CHICAGO -- After striking out three times, Joey Votto was looking for a pitch he wouldn't make an out on.
When he saw it, the Cincinnati Reds first baseman made sure he didn't miss.
Votto hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning that was set up by third baseman Kris Bryant's two-out error, lifting the Reds over the Chicago Cubs 7-4 on Wednesday.
Cubs closer Hector Rondon (5-3) retired the first two batters in the ninth. Jason Bourgeois, who hit a home run earlier, followed with a single.
Jay Bruce hit a hard grounder that went through Bryant's legs for an error, and Votto connected for his 27th home run.
"It was a quality pitch I sent in the right direction," Votto said. "We ended up getting three runs from it."
Bryant hit a two-run home run in the eighth that made it 4-4. The rookie has 22 home runs and 84 RBI this season.
But it was his error that extended the ninth inning for the Reds, allowing Votto another at-bat.
"It's tough," Bryant said. "Obviously, you're on Cloud 9 when you hit the game-tying home run, then you blow it the next inning. But sometimes baseball works that way. It's a crazy game. I mean, it gives you everything and then takes everything away."
Reds rookie Raisel Iglesias struck out 10 in 7 innings, allowing 3 hits. It was his third consecutive start with 10 or more strikeouts. He worked out of trouble in the seventh with the Reds leading 4-2, a runner on third and one out. Iglesias, battling fatigue and temperatures hovering around 90 degrees, struck out Addison Russell and got pinch-hitter Starlin Castro to ground out, ending the threat.
"Those were really tough innings with the weather and with how things were going," Iglesias said through a translator. "I'm getting to the point where I was in need of more adrenaline and so I was pumping up myself to get the extra power that I needed."
J.J. Hoover (7-0) got the victory despite giving up Bryant's home run. Aroldis Chapman closed for his 27th save.
Tommy La Stella and Anthony Rizzo hit home runs for the Cubs, who began the day with a 6 1/2 game lead over San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
The Reds, meanwhile, won a series after failing to do so in the entire month of August.
"It feels great," Reds Manager Bryan Price said. "Even though we're in last place right now, the wins still feel great and it's important to keep hunting those victories and playing hard."
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 3 Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run home run, Martin Prado and Jeff Mathis each had two RBI and visiting Miami beat reeling Atlanta to finish a three-game sweep. Moving past the Braves and into third place in the NL East for the first time since May 14, the Marlins earned their second three-game sweep in Atlanta and first since April 2009. The Braves have lost eight in a row at home for the first time since beginning the 1988 season 0-9 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Atlanta has dropped 19 of 22 overall and is 12-37 since July 8, worst in the majors. Hector Olivera drove in two runs for the Braves with his first career hit. The Cuban third baseman, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team trade, gave Atlanta its only lead at 3-2 in the third. Adam Conley (3-1) won his second consecutive start, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 5 innings.
BREWERS 9, PIRATES 4 Jonathan Lucroy drove in three runs and extended his hitting streak to a career high-tying 10 games as host Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh for the fifth consecutive time. METS 9, PHILLIES 4 Ruben Tejada hit an inside-the-park home run and drove in four runs to back Matt Harvey as host New York returned to its winning ways against Philadelphia.
NATIONALS 4, CARDINALS 3 Ryan Zimmerman hit two home runs, then doubled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning as visiting Washington ended its nine-game losing streak at St. Louis.
ROCKIES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Carlos Gonzalez homered twice, including a grand slam, and finished with a career-high seven RBI to give host Colorado a victory over Arizona. Gonzalez had his 15th career game with multiple home runs and is tied with Nolan Arenado for the team lead with 33 home runs.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ANGELS 9, ATHLETICS 4 Albert Pujols hit a two-run home run to make him one of four players with 10 career 35-home run seasons, and visiting Los Angeles jumped on Athletics ace Sonny Gray from the start to beat Oakland. Pujols had an RBI single in the first inning, then hit his 555th career home run in the second. He joined Hall of Famers Willie Mays (10) and Mike Schmidt (11) and Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez (12) to have reached 35 home runs in 10 or more years. Andrew Heaney (6-2) struck out six and didn't walk a batter in seven innings to end a six-start winless stretch. He had gone 0-2 since a victory against Texas on July 26. Gray (12-7) lost his third consecutive decision, matching his career high with six earned runs allowed for the first time since exactly a year earlier on Sept. 2, 2014, at Seattle.
YANKEES 13, RED SOX 8 Greg Bird, John Ryan Murphy and Carlos Beltran hit home runs during an eight-run second inning and visiting New York beat Boston. Stephen Drew doubled during New York's big inning and added a three-run home run in the third. Didi Gregorius added a home run later for the Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka (11-6) pitched into the seventh inning as the Yankees won for the fifth time in six games. New York improved to 7-2 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park this season and 10-5 overall this season against their longtime rivals. The victory was the 800th of Yankees Manager Joe Girardi's career. He guided the Marlins for one year and is in his eighth season with New York. Red Sox rookie Henry Owens (2-2) retired the first four batters in order but the next eight Yankees reached base safely, with one out coming on the basepaths.
BLUE JAYS 5, INDIANS 1 R.A. Dickey (10-10) pitched a four-hitter, Josh Donaldson had three hits and host Toronto beat Cleveland.
MARINERS 8, ASTROS 3 Rookie Shawn O’Malley had three hits, including a tiebreaking RBI single in a two-run eighth inning, to help visiting Seattle to a victory over Houston.
ORIOLES 7, RAYS 6 (11) Chris Davis hit a home run to lead off the 11th inning as host Baltimore got a victory over Tampa Bay.
ROYALS 12, TIGERS 1 Yordano Ventura (10-7) struck out 11 over seven sharp innings, the Royals hit four home runs and host Kansas City rolled to a victory over Detroit.
TWINS 3, WHITE SOX 0 Tommy Milone struck out seven in seven innings and Miguel Sano hit a home run to help host Minnesota beat Chicago.
Sports on 09/03/2015