For a solid week, the Chicago Cubs kept winning with great pitching and solid defense. When both let them down, they won with spunk.

        The Cubs won their eighth in a row on Monday by outlasting the injury-depleted Reds. Ricky Gutierrez homered in the 13th inning for a 9-6 victory that extended the Cubs' longest winning streak in three years.

        “It's been unbelievable,” said Sammy Sosa, who singled home a run and scored another. “Everybody's doing their jobs. Everybody's happy. We have a great chemistry in the clubhouse. That means a lot.”

        There wasn't much talk about chemistry when the Cubs were losing eight in a row from May 10-18. The slump dropped them to fourth in the NL Central and left them struggling to stay above .500.

        That's when the pitching got tough and the Cubs made a U-turn at the expense of the injury-depleted Reds. Chicago's eight-game winning streak includes four wins over Cincinnati.

        Courtney Duncan (3-1) pitched the last four innings, striking out a career-high seven batters and holding the Reds at bay until the Cubs could score. Eric Young's RBI single off Scott Winchester (0-1) put them ahead in the 13th, and Gutierrez followed with a homer.

        “I wanted to get out there and get it over with,” Duncan said. “I wanted to win it in the 10th, then in the 11th, then in the 12th. In the 13th, I thought: 'We've got to get it done now. I'm not going for any more of this.”'

        CUBS NOTES: Sosa's runs-scoring single in the third inning gave him 1,004 career RBIs, tying Mark Grace for seventh on the franchise's list. ... C Todd Hundley was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing after a strikeout. ... Reliever Kyle Farnsworth struck out all four batters he faced and hit 100 mph on the scoreboard with one of his pitches.

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