Luis Valbuena recorded two hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who moved within 2 1/2 games of the Reds for fourth place in the National League Central. Hendricks (7-2) struck out four while allowing seven hits, Pedro Strop fanned two in a perfect eighth and Hector Rondon worked around a one-out walk in the ninth for his 25th save.

Yorman Rodriguez notched two hits and an RBI while Tucker Barnhart went 2-for-3 for the Reds, who managed only one run and 11 hits in the series. Rookie Daniel Corcino (0-1) allowed two runs on three hits and four walks with six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

After being shut out in the first two games of the series, Reds manager Bryan Price benched all of his regulars and watched the reserves break the drought in the first inning. Kristopher Negron led off the game with a double, moved up on a sacrifice and scored on a groundout by Rodriguez, who registered his first major-league RBI.

The Cubs answered in the second, as Chris Valaika tied it with a run-scoring single and Ryan Kalish followed with an RBI ground-rule double into the ivy for a 2-1 lead. Chicago bailed out Hendricks with slick defensive plays to preserve the lead, as catcher Welington Castillo snared a foul pop at the screen to strand runners at second and third in the sixth and left fielder Chris Coghlan made a leaping grab into the ivy to rob Negron and strand two runners in the seventh.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cubs CF Arismendy Alcantara missed his second straight game with a sprained right wrist and is day-to-day. … The Cubs improved to 59-2 when leading after eight innings. … The Reds dropped to 20-38 since the All-Star break. The club record for fewest wins after the break is 25, set in 1933.