WRIGLEY FIELD Cubs trying to clinch wild card the hard way
Cincinnati's Adam Dunn reached 100 RBIs for the first time in his career
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago Cubs are determined to do things the hard way.
Greg Maddux gave up three homers, including Adam Dunn's 44th of the year, in an 8-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night that could cost the Cubs valuable ground in the NL wild-card race.
"We've got to put this behind us and come out smoking tomorrow," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "We've got five to go. We've got to put it behind us."
They have little choice. The Cubs began the day a game up on San Francisco and 11/2 games ahead of Houston in the wild-card race. All they had to do was win out, and the wild card was theirs.
Instead, they lost. Now, San Francisco is tied with Chicago, and Houston is just a half-game back. The Astros beat St. Louis 2-1, and the Giants topped San Diego 7-5.
Being realistic
"You can't try any harder, you can't think any differently," second baseman Todd Walker said. "You just have to go out and keep playing."
Dunn reached 100 RBIs for the first time, and D'Angelo Jimenez and Darren Bragg also connected off Maddux. Josh Hancock (5-2) drove in a run and finally got a win after being the victim of blown saves in his previous two starts. He gave up two earned runs and scattered seven hits over eight innings, striking out three and walking two.
"This is kind of our playoffs," Dunn said. "Guys are doing everything to win."
Corey Patterson drove in a pair of runs with a triple, but the Cubs couldn't muster much more offense with the wind howling in at 20 mph.
Maddux (15-11) has struggled against the Reds all year, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts against them, and Tuesday was no different. He gave up six runs -- all on the three homers -- and six hits in five innings. He also plunked two batters in the same inning for only the second time in his career -- both this year.
Who was the other team he left black-and-blue? The Reds on April 7, the four-time Cy Young Award winner's first start with his original team after 11 years in Atlanta.
And just as they did in April, the Reds made Maddux pay for the errant throws.
After Maddux plunked Felipe Lopez to start the third, Jimenez followed with a homer that just cleared the fence in right field. Maddux hit his next batter, Sean Casey, in the leg. Two batters later, Bragg hit a monster shot into the wind and it landed in the bushes in center, giving Cincinnati a 4-0 lead.
Out in the open
"You can't cover your mistakes when you give up home runs after it," Maddux said. "I hit two guys with two strikes. That's when you're supposed to get guys out."
The Reds capitalized on another Maddux mistake in the fifth. After Casey drew a leadoff walk, Dunn followed by putting a 3-2 pitch into the stands in right-center for a two-run homer, giving him 100 RBIs for the first time in his career.
It was the third time this year Maddux has given up three home runs to the Reds.