Drew Stubbs' grand slam leads Reds over Cubs 5-4

[April 20, 2010]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- Drew Stubbs hit his first career grand slam off Esmailin Caridad in the eighth inning on Friday night, rallying the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The Reds managed only three hits in the first seven innings, then took advantage of Caridad (0-1), who didn't give up an earned run during spring training. The right-hander walked the first two batters he faced, and Chris Dickerson bunted for a single before Stubbs connected for a 5-3 lead.

Micah Owings (1-0) got the victory with three innings of relief. Francisco Cordero gave up a solo homer by Derrek Lee in the ninth before picking up his first save.

The Cubs had a chance to pull it out in the ninth, when Lee homered with one out. Chicago then loaded the bases with two outs on Kosuke Fukudome's single, third baseman Scott Rolen's fielding error and Mike Fontenot's infield single. Pinch-hitter Chad Tracy hit a check-swing grounder back to Cordero for the final out.

Stubbs, who also tripled, has been one of the Reds' few consistent hitters during the opening week. His first homer of the season broke open a game between two teams struggling to hit.

Right-hander Carlos Silva held the Reds to one run in six innings - Stubbs tripled to open the first, then scored on Orlando Cabrera's sacrifice fly. Silva settled in on a chilly, 54-degree evening, preventing the Reds from rallying until he was out of the game.

Chicago failed to make the most out of a ragged start by Homer Bailey, who went deep in counts and lasted only five innings. The 23-year-old Bailey was trying to extend his sensational closing stretch of 2009, when he had a 1.70 ERA in his last nine starts - the best in the majors during that span. A little wildness got in the way.

Bailey gave up seven singles in five innings, but also walked two batters, hit two and committed a balk. He needed 106 pitches to get that far, the best sign of how much he struggled.

Aramis Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly, and Xavier Nady and Lee had run-scoring singles off Bailey. Nady got hit by pitches twice in the left arm - once by Bailey, once by Owings.

Silva came to the Cubs last December from Seattle as part of the trade for Milton Bradley. He made only six starts last season because of shoulder problems. He was crisp in his Cubs debut, throwing 48 strikes out of 71 pitches before letting the bullpen finish it off.

Ryan Theriot broke his 0-for-12 start with a pair of singles, scored a run and made two sensational plays at shortstop that stole hits from Cincinnati.

The Reds' starting lineup featured three first-round draft picks: Bailey (2004), right fielder Jay Bruce (2005) and Stubbs (2006). Right-hander Mike Leake, the Reds' top pick last year, will make his debut on Sunday.

NOTES: Nady started in RF as manager Lou Piniella continued to give his reserves some playing time, looking to spark the offense. "Invariably what will happen is the guys who are doing the best will get the bulk of the playing time," Piniella said. ... One of the Reds' mascots walked around the field pregame with a cardboard sign that read, "Got Goat?" a reference to the Cubs' mythical curse from 1945. ... Cincinnati is 1-3 for the second straight season. ... Chicago's Carlos Zambrano is 1-5 in seven career starts against Cincinnati's Aaron Harang. They go head-to-head again on Saturday.

[Associated Press; By JOE KAY]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.