Paul, Hanigan deliver in 9th, Reds beat Cubs

[August 20, 2012]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- Xavier Paul led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit triple and Ryan Hanigan followed with a single Sunday, giving the Cincinnati Reds a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Paul lined the first pitch from Shawn Camp (3-6) over first base into the right-field corner. Hanigan hit the next pitch to left-center over the drawn-in Chicago outfield.

The NL Central-leading Reds took three out of four from the Cubs and finished a 5-2 homestand.

Aroldis Chapman (5-4) struck out two in the ninth. Brett Jackson doubled with one out, but was caught trying to steal third.

The Cubs capitalized on two errors to tie the score. Third baseman Wilson Valdez misplayed Darwin Barney's potential double-play ball with no outs in the sixth, leading to Alfonso Soriano's sacrifice fly and Starlin Castro's RBI single.

Jay Bruce dropped Luis Valbuena's fly ball near the right-field warning track with one out in the eighth inning, allowing David DeJesus to go from first to third. DeJesus scored on Soriano's groundout.

The Cubs' comeback allowed Chris Volstad to avoid the loss, but his streak of consecutive starts without a win was stretched to 24, dating to July 17, 2011, when he was pitching for the Marlins. He allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings.

The errors cost Mat Latos his fourth straight win. He gave up six hits and four runs -- two earned -- with six strikeouts in eight innings.

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the first on Bruce's two-out single. He is batting .406 (13 for 32) during an eight-game hitting streak, which started immediately after he got two days off.

The Cubs tied it in the third on Scott Clevenger's leadoff walk, Volstad's sacrifice and DeJesus' ground-rule double.

Consecutive singles by Bruce, Todd Frazier and Valdez to lead off the fourth produced the go-ahead run. Hanigan's sacrifice fly and Latos' RBI single made it 4-1.

NOTES: This was the 13th sellout of the season, a single-season record at 10-year-old Great American Ball Park. The previous record of 12 was set last season. ... The Cubs optioned LHP Brooks Raley to Triple-A Iowa, the day after he earned his first big league win. ... The Reds optioned RHP Todd Redmond to Triple-A Louisville, the day after he got the loss in his major league debut. ... LHP Chris Rusin will be recalled from Iowa to start for Chicago at Milwaukee on Tuesday. It will be Rusin's major league debut.

[Associated Press]

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