Cincinnati, OH – Ryan Hanigan hit a three-run homer and Brandon Phillips smacked a two-run shot to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Chicago Cubs, 7-4, in the opener of a three-game set at Great American Ball Park.
Joey Votto went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and scored twice and Xavier Paul drove in a run for the Reds, winners in four straight.
Bronson Arroyo (5-4) allowed three runs on six hits over six frames to get the win. Aroldis Chapman stranded a pair of runners in the ninth for his 11th save of the season.
Scott Feldman (4-4) was tagged for a season-high five runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.
Feldman also stroked his first career homer, a two-run blast in the second inning, and Luis Valbuena and Darwin Barney added one RBI apiece for the Cubs, losers in five straight.
"Scott was just one pitch away from another solid outing. A hanging curveball. It seems like that been our motto lately. One hanging off-speed pitch in situations when we can do anything with the baseball," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.
The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Valbuena doubled then moved to third on a Dioner Navarro single. Barney followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Valbuena before Feldman helped his own cause with a two-run blast to right field to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
The Reds scored five runs in the fourth to take the lead. Votto smashed a one- out solo homer to left-center. Phillips singled and Todd Frazier walked to put two on with two outs before Paul laced a single to center to bring Phillips across. Hanigan followed with a two-run shot to left to give the hosts a 5-3 edge.
"Sometimes in a game like that you get into a deficit and can't get anything going. Luckily for us, Hanigan got an opportunity there and popped one out of the park," Arroyo said.
Ryan Sweeney opened the eighth with a double to right before coming around on a Valbuena single up the middle.
Phillips' two-run shot in the eighth gave the Reds some breathing room. Votto singled before Phillips cracked a no-doubter over the wall in center.
Game Notes
Votto extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Over that stretch, Votto is batting .510 with four homers and 10 RBI ... Phillips extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games ... The Reds starting pitchers are 6-0 with a 2.24 earned run average over the last 10 games ... Cincinnati is 17-6 at home this season ... The Cubs have dropped six of their last seven games.
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