 91-mph sinker over the center-field wall for a 422-foot home run. It was India’s 19th home run of the season and his fifth career leadoff homer.

Two batters later, Nick Castellanos clobbered a 446-foot solo homer to straightaway center field, mashing an elevated changeup from Cubs starter Adrian Sampson. 

"We needed a little momentum on our side," India said. "We’ve been struggling the past couple of weeks."