CHICAGO -- Cubs pitchers must think Reds slugger Aristides Aquino is a menace to their statistics.

During a 7-1 Reds win on Wednesday night, Aquino slugged a pair of home runs during his three-hit game. He has three multi-homer games in his career, all vs. the Cubs. Of his 38 career home runs, 12 have come against Chicago -- or 31.6 percent of his long balls.

“I didn’t think about that,” Reds manager David Bell said. “For us, we’re so focused on what he’s trying to do, the hard work he’s putting in. It’s fun to see him go to the plate with confidence. The harder he works, the more success he has, the more that confidence continues to build. That’s what we are focused on. It was a lot of fun to see him go up to the plate really aggressive and wanting to be up there."

Cincinnati trailed, 1-0, in the third inning when Aquino slugged a 1-1 slider from Javier Assad for a 438-foot homer that cleared the left-field bleachers and reached Waveland Ave., outside of Wrigley Field.

The lead was 6-1 in the ninth inning when Aquino led off and lifted a first-pitch slider from reliever Jeremiah Estrada for another homer to left field.

“Every time you do something to help the team win means a lot,” Aquino said. “Then being in the process, I’ve been working hard. I haven’t had a great year, but I’ve been working hard to finish strong. It means a lot."

Perhaps Aquino’s best swing came on the single he hit in the four-run top of the sixth inning, when he was among six consecutive Cincinnati hitters who reached safely. The inning’s third pitcher, Michael Rucker, surrendered Aquino’s broken-bat RBI single to right field to make it a five-run game.

“That’s the best because we usually say, when you break your bat and it leads to an RBI, you say a hitter is feeling really good,” Aquino said. “That’s something you enjoy as much.”

“When he’s swinging the bat good, the home runs are just going to come,” Bell said. “That is a good sign. Even the base hit, in that situation with runners on base, you really just want to get the bat on the ball sometimes. He stayed on that pitch. I actually thought that base hit was a really good sign, too. That was a big hit in the game.”

Aquino has struggled most of his time in the big leagues this season and is now batting .199/.237/.348 with seven homers and 25 RBIs over 58 games. He’s struck out in a whopping 40 percent of his plate appearances (76 times out of 190), which has often made him a lineup liability.

Meanwhile, Aquino has seemingly had nine lives on the roster. He was designated for assignment April 30 and cleared waivers to return to Triple-A Louisville. Not long after he was called back up in late May, he missed 42 games with a left ankle sprain in mid-June.

On the heels of the Trade Deadline, Aquino was activated and Bell made him the everyday right fielder. The production didn’t pick up, while he hit just two homers over his previous 25 games. As Jake Fraley -- and later, TJ Friedl -- started clicking at the plate, Aquino found himself out of the lineup and sitting on the bench more often. His most helpful contributions have been defensively with his right arm, which has produced a National League-high 11 assists -- including six runners cut down at the plate.

The offensive work has continued behind the scenes as Aquino made swing, stance and approach adjustments. Over his last five games, he’s 8-for-16 (.500) with three homers and seven RBIs.

“What we see as players on a day-to-day basis is all the hard work he puts in in the cage,” Friedl said. “Everything he’s been working on, swing adjustment-wise, to be successful. Through the ups and downs, he’s always working hard. It’s always good to see that pay off.”

Aquino accessing his power again has to be tantalizing, when considering the breakthrough month he had in August 2019, as he hit 14 homers while breaking multiple rookie records.

For now, Aquino isn’t driven by trying to be “The Punisher” who can hit long home runs.

“I know that I’ve got power,” Aquino said. “For the team, I’m focused on taking good at-bats and enjoying competing at the plate. Then the results are going to be fine if you compete.”