Reds 1, Cubs 0
Reds 1, Cubs 0: Mat Latos pitched seven scoreless innings and Todd Frazier blasted his sixth home run as Cincinnati took two of three from visiting Chicago.
Latos (1-0) struck out four and limited the Cubs to four hits and a walk before exiting with two on and no outs in the eighth. Jonathan Broxton got out of the jam and Aroldis Chapman worked around a two-out single from Anthony Rizzo for his fourth save in four tries.
Both teams' starters turned in strong outings despite injury scares in the first inning. Latos took a line drive off his right foot and Jeff Samardzija had his right hand looked at after deflecting leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo's shot back to the mound, but both were able to continue.
Latos retired the first 10 batters he faced before Julio Borbon's one-out double in the fourth and never really got into trouble until allowing the first two men to reach in the eighth. Samardzija (1-4) gave up one run on seven hits over six innings with eight strikeouts but still lost his fourth straight start.
Frazier broke the deadlock in the sixth inning with a blast to center that was estimated at 480 feet. Choo went 2-for-4 and has reached base in all 21 games he has played this season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Cubs starters have recorded 12 quality starts in 19 games but have only three wins. … Cincinnati's starters have an ERA of 2.99 and have not allowed more than two runs in the past 10 games. … Reds 1B Joey Votto went 2-for-14 with seven strikeouts in the series.