CHICAGO — Zack Littell struck out eight in seven crisp innings in his Cincinnati debut, and the Reds beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Littell (9-8) allowed three hits and walked two in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay last week.
Spencer Steer hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in Cincinnati’s four-run seventh. The Reds (60-54) won for the third time in four games.
Matt Shaw homered for the Cubs (65-48), who finished with four hits. They had just three hits in Monday night’s 3-2 loss in the series opener.
The Cubs have dropped three of four. They trail the NL Central-leading Brewers by four games.
Steer singled home Miguel Andujar in the fifth, but Shaw responded with his seventh homer in the bottom half of the inning.
The Reds grabbed control in the seventh against Andrew Kittredge (2-3). Austin Hays walked, Andujar singled and Steer hit a drive to left-center for his 13th homer. Santiago Espinal added a sacrifice fly.
Cincinnati Reds’ Spencer Steer, center, celebrates with Austin Hays, left, and Miguel Andujar after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh
It was Kittredge’s third appearance since he was acquired in a trade with Baltimore.
Andujar collected his first two hits with the Reds after coming over in a trade deadline deal with the Athletics. TJ Friedl also had two hits.
Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. He was charged with one run and three hits.
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