Cincinnati, OH – Starlin Castro had three hits, two RBI and a run scored as the Chicago Cubs held off a late rally by the Cincinnati Reds to take a 9-7 victory in the second portion of a day/night doubleheader.
"He came up huge again. We found a slot for him at cleanup...he cuts and slashes," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said of Castro.
Johnny Cueto led the Reds to a 5-3 decision in the opener, allowing two runs and three hits in eight innings for his National League-leading 16th win.
Bryan LaHair knocked in a pair of runs, while Brett Jackson and David DeJesus homered for the Cubs, who snapped a two-game slide.
Brooks Raley (1-2) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings in the win.
Todd Redmond (0-1) made his first career start for the Reds and surrendered four runs on seven hits and five walks through 3 1/3 innings.
Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs and drove in three for Cincinnati, which had won seven of its last eight.
"It was a big game, Ryan's feeling it, he's swinging, he wants it," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
Cincinnati entered the bottom of the sixth inning trailing, 8-2, but started to inch its way back as Todd Frazier hit an RBI single and Scott Rolen brought home a run with a double before Ludwick hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to right-center field, in the seventh to close the gap to two.
Miguel Cairo plated Jay Bruce with a pinch-hit triple to right in the eighth to make it a one-run game, but DeJesus gave the Cubs back a little cushion with a blast to right-center field in the ninth.
Carlos Marmol then took the mound for the home ninth and allowed a one-out single by Brandon Phillips to bring the tying run to the plate.
Phillips advanced no further, though, as Marmol fanned Ludwick and induced a grounder to third by Frazier to end the game and earn his 15th save of the season.
The Cubs left the bases loaded in the first inning, but were able to break through in the second with Jackson's leadoff blast to right field.
Cincinnati tied the game in the home second as Ludwick led off the frame by hammering a ball over the left-field wall.
The Cubs regained the lead in the fourth when Luis Valbuena worked a one-out walk, advanced to third on Redmond's throwing error on a dribbler by Joe Mather and came home on Anthony Rizzo's base hit through the right side of the infield.
Castro followed with a double into the left-field corner to plate Mather and knock Redmond out of the game.
Alfredo Simon came in next and Rizzo slid home safely on a fielder's choice to first base by LaHair before Steve Clevenger grounded into an inning-ending double play to keep it a 4-1 game.
Chicago added a run in the fifth when Adrian Cardenas singled and rounded the bases on Valbuena's two-out double to right-center.
The Reds got a run back in the bottom of the frame as Bruce hit a leadoff single, moved to second on Rolen's walk, advanced to third on a Devin Mesoraco fly out and crossed the plate on pinch-hitter Chris Heisey's single to left.
But the Cubs answered with three runs in the sixth after Castro slapped a triple to right field to score Rizzo, who reached on a fielding error by first baseman Frazier, and then came home on a LaHair single.
LaHair then stole second and crossed the plate on a Cardenas double to left- center field for an 8-2 advantage.
Game Notes
Saturday's doubleheader was due to a rainout on May 1 ... Jackson's homer was the first of his career ... Castro recorded his 10th three-hit game of the year ... It was Ludwick's fourth multi-homer game of the season.
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