Castillo keeps Cubs in check
CHICAGO — Luis Castillo turned in one of his more impressive outings of the season and Scooter Gennett's sacrifice fly broke a scoreless tie in the eighth, as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Tuesday night.
After Joey Votto walked for the third time and advanced to third on Adam Duvall's single off reliever Pedro Strop (3-3), Gennett smacked a line drive to right that Jason Heyward caught on the run.
Castillo allowed only two hits and two walks over six innings as the Reds beat the Cubs for just the eighth time in the last 33 games. Chicago remained one game ahead of both St. Louis and Milwaukee in the National League Central.
Billy Hamilton had an RBI single in the ninth for a 2-0 lead.
Ben Zobrist singled in a run in the ninth off Raisel Iglesias to cut the Reds' lead to 2-1, but Iglesias worked around three hits in the ninth for his 21st save.
Both starters, Castillo and Kyle Hendricks, got no-decisions in a crisp duel. Michael Lorenzen (7-2), pitched a scoreless seventh for the win.
Votto was held hitless, but reached base at least twice for the 20th consecutive game. That extended his Reds club record, matched Barry Bonds for the longest streak since 2004 and is one game short of Ted Williams' major-league record set in 1948.
Mesoraco out with broken foot
Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will miss three to six weeks with a broken left foot suffered after he was hit by a pitch Monday night, manager Bryan Price said. If the absence is on the longer end of that range, it could cost Mesoraco his season.
Mesoraco, who returned to Cincinnati on Tuesday to meet with team doctors, will wear a protective boot and will be on crutches for “some time,” Price said. Then he will shed the crutches while keeping the boot for another stretch of time.