The Cincinnati Reds have climbed back to respectability in the NL Central http://www.steelersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-chukwuma-okorafor-jersey , thanks largely to suddenly solid pitching.

Tyler Mahle kept it up Friday by tossing one-run ball into the seventh inning and the Reds edged the Cubs 3-2 for their fifth straight victory over Chicago.

Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett drove in runs as the Reds won for the 14th time in 18 games and ended the Cubs’ six-game winning streak. Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati’s No. 9 hitter, had three hits and leadoff man Jose Peraza had two.

Mahle (7-6) allowed five hits and struck out four over 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. In his last seven starts, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.06 ERA.

”He’s just a great competitor, a very composed young man,” manager Jim Riggleman said. ”He just challenged hitters and really gave us another good ballgame.”

With a stiff wind blowing in from the north at Wrigley Field, Mahle could afford to be aggressive on a 70-degree day. Deep flies by both teams that might have carried into the bleachers in warmer conditions stayed in the ballpark.

”We had some guys who really got into some balls, and they didn’t go anywhere,” Mahle said. ”I knew being kind of a flyball pitcher that I was going to be OK.”

The Reds are 36-34 since Riggleman took over for Bryan Price on April 19 when they were 3-15.

”All of us realize that we’re a lot better than we what we were at the start,” Mahle said. ”We just go out and kind of expect to win at this point.”

Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati’s third reliever, got the final five outs for his 17th save in 20 chances.

Albert Almora Jr. and Ben Zobrist drove in the Cubs’ runs.

Cubs starter Mike Montgomery (3-3) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings while walking two and hitting two batters. He scuffled in the fourth and fifth as the Reds built a 3-0 lead.

The Reds swept the Cubs, he reigning NL Central champions, in a four-game series in Cincinnati two weeks ago.

”They always could hit,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”The difference is they’re keeping the other side down now.

”It’s not just us. Their pitching is really, I think, the lynchpin of their success right now.”

The Reds jumped ahead 2-0 in the fourth after loading the bases with no outs.

Duvall lined a single up the middle to score Gennett, then Joey Votto came home on Scott Schebler’s double-play grounder.

Cincinnati tacked on a run in the fifth when Hamilton scored from third on Gennett’s sacrifice fly.

The Cubs cut it to 3-1 in the bottom half of the inning when Almora grounded into a forceout and closed to 3-2 in the eighth on Zobrist’s sac fly.

REDS ROSTER MOVE

INF Dilson Herrera was promoted from Triple-A Louisville to fill the spot vacated by LHP Cody Reed, who was sent down. Herrera had a .297 batting average and seven home runs at Louisville and was part of the Jay Bruce trade with the Mets last August.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Montgomery hit Votto with a pitch on the back of the helmet in the fifth, but Votto sprinted to first and remained in the game.

Cubs: Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) was activated off the DL and Dillon Maples was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. … Theo Epstein said Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis/right elbow impingement and inflammation) is feeling better and is optimistic the star right-hander will make a ”solid contribution” this season. Epstein, the Cubs president of baseball operations, didn’t provide a timetable for the starter’s return. Darvish is in a strengthening phase. … Epstein said INF/OF Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) had a good day in the batting cage on Friday and is nearing a return. Epstein planned to meet with Bryant on Friday to determine next steps, which might include a brief rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Matt Harvey (4-5, 4.91) takes the mound against Cubs RHP Tyler Chatwood (3-5, 4.54) on Saturday. Harvey has won his last three starts, with a 1.47 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. Chatwood yielded seven runs in five innings to the Twins in his last outing, but still got a win as Chicago outslugged Minnesota 14-9. He leads the majors with 66 walks.

Aaron Sanchez will likely have friends and family in the stands when the Toronto Blue Jays open a four-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.

Sanchez will also have plenty of motivation to keep the Blue Jays rolling.

A right-hander who grew up in a desert community halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Sanchez is scheduled to make his first major league start at Angel Stadium in the series opener.

Sanchez (3-5 http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-weston-richburg-jersey , 4.35 ERA) was a supplemental first-round draft pick of the Blue Jays out of Barstow (Calif.) High School in 2010. The Angels had three picks before Sanchez was chosen, and the organization had twice drafted Sanchez’s stepfather, Mike Shipley, in the 1970s, but they opted to take infielder Kaleb Cowart with the 18th overall pick, reliever Cam Bedrosian at No. 29 and outfielder Chevy Clarke at No. 30.

Four picks later, the Blue Jays nabbed Sanchez.

Cowart continues to struggle to break into the majors with the Angels, Bedrosian hasn’t performed up to expectations either, and Clark is currently playing independent ball for the Cleburne Railroaders.

Sanchez, meanwhile, made his major league debut in July 2014, was chosen to the American League All Star team while going 15-2 in 2016, and his 3.00 ERA that season led the AL.

Sanchez has faced the Angels (39-35) three times in his career, but his only two starts came in Toronto (34-29). He’s 0-1 overall against Los Angeles with a 2.03 ERA. He threw one inning of scoreless relief at Angel Stadium in 2015.

Sanchez is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts this month after going 0-3 with a 5.96 ERA in May.

“It’s been a battle the first couple months, trying to get back into the swing of things,” Sanchez told reporters after his last start, when he allowed three runs and six hits in six innings of a 6-5 win against the Washington Nationals. “As of late, it’s been trending up.”

That can also be said of the Blue Jays, who have won four of five following their 5-4 win against the visiting Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, improving to 28-1 this season when scoring five or more runs.

The Angels had an off day at home on Wednesday after holding on the defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Tuesday night to earn a split of the two-game series.

They plan to send Tyler Skaggs to the mound for the series opener. Like Sanchez, he’s undefeated this month after going winless in May. Skaggs has won all three starts in June, allowing one earned run in 20 innings for a 0.45 ERA.

He went 0-2 in May with a 4.28 ERA and had a sub-par outing in Toronto on May 23, allowing three runs and six hits in five innings. He avoided taking the loss when the Angels scored four runs in the ninth inning of the 5-4 win.

This might be his best stretch since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2014.

“With Tyler, we’ve seen a constant growth in confidence,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times. “This guy’s worked so hard to get back to where he was and even a little above that now.”

Skaggs (6-4, 2.81) is 2-2 overall in his six-year career against the Blue Jays with a 4.11 ERA.

Red-hot Mike Trout will appear in his 1,000th career game for Los Angeles. He is 16-for-23 with four homers and nine RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.