Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back homers to cap a five-run fourth inning, and the Cubs continued their recent dominance of the Cincinnati Reds with a 15-5 victory Monday night.

 

Bryant went 2 for 4 with a walk and has reached safely in 16 of his last 20 plate appearances.

Jon Jay had three hits with an RBI and finished a home run shy of the cycle as the Cubs extended their NL Central lead to 1 1/2 games over idle St. Louis. Jose Quintana (3-2) allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits in five innings to snap a three-start winless stretch.

 

Scooter Gennett hit a two-run homer, his 20th, in the eighth for the Reds, who have five players with at least 20 home runs to tie a club record. Gennett also mopped up on the mound after beginning the game at second base.

 

Cincinnati catcher Devin Mesoraco broke his left foot when he was hit by a pitch in the second.

 

Joey Votto went 3 for 5 to set a Cincinnati mark by reaching base at least twice in 19 consecutive games. It's the longest streak in the majors since Barry Bonds did it in 20 straight in 2004.

 

Reds starter Asher Wojciehowski (3-2) appeared to settle down after a rough first inning, but couldn't get the final out in the fourth.

 

With Jason Heyward at first and two outs, Jay tripled into the right-field corner to give Chicago a 3-2 lead. Tommy La Stella followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2. Bryant then cracked a two-run homer and Rizzo followed with a solo shot for a 7-2 edge.

 

The Cubs scored six times in the seventh - highlighted by reliever Mike Montgomery's two-run double and Rizzo's two-run single - to make it 12-2.

 

After the Reds scored three times in the eighth, Javier Baez hit a two-run homer off Gennett in the bottom of the inning.

 

The game marked the beginning of a stretch of 24 straight for the Cubs against teams currently with losing records.

 

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.70 ERA) faces rookie righty Luis Castillo (2-5, 3.73) in the second game of the four-game series Tuesday. Hendricks is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in five career starts against Cincinnati.