Aramis Ramirez was going to, and just about did, hit anything the Reds offered.

The Cubs third baseman homered, doubled and homered in his first three at-bats against Reds starting pitcher Josh Hancock at Great American Ball Park.

So when Ramirez batted in the seventh inning, with the Reds protecting a one-run lead, Hancock was pulled.

"If I had the kitchen sink in my back pocket I would've thrown it up there," Hancock said. "And he probably still would have hit it."

A different pitcher didn't change the result.

Ramirez hit a slider from Reds reliever Ryan Wagner for a two-run homer that gave the Cubs the lead and a 5-4 win before a decidedly pro-Cubs crowd of 20,884.

"No matter what he's done, whether he's hit two home runs or struck out three times, a guy like that can do it any time," Wagner said. "You've still go to go up there and throw your game."

Ramirez finished 4-for-5 with three homers, one double and five RBI.

"He was a one-man wrecking crew," Reds manager Dave Miley said.

Ramirez's 14 total bases tied a Cubs record, and his third home run gave the Cubs a club-record 213 this season.

Chicago remains 1/2-game behind the Giants in the National League wild-card race.

"I felt good tonight," Ramirez said. "I got a couple of pitches to hit and I hit them."

The three homers by Ramirez added to a Cincinnati club record of home runs allowed, at 217 through 146 games this season.

Before Ramirez's decisive homer in the seventh, the Reds took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning.

Cubs starter Kerry Wood allowed a leadoff single to Wily Mo Pena and then lost his feel for the strike zone.

He walked catcher Jason LaRue on a 3-and-2 count and walked Hancock, who was trying to sacrifice bunt, on four consecutive up-and-in fastballs to load the bases.

"He scared the (daylights) out of me," Hancock said.

A wild pitch scored Pena to make it a 3-2 game, and a hard-hit single down the right-field line by shortstop Felipe Lopez scored two and gave the Reds a 4-3 lead.

Wood came back and pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh before leaving the game. The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits, walking a season-high tying four and striking out nine.

The Cubs wasted little time taking the lead Thursday.

And Ramirez, who is making a habit of toying with Reds pitchers this season, was behind it.

His two-run homer off Hancock gave Chicago a 2-0 lead with one out in the first inning. He doubled to right-center field with one out in the third and put the Cubs ahead 3-1 with a solo homer in the fifth inning.

After Thursday's performance, Ramirez is batting .415 with six homers and 18 RBI against the Reds this season.

Hancock didn't pitch poorly in his 6 2/3 innings Thursday.

The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning, allowing two earned runs, for his fifth quality start this season.

E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com

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