Stubbs lifts Reds over Cubs

[August 09, 2010]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Drew Stubbs hurt the Chicago Cubs again, hitting a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and driving in a pair of runs to lead the surging Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 victory Saturday.

Stubbs doubled and scored in the third, started the eighth with his 14th homer and singled in a run in the ninth. The speedy center fielder snapped out of a 1-for-37 funk after being benched for five games. He is batting .318 with five homers against the Cubs this season.

Reds closer Francisco Cordero entered with a 4-1 lead but walked the bases loaded and before forcing in a run by hitting Starlin Castro with an 0-2 pitch. Nick Masset came on and struck out Derrek Lee, walked Aramis Ramirez for Chicago's final run and struck out Marlon Byrd for his second save.

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker, who was fired by the Cubs after the 2006 season, pumped his fist in celebration after Byrd went down.

The NL Central-leading Reds have won six of seven to move 15 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 1999 season.

Chicago has lost nine of 10 and is 3-9 against the Reds this year.

Randy Wells (5-10) opened with seven innings of three-hit ball and Cubs manager Lou Piniella let him bat in the bottom of the seventh in a 1-1 game. Chicago failed to score and Stubbs hit Wells' second pitch of the eighth into the left-field bleachers.

Stubbs also hit a go-ahead grand slam in eighth inning of Cincinnati's 5-4 victory over Chicago on April 9, and had a three-homer game at Wrigley Field on July 4. His drive off Wells was his first since he went deep twice against Colorado on July 17.

Ramon Hernandez followed Stubbs' shot with a single and Chris Heisey walked, chasing Wells. After Justin Berg got Brandon Phillips to ground into a double play, Paul Janish singled to make it 3-1.

Cincinnati took advantage of second baseman Blake DeWitt's error in the ninth to extend its lead. DeWitt dropped Laynce Nix's popup, allowing him to reach second, and Stubbs hit an RBI single to left with two out.

Edinson Volquez allowed one run and six hits in 6 2-3 innings for the Reds. Making his fifth start since undergoing major elbow surgery last August, the right-hander threw 105 pitches, his first triple-digit effort since May 10, 2009.

Volquez issued two of his four walks in the seventh, when Logan Ondrusek (3-0) came on to get the final out. Ondrusek also worked a hitless eighth.

Derrek Lee hit a sacrifice fly in the third for the Cubs, driving in Kosuke Fukudome and tying it at 1. Fukudome doubled with one out and moved to third on Castro's base hit.

Fukudome, who batted .152 in his previous 32 games and lost his right-field job to rookie Tyler Colvin, started consecutive games for the first time in exactly a month.

Coming into the game, Wells was 3-0 with a 2.30 career ERA against the Reds.

NOTES: Volquez has a career 0.96 ERA against the Cubs ... It's not quite Aroldis Chapman's time, but that time is fast approaching. The Reds called up RHP Carlos Fisher from Triple-A Louisville to replace RHP Russ Springer, who went on the disabled list with a strained left hip. But speaking about the organization's much-hyped pitching prospect from Cuba, Baker said: "We'll see Chapman soon enough." Baker wouldn't say if that would be before or after Sept. 1, when rosters can be expanded.

[Associated Press]

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