© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 28 (UPI) — Nick Hundley and Will Venable homered and combined to drive in seven runs Wednesday, sending the San Diego Padres to a 9-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The Padres and Cubs ended the season tied for the second-worst record in the National League (71-91) — ahead of only the Houston Astros and their 106 losses.

Hundley hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run third and Venable blasted a grand slam in the sixth.

That made things easy for Wade LeBlanc (5-6), who gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings to get the victory.

Ryan Dempster (10-14) suffered the loss, surrendering all nine runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Starlin Castro and Matt Garza have been bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Chicago Cubs.

Castro had two singles to extend his NL-leading total to 206 hits and Garza won his 10th game as the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 on Tuesday night in a matchup of 90-game losers. Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning.

Castro has 12 more hits than Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Wednesday, Castro will become the youngest player ever to lead the NL in hits in a season, at 21 years, 188 days. He’ll also become the third Cubs player in seven seasons to lead the NL in hits, joining Juan Pierre (2006) and Derrek Lee (2005).

Castro reached base for the 39th straight game, extending his career-high streak.

Garza, obtained in an offseason trade with Tampa Bay, finished 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA. He had been sick on Monday night and the Cubs sent him back to the hotel.

“Come hell or high water he was going to pitch,” manager Mike Quade said. “It was an excellent effort.”

Soriano homered off the base of the batter’s eye in straightaway center field against Chad Qualls (6-8), giving the Cubs a 4-2 lead. Aramis Ramirez, who homered in the fourth, reached on a leadoff walk before being replaced by Tony Campana, and Bryan LaHair walked with one out ahead of Soriano’s 26th homer.

“A normal human being would have hit that on the ground,” Qualls said. “Soriano hits it 420 feet.”

Garza tied his career high with his fourth straight win. He allowed two runs and five hits, struck out eight and walked two in seven innings.

“It is what it is. I had a chance at the end,” Garza said. “I’m happy the way it ended. I’m not happy we’re not playing in October, but I’m just going to take what I did and let it keep rolling into the offseason and get ready for next season.”

The loss clinched last place in the NL West for the Padres (70-91). They won 90 games in 2010, but took a face-plant this season after trading All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in December.

Ramirez hit a drive to straightaway center leading off the fourth against rookie Anthony Bass, his 26th.

Chicago’s Blake DeWitt added a pinch-hit, two-run single in the ninth.

San Diego’s Kyle Blanks hit a two-run double in the second.

Bass, who started the season in Double-A, held the Cubs to one run and five hits in five innings.

“For the most part I was pleased,” Bass said. “I made a couple of mistakes that they hit hard.”

NOTES: Castro extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his fifth double-digit streak of the season. … The season ends Wednesday night when Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster (10-13, 4.53 ERA) faces LHP Wade LeBlanc (4-6, 4.83). Dempster is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his last four starts against San Diego. LeBlanc will be facing the Cubs for the first time. In a 2-0 win at Colorado in his last start, LeBlanc struck out a career-high 10, the most strikeouts by a Padres pitcher this season.

Around the leagues

Oakland announced it had reached agreement on a three-year contract with manager Bob Melvin. He owns a 535-557 career managerial record in eight seasons. … Toronto third baseman Brett Lawrie (finger) will miss the rest of the season. …Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes has received an injection of painkiller to alleviate a seven-year-old back injury that recurred. … White Sox shortstop Omar Vizquel, 44, wants to return for a 24th season.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Chicago Cubs’ long night in New York proved to cause no problems in Cincinnati.

Starlin Castro homered, scored four runs and drove in three while extending his career-high hitting streak to 13 games and the Cubs shook off their fatigue to pound out a 12-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

The Cubs needed 11 innings to beat the Mets 10-6 on Sunday night and didn’t arrive in Cincinnati until 5:30 a.m. Monday, but they still managed to get 16 hits, including three home runs and five doubles.

“Coming off some rough travel and an interesting weekend in New York, it was nice to see us come out and do that,” said manager Mike Quade, whose team participated as New York commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Aramis Ramirez also had three hits, including a double and his 25th homer of the season, and Jeff Baker added a home run as the Cubs won a third consecutive game for the first time since Aug. 15 and matched their season high in runs. They also scored 12 in a 12-7 win over Milwaukee on June 16.

Brandon Phillips hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs and Juan Francisco hit a tape-measure shot, but the Reds couldn’t avoid their third consecutive loss and fourth in five games.

Rodrigo Lopez lasted 5 1-3 innings to earn the win despite allowing nine hits, including all four of Cincinnati’s homers, and five runs. Lopez (5-6) had a walk and a strikeout.

The Cubs pounced on Cincinnati starter Dontrelle Willis for three first-inning runs and knocked him out of the game in the fourth. Willis (0-6) gave up for nine hits and eight runs, one short of tying his career high, and walked three.

“Castro got us off to a good start,” Quade said. “It was good to give Rodrigo some run support.”

Francisco got the Reds on the board with his third homer of the season, a mammoth drive off of Lopez’s 1-0 pitch in the second inning. The 502-foot shot was second-longest at Great American Ball Park since it opened in 2003 to Adam Dunn’s 535-foot shot to right-center in 2004.

Somebody told him the ball hit a tree outside the stadium.

“I hit a couple out of the ballpark at (Single-A) Dayton,” he recalled. “It was just a good pitch to hit. I don’t know if they got the ball or not, but they put a branch up there.”

Quade was surprised to hear the public address announcer announce the distance before Francisco’s next at bat.

“I can’t remember the P.A. guy announcing how far a ball went,” Quade said. “How do they measure that?”

Willis followed one out later with a vicious line-drive single off of Baker’s glove at first base, and Brandon Phillips — who got his first day off on Sunday since Aug. 13 — hit his 13th homer, a 459-foot shot into the second deck in left field.

The Cubs regained the lead in the third on Baker’s third homer of the season, a 372-foot opposite-field drive into the second row of the right-field seats. They broke the game open with three runs in the fourth, the first scoring on the first of Castro’s two doubles in the game. He added a two-run homer in the fifth, and Ramirez led off the sixth with his 25th homer of the season.

“It was real tough,” said Castro, who now has 190 hits and has reached base at least once in a career-high 25 consecutive games. “You know you’re not going to sleep good. You’ve got to sleep quick.”

Phillips led off the Reds’ fifth with his second homer of the game, giving him two multihomer games this season and eight in his career, and rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco hit the first pitch of the sixth inning into the left field seats for his first career home run.

Notes: Reds utility INF Chris Valaika will have season-ending surgery next week to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was hurt in the top of the fifth inning Sunday at Colorado when his spikes caught in the dirt as he was swinging at a pitch from LHP Drew Pomeranz. … SS Zack Cozart, already sidelined with Tommy John surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow, is scheduled to have minor surgery to clean out his right ankle. … RHP Mike Leake’s start Tuesday against the Cubs is expected to be his final start of the season. Leake has logged 159.2 innings, 21.1 more than he pitched last season, and the club is trying to limit him to an increase of about 30 innings. … RHP Ryan Dempster, Chicago’s scheduled starter on Tuesday, is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts against the Reds.

CINCINNATI  — The Chicago Cubs’ long night in New York proved to cause no problems in Cincinnati.

Starlin Castro homered, scored four runs and drove in three while extending his career-high hitting streak to 13 games and the Cubs shook off their fatigue to pound out a 12-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

The Cubs needed 11 innings to beat the Mets 10-6 on Sunday night and didn’t arrive in Cincinnati until 5:30 a.m. Monday, but they still managed to get 16 hits, including three home runs and five doubles.

“Coming off some rough travel and an interesting weekend in New York, it was nice to see us come out and do that,” said manager Mike Quade, whose team participated as New York commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Aramis Ramirez also had three hits, including a double and his 25th homer of the season, and Jeff Baker added a home run as the Cubs won a third consecutive game for the first time since Aug. 15 and matched their season high in runs. They also scored 12 in a 12-7 win over Milwaukee on June 16.

Brandon Phillips hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs and Juan Francisco hit a tape-measure shot, but the Reds couldn’t avoid their third consecutive loss and fourth in five games.

Rodrigo Lopez lasted 5 1-3 innings to earn the win despite allowing nine hits, including all four of Cincinnati’s homers, and five runs. Lopez (5-6) had a walk and a strikeout.

The Cubs pounced on Cincinnati starter Dontrelle Willis for three first-inning runs and knocked him out of the game in the fourth. Willis (0-6) gave up for nine hits and eight runs, one short of tying his career high, and walked three.

“Castro got us off to a good start,” Quade said. “It was good to give Rodrigo some run support.”

Francisco got the Reds on the board with his third homer of the season, a mammoth drive off of Lopez’s 1-0 pitch in the second inning. The 502-foot shot was second-longest at Great American Ball Park since it opened in 2003 to Adam Dunn’s 535-foot shot to right-center in 2004.

Somebody told him the ball hit a tree outside the stadium.

“I hit a couple out of the ballpark at (Single-A) Dayton,” he recalled. “It was just a good pitch to hit. I don’t know if they got the ball or not, but they put a branch up there.”

Quade was surprised to hear the public address announcer announce the distance before Francisco’s next at bat.

“I can’t remember the P.A. guy announcing how far a ball went,” Quade said. “How do they measure that?”

Willis followed one out later with a vicious line-drive single off of Baker’s glove at first base, and Brandon Phillips — who got his first day off on Sunday since Aug. 13 — hit his 13th homer, a 459-foot shot into the second deck in left field.

The Cubs regained the lead in the third on Baker’s third homer of the season, a 372-foot opposite-field drive into the second row of the right-field seats. They broke the game open with three runs in the fourth, the first scoring on the first of Castro’s two doubles in the game. He added a two-run homer in the fifth, and Ramirez led off the sixth with his 25th homer of the season.

“It was real tough,” said Castro, who now has 190 hits and has reached base at least once in a career-high 25 consecutive games. “You know you’re not going to sleep good. You’ve got to sleep quick.”

Phillips led off the Reds’ fifth with his second homer of the game, giving him two multihomer games this season and eight in his career, and rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco hit the first pitch of the sixth inning into the left field seats for his first career home run.

Notes: Reds utility INF Chris Valaika will have season-ending surgery next week to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was hurt in the top of the fifth inning Sunday at Colorado when his spikes caught in the dirt as he was swinging at a pitch from LHP Drew Pomeranz. … SS Zack Cozart, already sidelined with Tommy John surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow, is scheduled to have minor surgery to clean out his right ankle. … RHP Mike Leake’s start Tuesday against the Cubs is expected to be his final start of the season. Leake has logged 159.2 innings, 21.1 more than he pitched last season, and the club is trying to limit him to an increase of about 30 innings. … RHP Ryan Dempster, Chicago’s scheduled starter on Tuesday, is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts against the Reds.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Chicago Cubs’ long night in New York proved to cause no problems in Cincinnati.

Starlin Castro homered, scored four runs and drove in three while extending his career-high hitting streak to 13 games and the Cubs shook off their fatigue to pound out a 12-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

The Cubs needed 11 innings to beat the Mets 10-6 on Sunday night and didn’t arrive in Cincinnati until 5:30 a.m. Monday, but they still managed to get 16 hits, including three home runs and five doubles.

“Coming off some rough travel and an interesting weekend in New York, it was nice to see us come out and do that,” said manager Mike Quade, whose team participated as New York commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Aramis Ramirez also had three hits, including a double and his 25th homer of the season, and Jeff Baker added a home run as the Cubs won a third consecutive game for the first time since Aug. 15 and matched their season high in runs. They also scored 12 in a 12-7 win over Milwaukee on June 16.

Brandon Phillips hit two of Cincinnati’s four home runs and Juan Francisco hit a tape-measure shot, but the Reds couldn’t avoid their third consecutive loss and fourth in five games.

Rodrigo Lopez lasted 5 1-3 innings to earn the win despite allowing nine hits, including all four of Cincinnati’s homers, and five runs. Lopez (5-6) had a walk and a strikeout.

The Cubs pounced on Cincinnati starter Dontrelle Willis for three first-inning runs and knocked him out of the game in the fourth. Willis (0-6) gave up for nine hits and eight runs, one short of tying his career high, and walked three.

“Castro got us off to a good start,” Quade said. “It was good to give Rodrigo some run support.”

Francisco got the Reds on the board with his third homer of the season, a mammoth drive off of Lopez’s 1-0 pitch in the second inning. The 502-foot shot was second-longest at Great American Ball Park since it opened in 2003 to Adam Dunn’s 535-foot shot to right-center in 2004.

Somebody told him the ball hit a tree outside the stadium.

“I hit a couple out of the ballpark at (Single-A) Dayton,” he recalled. “It was just a good pitch to hit. I don’t know if they got the ball or not, but they put a branch up there.”

Quade was surprised to hear the public address announcer announce the distance before Francisco’s next at bat.

“I can’t remember the P.A. guy announcing how far a ball went,” Quade said. “How do they measure that?”

Willis followed one out later with a vicious line-drive single off of Baker’s glove at first base, and Brandon Phillips — who got his first day off on Sunday since Aug. 13 — hit his 13th homer, a 459-foot shot into the second deck in left field.

The Cubs regained the lead in the third on Baker’s third homer of the season, a 372-foot opposite-field drive into the second row of the right-field seats. They broke the game open with three runs in the fourth, the first scoring on the first of Castro’s two doubles in the game. He added a two-run homer in the fifth, and Ramirez led off the sixth with his 25th homer of the season.

“It was real tough,” said Castro, who now has 190 hits and has reached base at least once in a career-high 25 consecutive games. “You know you’re not going to sleep good. You’ve got to sleep quick.”

Phillips led off the Reds’ fifth with his second homer of the game, giving him two multihomer games this season and eight in his career, and rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco hit the first pitch of the sixth inning into the left field seats for his first career home run.

Notes: Reds utility INF Chris Valaika will have season-ending surgery next week to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was hurt in the top of the fifth inning Sunday at Colorado when his spikes caught in the dirt as he was swinging at a pitch from LHP Drew Pomeranz. … SS Zack Cozart, already sidelined with Tommy John surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow, is scheduled to have minor surgery to clean out his right ankle. … RHP Mike Leake’s start Tuesday against the Cubs is expected to be his final start of the season. Leake has logged 159.2 innings, 21.1 more than he pitched last season, and the club is trying to limit him to an increase of about 30 innings. … RHP Ryan Dempster, Chicago’s scheduled starter on Tuesday, is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts against the Reds.

CHICAGO (AP) — Reds manager Dusty Baker had the matchup he wanted and the wind in his favor.

This time, it didn’t work out. In a big way.

Bill Bray yielded a tiebreaking three-run homer to Carlos Pena in the eighth inning, and Cincinnati lost 6-3 to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.

Starlin Castro sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Logan Ondrusek (4-5). Reed Johnson moved Castro to second with a sacrifice before the Reds decided to intentionally walk Ramirez and bring in left-hander Bray to face the lefty-batting Pena.

Pena responded by driving Bray’s first pitch onto Sheffield Avenue for his 26th homer and third in his last eight games.

“Billy’s been great against lefties all year,” Baker said. “They’re hitting .190 off of him, Pena’s hitting .130 off of lefties. But he made a mistake and hung a slider that didn’t slide, it just spun up there. … He didn’t miss it.”

Aramis Ramirez had a two-run double for Chicago, which took two of three against Cincinnati to earn a split of its six-game homestand. Castro and DJ LeMahieu each had two hits for the Cubs.

“I’m just glad I was able to help the ballclub out there at the end and just get that win,” Pena said. “We felt like yesterday got away from us and to be able to come out with a ‘W’ today, it feels very good.”

Yonder Alonso had three hits for Cincinnati, which beat Chicago 4-2 in 13 innings on Tuesday night but has lost seven of 10 overall. Joey Votto went 2 for 4 and drove in a run.

Kerry Wood (2-5) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Carlos Marmol worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 33rd save in 42 chances.

The Reds chased starter Ryan Dempster with three consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning, including pitcher Johnny Cueto’s leadoff infield single. Votto hit a sacrifice fly off James Russell to trim Chicago’s lead to 3-2 and Jay Bruce followed with a bouncer down the third-base line for an RBI double.

The Cubs brought their infield in for Alonso, who hit a fly ball to medium center field. Johnson got in good position, brought it in, then fired a strong throw to catcher Koyie Hill that cut down Edgar Renteria at the plate.

“I was real fortunate,” Johnson said. “When that ball was first hit, my initial thought was it going to be too deep for me to have a chance at him, and then obviously the wind took care of the rest and just kind of allowed me to move through the play.”

Chicago got a big inning-ending double play in the sixth when Ramon Hernandez lined to shortstop Castro, who threw to LeMahieu before Alonso could get back to second base.

“We did have some chances,” Baker said. “The wind blew Alonso’s ball back far enough to throw (Renteria) out, and the ball Joey hit, on a normal day, that’s a grand slam.

“We were smitten by the prevailing winds at Wrigley Field today.”

Dempster allowed 10 hits — matching a season high — and is winless in his last five starts.

Cueto retired 11 of his first 12 batters before running into a bit of trouble in the fifth. Pena led off with a double to right-center for Chicago’s second hit. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on LeMahieu’s tying two-out single, but Cueto got Hill to fly out to end the inning.

The Cubs added two runs in the sixth on Ramirez’s clutch double. Castro sparked the rally with an infield hit on a dribbler up the third-base line. Johnson singled to center before Ramirez hit a drive into the corner in left to make it 3-1.

Cueto allowed seven hits in seven innings and his ERA increased from 2.29 to 2.36, still good enough to lead the majors.

“I want to (win it),” Cueto said through an interpreter about the ERA title. “I put all my best to get it done. Sometimes you throw seven innings and instead of going down, it goes up.”

NOTES: Reds RHP Mike Leake will make one more start this season. Baker said the team will use a six-man rotation for one turn, inserting RHP Edinson Volquez, then Leake will drop out. Leake had 138 1/3 innings last year as a rookie and is up to 159 2/3 already this season. … The Cubs are off Thursday before opening a weekend series at the New York Mets. RHP Casey Coleman (2-7, 6.61 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey (7-11, 4.68) on Friday night. … The Reds are off Thursday, then begin a three-game series at Colorado on Friday night. Reds RHP Homer Bailey (7-7, 4.57 ERA) and Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-10, 3.60 ERA) will meet in the opener.

CHICAGO — Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to send the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

Aramis Ramirez had a two-run double for Chicago, which took two of three against Cincinnati to earn a split of its six-game homestand. Starlin Castro and DJ LeMahieu each had two hits for the Cubs.

Castro sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Logan Ondrusek (4-4). Reed Johnson moved Castro to second with a sacrifice before the Reds decided to intentionally walk Ramirez and bring in left-hander Bill Bray to face the lefty-batting Pena.

Big mistake, at least Wednesday night.

Pena pulled Bray’s first pitch onto Sheffield Avenue for his 26th homer and third in his last eight games.

The big first baseman began the day with a .135 average against lefties, and Bray was holding lefty batters to a .188 average. But this time it didn’t work out for the Reds.

Yonder Alonso had three hits for Cincinnati, which has lost seven of 10. Joey Votto went 2 for 4 and drove in a run.
Kerry Wood (2-5) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Carlos Marmol worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 33rd save in 42 chances.

The Reds chased starter Ryan Dempster with three consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning, including pitcher Johnny Cueto’s leadoff infield single. Votto hit a sacrifice fly off James Russell to trim Chicago’s lead to 3-2 and Jay Bruce followed with a bouncer down the third-base line for an RBI double.

The Cubs brought their infield in for Alonso, who hit a fly ball to medium center field. Johnson got in good position, brought it in, then fired a strong throw to catcher Koyie Hill that cut down Edgar Renteria at the plate.

Chicago got a big inning-ending double play in the sixth when Ramon Hernandez lined to shortstop Castro, who threw to LeMahieu before Alonso could get back to second base.

Dempster allowed 10 hits — matching a season high — and is winless in his last five starts.

Cueto retired 11 of his first 12 batters before running into a bit of trouble in the fifth. Pena led off with a double to right-center for Chicago’s second hit. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on LeMahieu’s tying two-out single, but Cueto got Hill to fly out to end the inning.

The Cubs added two runs in the sixth on Ramirez’s clutch double. Castro sparked the rally with an infield hit on a dribbler up the third-base line. Johnson singled to center before Ramirez hit a drive into the corner in left to make it 3-1.
Cueto allowed seven hits in seven innings and his ERA increased from 2.29 to 2.36.

Cincinnati pushed across a run after Dempster quickly retired the first two batters of the game. Votto hit a well-placed fly ball to left that landed in front of Alfonso Soriano, then rolled past him for a triple. Bruce walked before Alonso hit a liner up the middle for an RBI single.

NOTES: 2B Darwin Barney left the Cubs to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Manager Mike Quade said he expects Barney will rejoin the team Friday in New York. … Reds RHP Mike Leake will make one more start this season. Manager Dusty Baker said the team will use a six-man rotation for one turn, inserting RHP Edinson Volquez, then Leake will drop out. Leake had 138 1-3 innings last year as a rookie and is up to 159 2-3 already this season. … The Cubs and Old Style-maker Pabst Brewing Co. announced the brew that has been available to fans since 1950 will be peddled at the Wrigley Field through 2013. Pabst threatened earlier this year to pull the beer from the ballpark. … The Cubs are off Thursday before opening a weekend series at the New York Mets. RHP Casey Coleman (2-7, 6.61 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey (7-11, 4.68) on Friday night. … The Reds are off Thursday, then begin a three-game series at Colorado on Friday night. Reds RHP Homer Bailey (7-7, 4.57 ERA) and Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-10, 3.60 ERA) will meet in the opener. … A fan in the second deck made a solid catch on a foul ball in the fifth inning, but one of his friends lost his hat over the railing in the resulting celebration, drawing guffaws from the crowd of 36,797. He went down to the lower section to retrieve his cap, and got a small ovation from his section when he returned.

CHICAGO (AP) — Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to send the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

Aramis Ramirez had a two-run double for Chicago, which took two of three against Cincinnati to earn a split of its six-game homestand. Starlin Castro and DJ LeMahieu each had two hits for the Cubs.

Castro sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single against Logan Ondrusek (4-5). Reed Johnson moved Castro to second with a sacrifice before the Reds decided to intentionally walk Ramirez and bring in left-hander Bill Bray to face the lefty-batting Pena.

Pena pulled Bray’s first pitch onto Sheffield Avenue for his 26th homer and third in his last eight games.

Yonder Alonso had three hits for Cincinnati, which has lost seven of 10.

Kerry Wood (2-5) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Carlos Marmol worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 33rd save in 42 chances.

The Reds chased starter Ryan Dempster with three consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning, including pitcher Johnny Cueto’s leadoff infield single. Votto hit a sacrifice fly off James Russell to trim Chicago’s lead to 3-2 and Jay Bruce followed with a bouncer down the third-base line for an RBI double.

The Cubs brought their infield in for Alonso, who hit a fly ball to medium center field. Johnson got in good position, brought it in, then fired a strong throw to catcher Koyie Hill that cut down Edgar Renteria at the plate.

Chicago got a big inning-ending double play in the sixth when Ramon Hernandez lined to shortstop Castro, who threw to LeMahieu before Alonso could get back to second base.

Dempster allowed 10 hits — matching a season high — and is winless in his last five starts.

Cueto retired 11 of his first 12 batters before running into a bit of trouble in the fifth. Pena led off with a double to right-center for Chicago’s second hit. He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on LeMahieu’s tying two-out single, but Cueto got Hill to fly out to end the inning.

The Cubs added two runs in the sixth on Ramirez’s clutch double. Castro sparked the rally with an infield hit on a dribbler up the third-base line. Johnson singled to center before Ramirez hit a drive into the corner in left to make it 3-1.

Cueto allowed seven hits in seven innings and his ERA increased from 2.29 to 2.36.

Cincinnati pushed across a run after Dempster quickly retired the first two batters of the game. Votto hit a well-placed fly ball to left that landed in front of Alfonso Soriano, then rolled past him for a triple. Bruce walked before Alonso hit a liner up the middle for an RBI single.

NOTES: 2B Darwin Barney left the Cubs to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Manager Mike Quade said he expects Barney will rejoin the team Friday in New York. … Reds RHP Mike Leake will make one more start this season. Manager Dusty Baker said the team will use a six-man rotation for one turn, inserting RHP Edinson Volquez, then Leake will drop out. Leake had 138 1-3 innings last year as a rookie and is up to 159 2-3 already this season. … The Cubs and Old Style-maker Pabst Brewing Co. announced the brew that has been available to fans since 1950 will be peddled at the Wrigley Field through 2013. Pabst threatened earlier this year to pull the beer from the ballpark. … The Cubs are off Thursday before opening a weekend series at the New York Mets. RHP Casey Coleman (2-7, 6.61 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey (7-11, 4.68) on Friday night. … The Reds are off Thursday, then begin a three-game series at Colorado on Friday night. Reds RHP Homer Bailey (7-7, 4.57 ERA) and Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-10, 3.60 ERA) will meet in the opener. … A fan in the second deck made a solid catch on a foul ball in the fifth inning, but one of his friends lost his hat over the railing in the resulting celebration, drawing guffaws from the crowd of 36,797. He went down to the lower section to retrieve his cap, and got a small ovation from his section when he returned.

___

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap