Harden near perfect as Cubs blank Reds

Result: Cubs 5, Reds 0. The Cubs are now tied with the Rays for the best record in baseball at 77-48. They lead the Brewers by 6 games and Cardinals by 8.5 in the NL Central. Milwaukee lost at home to Houston and St. Louis did the same to Pittsburgh.

What happened: Rich Harden fired seven innings of two-hit ball, striking out 10 and walking none. Johnny Cueto provided the Reds' end of what was a pitchers' duel. He allowed just one run in seven innings, and that came thanks to the hustle of Geovany Soto. The Cubs' catcher led off the fifth with a triple, and with one out scored when Harden laid a bunt down the third base line. Soto followed third baseman Edward Encarnacion down the line, and when Encarnacion threw to first for the out, Soto dashed home, beating the throw. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez added RBIs in the 8th, and Kosuke Fukudome put it out of reach with a two-run single. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood contributed scoreless innings in relief, as the Reds sent just 30 men to the plate in the contest.

Up next: Reds-Cubs at 7 tonight at Wrigley. Bronson Arroyo starts for the Reds, while Ted Lilly gets the nod for Chicago.