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.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	1
Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	-	3	6	0

Boxscore

The Reds wasted a lovely start by Mat Latos yesterday afternoon to notch their fourth loss in a row.

In 7.0 innings of work, Latos allowed just 1 run (earned) on 3 hits and a walk. He struck out 8. Seriously, as this guy gets older and gets better control over his Mr. Hyde side, he’s going to be a serious weapon.

Sadly for him, though, a W was not in the cards. Jonathan Broxton came in for the next .2 innings and gave up 2 runs (earned) on 3 hits in that amount of time. Logan Ondrusek got the last out in the eighth. He didn’t allow any runs or hits, but did give up a walk.

Now, giving up 2 runs in .2 innings isn’t good, but I propose it wasn’t really the problem here. The first place team in the division ought to be able to come back from a 1-run deficit to the fourth place team in the division. The offense only managed 6 runs in the whole 3-game series with the Brew Crew. I’d say the Milwaukee clubhouse manager replaced the Reds usual bats with Folgers Crystals, except the lack of offense started in the last game before the road trip.

FYI, the team’s two RBI belong to Dioner Navarro who hit a home run in the top of the third with Miguel Cairo on first base. The only Red who collected more than one hit on the night was Latos. He’s a weapon, I tell ya.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 66-45. Tonight they head to Chicago to try to change their luck against the Cubbies. Chris Volstad (RHP, 0-8, 7.22 ERA) leads the charge for the Cubs against Mike Leake (RHP, 4-7, 4.51 ERA) for the Reds. First pitch at 8:05 p.m.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	0
Brewers	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-	3	8	0

Boxscore

The Reds looked like crap last night, notching their third loss in a row and securing the series loss against the Brewers.

Johnny Cueto started for the Reds and actually didn’t look like crap. In 7.0 innings of work he allowed 3 runs (earned) on 6 hits and 0 walks. Sean Marshall and Sam LeCure didn’t look like crap either, when they shared the eighth inning and didn’t allow a run on 2 hits collectively.

I guess I would have been more specific to say that the offense looked like crap yesterday. You might say it’s due to the Brewer’s hot rookie right-hander Mike Fiers, who held the Reds to 1 run on 3 hits through 8 innings. Fiers is having a helluva season, but the Reds are up 12 games on this team. They’re letting its rookies take them to school?

FYI, those 3 hits came from Zack Cozart, Xavier Paul, and Ryan Hanigan. The one RBI belongs to Brandon Phillips who sacrificed Cozart in in the seventh. And that’s all that separated Fiers from a perfect game. Not so much as a walk or a HBP for anyone else. What is this? May all over again?

The loss brings the Reds record to 66-44. They’re 1 game behind the Nationals for the best record in baseball, but it’s harder to be happy about that right now. They try to redeem themselves and avoid the sweep this afternoon. Mat Latos (RHP, 10-3, 3.94 ERA) goes against Randy Wolf (LHP, 3-8, 5.57 ERA). First pitch at 2:10 p.m. and this game is on t.v., if you’d like to bear witness.