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Once pitcher Mike Lorenzen homered Bills Elite Jerseys , the Cincinnati Reds got rolling again.

Lorenzen connected for a pinch-hit shot to begin Cincinnati’s comeback, Jesse Winker added a pinch-hit, three-run homer in a big seventh, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6 Sunday for their seventh straight win.

Lorenzen’s homer was the third of his career and second in two games by a Reds pitcher. Anthony DeSclafani hit a grand slam on Saturday, the first by a Reds pitcher since 1959.

”In a game like today we feel like we’re not meant to lose,” Lorenzen said.

The last-place Reds completed a four-game sweep of the Cubs for the first time since 1983 at Riverfront Stadium. Their winning streak is their longest since a 10-game surge in July 2012.

”We know what we can do,” Winker said. ”It is cool coming to the field and expecting to win. We’re in June right now. We are taking care of June. To win a game, it takes a group effort. There’s plenty of season left. We’re going to keep grinding good at bats. It’s been a lot of fun.”

After Chicago scored five times in the fifth, Lorenzen homered in the bottom half.

The Reds trailed 6-1 going into the seventh. Winker went opposite field on Pedro Strop’s first pitch after relieving Mike Montgomery to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-5.

Joey Votto delivered the go-ahead double as the next four batters reached against Strop (3-1), who retired just two of the nine batters he faced in his first appearance since Tuesday.

”Strop had plenty of rest – maybe too much,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”I felt like he was the right guy. It just didn’t work. They got two pinch-hit homers, one by a pitcher. They had some great at-bats.”

Said Strop: ”It’s always good to be fresh.”

”I’m not blaming that. I didn’t feel like I had command of my fastball. I think that was the key. I was getting behind hitters, and I was a little bit too fine when I got ahead Panthers Elite Jerseys ,” he said.

Jose Peraza drove in two runs and Tucker Barnhart had the game-tying RBI as the Reds set a season high for runs.

”We’ve never quit,” manager Jim Riggleman said. ”We’ve always battled. It’s Major League Baseball. You better keep playing for nine innings. We had that stretch where we were down three or four runs in the early innings. We were competitive and came back in some of them. As of late, we haven’t had to do that. The starters have done a good job.”

Seven runs are the most allowed in one inning this season by the Cubs, who have lost six of their last eight.

”You don’t change things,” Maddon said. ”You still eat. You still sleep. You still pet your puppy.”

The Reds overcame a fifth-inning two-run homer by slumping Anthony Rizzo, who went 1-for-14 in the series, and a solo shot by Albert Almora Jr. off Jackson Stephens (1-0), which gave Chicago a 6-1 lead in the seventh.

Amir Garrett had three strikeouts in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias picked up his 13th save.

Montgomery started in place of Tyler Chatwood, who left for Chicago early Sunday morning when his wife went into labor. The left-hander kept the Reds scoreless until Lorenzen’s homer with two outs in the fifth inning.

START OVER

Reds 3B Eugenio Suarez went 0 for 3 before leaving in a double switch, snapping his hitting streak at a career-high 13 games, the longest active streak in the major leagues.

BIG STEP

Cubs RHP Yu Darvish is expected to throw 75 pitches or four to five innings of his first rehab start on Monday with Single-A South Bend. Darvish has been out since May 20 with right triceps tendinitis.

QUICK RETURN

The Reds activated OF Scott Schebler from the bereavement list before Sunday’s after missing three games, the minimum amount of time he could spend on the list. OF Phillip Ervin was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Schebler went 1 for 3 with two walks.

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR

Sunday’s game was the Cubs’ last in Cincinnati this season. The remaining 10 games between the two teams will be played in Chicago.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: 3B Kris Bryant missed his second straight start and is day-to-day with a sore left shoulder.

Reds: RHP Homer Bailey, out since June 2 with right knee inflammation Bears Elite Jerseys , threw 86 pitches in six innings of a rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Duane Underwood will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to make his major league debut as Chicago tries to keep its starters on regular rest.

Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle (6-6) is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA in four June starts.

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The Los Angeles Angels were 4 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners when they opened a three-game series three weeks ago. When the Angels return to Seattle on Tuesday to begin another three-game set, they’ll be 11 games behind the Mariners for the second wild card from the American League.

The Mariners (54-31) swept the Angels the last time they were in town, and Seattle expanded that cushion by going 7-0 last week for their longest winning streak of the season.

The Angels (43-42) are 6-14 since pulling within 3 1/2 games of the Mariners on June 9. They lost to the Minnesota Twins the following day before getting swept June 11-13 in Seattle. Los Angeles has already played six games at Safeco Field this season but has yet to host the Mariners in Anaheim.

If the Angels drop the series opener, they’ll own a .500 record for the first time since the second game of the season.

The scheduled starting pitchers for Tuesday were also matched up on June 11.

Los Angeles left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-5, 3-95 ERA) gave up five runs and seven hits in three innings of the 5-3 loss.

Seattle left-hander Wade LeBlanc (3-0, 3.38) gave up two runs and four hits in five innings in his only career appearance against Seattle.

LeBlanc, who made 10 appearances for the Angels in 2014, including three starts, hasn’t experienced a defeat in 11 starts this season, and the Mariners are 8-3 in those games.

The Mariners have also found something special in closer Edwin Diaz, who became the second pitcher in major league history with at least 30 saves and 70 strikeouts before the All-Star break. The other is former Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne.

“We’ve had a lot of valuable players on our team,” Seattle manager Scott Servais told reporters after a 1-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. “But winning the close games, it creates the type of atmosphere that’s going on at Safeco Field right now and the city and getting our fan base psyched again.”

Heaney also struggled in his most recent outing Bengals Elite Jerseys , allowing six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings of a 9-6 loss on Wednesday at the Boston Red Sox, but he did not absorb the loss.

He’s 1-2 in four career starts against the Mariners with a 4.42 ERA.

The Angels lost two more pitchers to injury on their current road trip.

Jake Jewell sustained a broken right fibula against the Red Sox on Wednesday. The rookie right-hander was making his third major-league appearance when he fell awkwardly while trying to cover home plate on a wild pitch. He had surgery on Friday in Los Angeles.

On Saturday, the Angels announced left-hander John Lamb would undergo Tommy John surgery, the fourth pitcher for Los Angeles to have the season-ending surgery this year.

Los Angeles could soon be adding some offensive punch, however.

Shohei Ohtani, the rookie two-way player who is also out with an elbow injury, has been taking live batting practice and running the bases recently, putting him on pace to resume designated hitter duties this week.

“He’s starting to do get through that progression,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told FOX Sports West on Sunday.

Angels first baseman/designated hitter Jefry Marte is also close to returning from a left wrist injury.