Mills sharp, Bote has 2 RBIs as Cubs beat Reds 3-0

CHICAGO - Alec Mills pitched six sharp innings, David Bote drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Taking the mound on a wet, windy and cool night at Wrigley Field, Mills (4-3) permitted four hits, struck out six and walked three in his first win since Aug. 24. The right-hander went 1-3 with a 7.66 ERA in his previous five starts for the NL Central leaders.

Duane Underwood Jr. and Ryan Tepera each got three outs before Jeremy Jeffress finished the five-hitter for his sixth save.

Shogo Akiyama reached three times on two hits and a walk, but the fourth-place Reds lost for the third time in four games. They wasted another strong outing by Tyler Mahle (1-2), who struck out 10 in seven innings.

Chicago scored each of its runs on two-out triples by Bote in the second and Javier Báez in the third. Bote’s first triple since Sept. 27, 2018, against Pittsburgh drove in Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras. Kris Bryant scored from first on Báez’s hit.

Playing at Wrigley for the first time since he finished last season with the Cubs, Nick Castellanos had a rough day. He had trouble tracking down each of the run-scoring triples in right field. He also went 0 for 4 at the plate, striking out swinging on three pitches with two runners on in the fifth.

Castellanos hit .321 with 16 homers and 36 RBIs in 51 games with the Cubs last year after he was acquired in a deadline trade with Detroit. He then signed a $64 million, four-year deal with the Reds in free agency.

MAKING MOVES

Reds: C Tyler Stephenson and RHP José De León were brought up from the team’s alternate training site. RHP Nate Jones was placed on the three-day paternity list, and INF Matt Davidson was designated for assignment.

Cubs: OF Billy Hamilton was added to Chicago’s active roster and INF/OF José Martínez was optioned to the club’s alternate training site. Hamilton came in to play center before Cincinnati batted in the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: CF Nick Senzel could return as soon as this weekend, according to president of baseball operations Dick Williams. He was placed on the injured list on Aug. 19 for an unspecified reason.

Cubs: RF Jason Heyward was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day. Heyward left Sunday night’s 7-3 loss to St. Louis because he was feeling lightheaded and having difficulty breathing. ... LHP José Quintana (left lat inflammation) and RHP Tyler Chatwood (strained right forearm) each played catch before the game. ... LHP Andrew Chafin (left finger sprain) threw off a mound Monday and “looked really good,” manager David Ross said.

UP NEXT

Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish (7-1, 1.44 ERA) goes for his eighth straight win Wednesday. Darvish, one of the front-runners for the NL Cy Young Award, has a sparkling 0.98 ERA during his win streak. Trevor Bauer (3-3, 2.05 ERA) pitches for Cincinnati. The right-hander was terrific at the beginning of the season, but he is 0-3 with a 4.08 ERA in his last three starts.