Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (69-46)	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3	6	0
Cubs (44-69)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Boxscore

Johnny Cueto won his 15th game Sunday, giving the Cincinnati Reds the series win over the Chicago Cubs and improving the Reds’ winning streak to 3.

Cueto pitched 8 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball. He walked 2 and struck out 3. Aroldis Chapman was brought in for the 9th to close the game out and succeeded in getting his 28th save. He allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

The game was scoreless until the 5th, with Cubs rookie starter Brooks Raley matching Cueto’s excellent effort. With one out, Todd Frazier singled to left field. Then Jay Bruce stepped to the plate and broke his 0-13 slump with his 22nd home run.

Those two runs were more than the Reds needed with how well Cueto was dealing, but Ryan Ludwick added on another run in the 6th inning. With 2 outs, he homered to left field for his 21st of the season.

The Reds maintained their 4.5 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also won. The St. Louis Cardinals lost and are now 7 games back.

The Reds have Monday off. On Tuesday, they start a home stand when the New York Mets come to town. Chris Young is scheduled to start against Mat Latos at 7:10pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (67-46)	0	2	3	0	0	3	0	1	1	10	15	0
Cubs (44-67)	1	0	2	0	0	1	2	2	0	8	13	5

Boxscore

In a game that took 3 hours and 56 minutes to play, a game that saw the Chicago Cubs commit 5 errors and a game with 18 combined runs scored, the Cincinnati Reds won to snap their 5-game losing streak.

It was an ugly game.

Homer Bailey started and ended up going 5 2/3 innings before being pulled. He loaded the bases in the first with no outs–an important harbinger of the day to come–and allowed a run before finishing the inning. Still, the 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks that he allowed over that time were somehow enough to get him his career-high 10th win.

The wind at Wrigley Field was doing crazy things to the ball yesterday, which contributed to the high-scoring affair. Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier were the offensive heros, with Ludwick going 3-5 with a walk, 4 runs scored, and 2 RBI from the game’s only home run. Frazier drove in 4 and scored a run, and had himself a 3-4 day with a walk.

The real star of the game, though, was Aroldis Chapman. After two consecutive losses due to late leads given up by the bullpen, it looked like it was about to happen again.

Jonathan Broxton started the 8th inning, but was again completely ineffective. He allowed 2 runs and the 3-run lead that the Reds had fought so hard for was in danger of slipping away. A 6th loss in a row would have been hard to swallow. Manager Dusty Baker made the right call, though, and with 2 outs in the 8th, he brought in Chapman for the 4-out, 1-run save.

And Chapman did it. He struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced, picking up his 26th save. He’s been amazing this year, and I was very happy to see him enter. It’s hard for the wind in Wrigley to do crazy things to the ball when the batters can’t put it in play.

Thanks to losses from both the Pirates and Cardinals, the Reds’ first win in a week increases their lead in the standings by a game. They try to make this winning thing a streak today when Bronson Arroyo takes on former Red Travis Wood at 4:05pm EDT.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds (66-46)	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	1
Cubs (44-66)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	-	5	7	1

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds continued going off the rails on their losing train last night, losing to the Chicago Cubs. Entering the game, both teams had losing streaks. I didn’t expect the Cubs’ streak to be the one to end. This is the Reds’ 5th consecutive loss, and their longest losing streak of the season.

Mike Leake started for Cincinnati and turned in a quality start: 6 innings and 3 runs. He also allowed 6 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. The bullpen was ineffective for a second straight night, though, allowing 2 more runs in the 8th.

The Reds took the lead early, with Zack Cozart leading off the game with his 13th home run. Another run scored when a Ryan Ludwick ground out scored Drew Stubbs. The Reds stopped scoring in the 4th after Todd Frazier hit his 14th home run. But it wasn’t enough to get the win.

Winning streaks gloss over weaknesses of a team. It’s unfortunate that the Reds’ last streak coincided with the non-waiver trading deadline. General Manager Walt Jocketty has already shown his preference of inactivity. That combined with the team playing so well hid the black hole of ineptitude that manager Dusty Baker has available to him every game on his bench. Jocketty has given Baker nothing, and it showed last night, when Wilson Valdez batted in the 9th with a runner on and grounded into a double play to kill any chance of a comeback. That’s not the batter you want in that situation, but the Reds had no one better on the bench.

Joey Votto can’t come back soon enough.

The Reds try to stop the bleeding and maintain their 2 1/2 game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. Homer Bailey will start against former Red Justin Germano at 2:20pm EDT.