Whenever the Cubs come to town Rod Brind'Amour Jersey , their fans fill the stands at Great American Ball Park and their offense usually carries the day. Not so for the last two.

Eugenio Suarez hit a go-ahead homer off Jose Quintana in the fifth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds held on for their fifth straight victory Friday night, 6-3 over the Cubs .

The Reds have won the first two games in the four-game set, a recent rarity in the rivalry. It's only the second time in the last two years that they've won back-to-back games in a series against Chicago. The Cubs are 43-21 against the Reds over the last four seasons.

Cincinnati's winning streak is one shy of its season high. The Reds are last in the NL Central at 30-45.

"We're playing really good baseball right now," Suarez said . "When you play like that, good things can happen."

Suarez's two-run shot in the fifth inning off Quintana (6-6) gave him a team-high 16 homers and put the Reds ahead 4-3. Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto also singled home runs off Quintana, who had allowed only six earned runs in his last four starts combined.

Quintana hung a changeup on his second pitch to Suarez, who has four homers in his last six games.

"I just missed my spot – a bad pitch," Quintana said through a translator. "A bad time to have that happen."

Suarez also singled twice and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games, the longest by a Reds third baseman since Todd Frazier hit in 14 straight in 2014.

Javier Baez drove in a run with a bunt single off Luis Castillo (5-8), and Kyle Schwarber followed with a two-run homer, his third in four games. Castillo went 5 2/3 innings for his first victory since May 24, ending a streak of four straight losses.

Raisel Iglesias retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.

"That was one of our cleaner ballgames of the season," interim manager Jim Riggleman said. "We played a good ballgame – offensively Authentic Travis Kelce Jersey , defensively, ran the bases well, timely hitting."

Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went a combined 0 for 8 with three strikeouts as Chicago's offense struggled again, managing only four hits.

"We've played maybe two of our least-impressive games in a month," manager Joe Maddon said. "It's just not been us playing our typical game."

DUENSING BACK

Left-handed reliever Brian Duensing was activated off the bereavement list before the game. He had been gone for four days to attend his grandfather's funeral. The Cubs optioned right-hander Justin Hancock to Triple-A Iowa.

GREAT GRAB

Cubs reliever Justin Wilson made a diving grab of Jesse Winker's bunt in the seventh, landing on his chest while stretching for the ball. He was shaken up for a moment but stayed in the game.

STATS

Each of Schwarber's last three hits has been a home run. Schwarber grew up in nearby Middletown and attended Reds games at Great American. He's batted .318 in 30 career games against the Reds with nine homers and 25 RBIs.

TOP PICK, FIRST PITCH

Bengals center Billy Price threw a ceremonial pitch pregame, bouncing it to the plate. Price was the Bengals' top pick in the draft.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: Yu Darvish could begin a rehab assignment next week. He threw 50 pitches in a simulated game without problem on Wednesday. Darvish has been sidelined since May 23 because of tendinitis in his right triceps.

Reds: Homer Bailey will make a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday, throwing between 75 and 90 pitches. Bailey has been sidelined since June 2 with a sore right knee. He's 1-7 with a 6.68 ERA.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Luke Farrell (2-2) will make his first start of the season after a dozen relief appearances.

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani makes his fourth start. He was sidelined for the first two months with a strained oblique suffered during spring training. DeSclafani is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA.

—

— The scars still visible on Zay Jones' right knee are a reminder of what could have happened in March, when the Buffalo Bills receiver was caught on tape, bloodied and naked, while arguing with his brother in a downtown Los Angeles apartment hallway.

"I could've lost my life, so I'm grateful to just be here and be on this field, and to be with my teammates Youth Tyler Pitlick Jersey ," Jones said Sunday, in speaking to reporters for the first time this offseason. "I don't think there's any other word that describes it, but just thankful and grateful."

Though the second-year player declined to explain what happened, Jones said he's now focused solely on securing his spot on the roster, rather than reflect back after practicing for the first time this year.

"I think I would be doing myself a very big disservice if I went back to there," Jones said. "That moment was very traumatic for me and my family. And to rehash that now, at this point in time, it wouldn't be doing me any good."

Jones was activated off Buffalo's non-football injury list 10 days into training camp and practiced on a limited basis.

The former second-round draft pick missed the team's spring practices after coach Sean McDermott in mid-May announced Jones had knee surgery. McDermott wouldn't reveal how or when Jones was hurt.

Jones wouldn't shed much light on how the injury occurred.

"It happened a while ago, man," said Jones, who also had shoulder surgery in January to repair an injury that nagged him for much of last season. "I'm just trying to move forward in the right direction."

The 23-year-old Jones said he's at peace, and grateful for the support from his coaches and teammates.

He was arrested after officers were called to a disturbance, where Jones was found "breaking glass doors and windows." Prosecutors declined to file felony vandalism charges against him because of insufficient evidence.

Jones is coming off a disappointing rookie season in which he failed to play to the expectations he established at East Carolina, where Jones set an NCAA FBS record with 399 career catches at East Carolina.

He finished fifth on the Bills with 316 yards receiving and scored twice in 15 games.

Jones' return overshadowed Bills starting receiver Kelvin Benjamin landing in hot water for questioning why the Carolina Panthers drafted him Antti Niemi Jersey , and criticizing former teammate Cam Newton's accuracy in an interview published in The Athletic on Friday.

"There's a time and place for things like that. This was not one of them," McDermott said. "I've spoken with Kelvin. And that's now how I want us to handle things like that. So we'll move forward as a team, and I'm hoping he's already done that."

Benjamin said he understood his coach's concerns. In saying he doesn't want to be a distraction to the team, Benjamin didn't distance himself from what was published.

"It was just the heat of the moment," he said. "I just got kind of frustrated but, like I said, I'm moving on from it."

In the interview, Benjamin described being selected by the Panthers in the first round of the 2014 draft as being "a bad fit from the get-go."

Without mentioning Newton specifically, Benjamin said he could have been more productive with "any other quarterback." He then pinpointed several star quarterbacks, including Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, in saying they had the knowledge and accuracy of placing a pass to a spot that makes it easier for a receiver to catch the ball.

Newton was not available for interviews following practice in South Carolina. Carolina coach Ron Rivera declined to discuss Benjamin's comments because he's a member of another team.

Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said he partially understood why Benjamin might be frustrated because things didn't work out for him in Carolina.

"Things didn't work out for him here, I get it," Olsen said.

"You would like to see him move forward to his new team and embrace his new opportunity, rather than go personal on it Ray Nitschke Jersey ," he added. "But I have been shipped off from another team, too, so I get it."

Benjamin's past with the Panthers has been a touchy subject. In June, Benjamin told The Associated Press he was the one who asked the Panthers to trade him in a deal that eventually landed him in Buffalo in October.

He set team records for rookies with 73 catches, 1,008 yards receiving and nine touchdowns. He missed the entire 2015 season with a left knee injury, and totaled 95 catches for 1,416 yards and nine touchdowns in his next 24 games before being traded .

McDermott said one issue he had with Benjamin's comments is that the Bills open their preseason Thursday hosting Carolina.

What makes Benjamin's comments more awkward is McDermott and Bills general manager Brandon Beane previously worked together for the Panthers. McDermott spent six seasons as Carolina's defensive coordinator before being hired by Buffalo in 2017.

Beane was the Panthers' assistant general manager, and had a hand in drafting Benjamin.

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