CINCINNATI — The crack of the bat was enough to tell that designated hitter Seiya Suzuki had struck the ball hard enough to send it over the fence to complete the Cubs’ comeback Sunday against the Reds.
‘‘That ball was hit very, very hard,’’ manager Craig Counsell said of Suzuki’s tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning of the Cubs’ 11-8 victory.
Suzuki’s homer into the stands jumped off the bat at 116.2 mph, according to Statcast. It was good for three runs, part of a four-run inning that also featured catcher Reese McGuire’s second solo homer of the day.
The Cubs had trailed 8-3 before their seventh- and eighth-inning rallies. They came from behind in both their victories in the three-game series.
‘‘That’s a sign of a really strong team,’’ Suzuki said through an interpreter after going 3-for-4. ‘‘We can continue to put pressure on them, regardless of the situation. Today we were in a tough situation, but we were able to stick with it and get the win.’’
It was Suzuki’s 14th homer in 49 games, by far his best pace to start a major-league season.
Brown struggles
Cubs starter Ben Brown walked the first two batters he faced on nine pitches and was charged with eight runs, all of which scored in the first and fifth, in 4⅓ innings.
‘‘It’s two things,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘One, he basically gave them 10 free pitches to start the game that led to two runs, essentially. And then he struggled the third time through the lineup. And so those are two things we’ve got to get better at and we’ve got to help him get better at.”
Brown hasn’t pitched more than 5⅓ innings in any of his last four starts.
‘‘All I can control is my attitude and my effort,’’ Brown said. ‘‘I’m having periods of time where I’m the best pitcher I’ve ever been. I’m having times where I’m obviously struggling. And there’s two directions you can go: I can just have the worst season of all time, or I can fix my attitude and my effort and really lock into what needs to be done. And I’m going to choose that [second] route.’’
Oblique injuries
Catcher Miguel Amaya became the fourth Cubs player this season to land on the injured list with a strained left oblique.
Starting pitcher Javier Assad has been sidelined with the injury all season after getting hurt before spring training and aggravating it during his rehab assignment last month at Triple-A Iowa. Left fielder Ian Happ had a minimum stint on the 10-day IL with a minor strain. Reliever Porter Hodge is a week into his 15-day IL stint.
Counsell dismissed the notion of a common thread, pointing to the difference in the players’ positions and in the circumstances of the injuries, as well as the inherent risk in playing sports.
‘‘This is a very dangerous oblique sport,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘And if we want to train players to be bigger, faster, stronger, we are going to deal with this stuff. And the players have to train to be bigger, faster, stronger to keep up.’’
Notes
As the Cubs’ bullpen held the Reds at bay to give the offense a chance at a comeback, reliever Drew Pomeranz extended his scoreless streak to 13 outings. Pomeranz has yet to allow a run with the Cubs. Before his comeback this season, he hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2021.
• Left-hander Jordan Wicks left his start Saturday at Triple-A with a hamstring issue, Counsell said.