Phillips hits grand slam, drive in 6 to beat Cubs
Brandon Phillips hit a grand slam and matched his career high with six RBIs, and the Cincinnati Reds extended their dominance over the Chicago Cubs with a 6-2 win Monday night in foggy conditions at Wrigley Field.
Phillips had an RBI single in the first, connected off Scott Feldman (5-5) in the third and an RBI groundout in the sixth for his fourth-career game of six RBIs.
Across town, the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were delayed over an hour because of a dense fog but the Cubs and Reds were never halted.
Cincinnati has won 10 straight at Wrigley Field, eight of 10 over the Cubs overall this season, and 17 of the teams' last 20 matchups.
The Reds were coming off a weekend series loss to NL Central-leading St. Louis and had lost four of five overall.
Homer Bailey (4-4) picked up his first win since beating the Cubs on May 25.
He pitched eight innings and gave up one unearned run and four hits while striking out eight to improve to 7-2 against Chicago, which fell to 7-19 in the NL Central.
Bailey threw 120 pitches, his second most of the season and third 100-plus pitch start of the season.
Feldman pitched six innings and allowed five runs and seven hits to lose his first decision since May 24 at Cincinnati, the other time he's allowed five earned runs this season.
Chicago, which has lost six of eight since a five-game winning streak, fell behind early.
Cincinnati took the lead in the first on Phillips' two-out RBI single, bringing in Zack Cozart. Cozart had reached when his pop-up was dropped by third baseman Luis Valbuena, forcing out Shin-Soo Choo who led off the game by getting hit by a pitch.
Choo has been hit by a National League-high 18 pitches. Cozart scored three runs and had two hits.
The Reds took a 5-0 lead in the third on Phillips' grand slam, his 10th home run of the season. Bailey, Cozart and Joey Votto all singled off Feldman before Phillips took a 1-1 pitch through the fog and into
the left-field bleachers for his fifth career grand slam.
The Cubs, meanwhile, saw their offensive struggles continue.
They scored six runs during a three-game series with Pittsburgh, and didn't score until two outs in the sixth when Phillips' throw on a soft Nate Schierholtz grounder was wild, allowing Valbuena to score.
Shortstop Starlin Castro went 1 for 4 with a ninth-inning RBI double off reliever Alfredo Simon and is 4 for his last 42. Before the game, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he "can't pull the trigger" on giving a day off to Castro, who's played in an NL-high 256 consecutive games.
NOTES: The Reds announced before Monday's game they will call up LHP Tony Cingrani to start Tuesday. Cingrani (2-0, 3.27) will start in place of Johnny Cueto, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list June
5, retroactive to June 1, with a strained right shoulder. Cingrani will face Matt Garza (1-0, 4.03). . Cubs RHP Shawn Camp, on the DL since May 22 with a sprained right big toe, will pitch for Class-A Kane County on Tuesday and again Friday before being evaluated. RHP Kyuji Fujikiwa is in Birmingham, Ala., and is expected to have Tommy John surgery Tuesday. . The Reds announced they have signed first-round pick Phillip Ervin, an outfielder taken with the 27th overall selection, from Samford University. . Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said "as far as I'm it's concerned it's over" and Sveum said there's "nothing to that situation" when asked about the teams' May 26 game in Cincinnati. Cueto threw a pitch over the head of David DeJesus, leading to Garza calling Cueto "immature" and Baker saying the two pitchers should "box and let it be over with."