xxxSpencer Steer, TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson each homered Saturday, propelling the Cincinnati Reds to a crucial 6-3 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Zack Littell (10-8) allowed two runs on three hits across five innings for the Reds (79-76), who won their fourth straight game, cutting their deficit to one game behind the New York Mets for the National League’s final wild card spot.
Littell struck out four and walked one in the win. Emilio Pagan threw a scoreless ninth for Cincinnati, securing his 29th save of the year.
Cubs starter Javier Assad surrendered two runs on three hits in four innings, while striking out two and walking two. Drew Pomeranz (2-2) allowed Steer’s go-ahead homer in the fifth for Chicago (88-67), which dropped its third straight.
The Cubs struck first in the top of third, as Michael Busch belted a 432-foot solo homer — his 30th of the season — to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
After Matt McLain and Friedl singled in the bottom of the third, McLain beat third baseman Matt Shaw’s throw home on Steer’s grounder to third. Will Benson drove in Friedl with a single to center, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead.
Reese McGuire’s ninth homer of the season knotted the score at two apiece in the fifth.
Pomeranz replaced Assad in the bottom of the fifth, allowing Steer’s solo homer with one out, as the Reds grabbed a 3-2 advantage.
Friedl clubbed his 13th homer of the season to begin the seventh for the Reds, pushing the lead to 4-2.
Willi Castro and McGuire each doubled to cut the Cubs’ deficit to 4-3 in the seventh.
Andrew Kittredge entered in the eighth for Chicago, allowing Noelvi Marte’s single before Stephenson hit a two-run homer to give the Reds a pair of crucial insurance runs.