"It was wild," Kearns said. "This was basically our season. It's nice to finish strong. These last three days have been unbelievable."

The Reds spent those three days ruining the Chicago Cubs' season. Thursday's 2-1, 12-inning loss to the Reds at Wrigley Field might have been the death blow for the Cubs.

It dropped the Cubs a full game back in the National League wild-card race with three games to play. The Reds took the last three games of the four-game series.

How improbable was Thursday's win?

• The Reds won on a day they struck out 19 times - their most since May 8, 2001.

• They won on a day when Mark Prior pitched nine innings of three-hit ball. (Among the strikeouts were Nos. 189 and 190 of the season for Dunn. That tied, then broke, the single-season record set by Bobby Bonds in 1970.)

• They won on a day when Juan Padilla, he of the 12.71 ERA, pitched the final two innings for his first big-league win.

Javier Valentin got in the winning run with a line-drive double into the right-field corner that scored Dunn.

The Cubs' payroll is roughly twice the Reds' at $90 million, and Chicago was a popular pick to win it all. Now, thanks to the Reds, getting to the playoffs will be tough.

Reds starter Aaron Harang wasn't as dominating as Prior, but he was as effective. Harang went seven innings, allowing one run on four hits.

"I made one mistake," he said.

That would be the fastball he left over the plate to Sammy Sosa in the sixth. Sosa crushed it for his 34th home run of the year and the 573rd of his career, tying him with Harmon Killebrew for seventh all time.

Kearns, who finally is looking like Austin Kearns, tied it an inning later with his ninth home run of the year.

Prior left a breaking ball out over the plate. Kearns hit it off the foul screen in left to tie it 1-1.

John Riedling, Gabe White and Jose Acevedo each pitched an inning of hitless relief.

With closer Joe Valentine unavailable - a cyst on his right wrist was bothering him - Padilla was the guy to finish it.

In the 12th, Dunn led off with a single. Kearns struck out, but Dunn stole second. The steal proved huge because Darren Bragg followed with a double-play ball. But Valentin, who entered in the 10th, then hit his game-winner.

Padilla allowed a leadoff single, then retired the top of the Cubs' order to end it.

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