The Cincinnati Reds needed big performances from star players against the division-leading Chicago Cubs , and they got them.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz drove in four runs and starting pitcher Andrew Abbott was at his efficient, effective best in a 6-4 Reds win Saturday at Great American Ball Park before a crowd of 40,409.

The win for Cincinnati (25-26) halted a three-game losing skid to NL Central foes, and marked a strong response less than 24 hours after surrendering a four-run lead in an eventual lopsided series-opening loss to Chicago (31-21) on Friday.

Some might say it's too early to emphasize the standings, especially for a Reds team that's been around .500 for throughout 2025. But Cincinnati's current stretch of 12 of 15 games against NL Central opposition, including six games against the front-running Cubs, could be pivotal to setting the Reds up for contending later this summer.

"We definitely talk about it. We know who we're playing and where they're at in the standings," Reds closer Emilio Pagán said. "Whether it's early or late, games in-division are always important. It's the old cliche that every one of these counts. We're definitely in a fine position. We could 1000 percent be in a better position, but there's a case to be made that we haven't really gotten rolling at all.

"Every game counts, so we can't just hang out hats on 'well, at the end of the year we're gonna be fine.' We still have to play every day with a sense of urgency."

Saturday's win moved the Reds to a 2-3 record in the 15-game stretch, which also includes a road series against the Kansas City Royals next week.

Just as they did Friday night, the Reds jumped on Chicago in the first inning on Saturday. De La Cruz took Cubs starter Colin Rea to the right field bleacher for a two-run home run to open the scoring. The homer was De La Cruz's ninth of 2025.

Of the energy De La Cruz's homer provided the day after Friday's letdown, Reds manager Terry Francona said: "It sure felt good. Helped my energy."

"It's nice to score first and then kinda tack on a little bit because you know they're gonna − they're dangerous offensively," Francona said.

In the third inning, the Cubs got on the scoreboard via Justin Turner's solo home run to left-center field. That would prove to be the only real blemish on Abbott's day as he went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just the one run. He also scattered five other hits, struck out two and walked two on 83 pitches.

Abbott (4-0) lowered his ERA to 1.77.

The Reds fired back at Chicago in the bottom of the third inning. Will Benson drove a ball to the right-center field wall, falling just short of what would have been a three-run homer. The ball carried far enough to drive in Gavin Lux via sacrifice fly. That put the Reds up, 3-1.

Cincinnati tacked on in the fifth inning. De La Cruz drove in two more runs on a single, and later scored himself on Spencer Steer's two-out RBI single.

De La Cruz finished his day at the plate 2-for-3, with the four RBI, two runs and a walk.

The Cubs chipped away, tacking on one run apiece in the seventh and eighth innings against Graham Ashcraft and Tony Santillan, Friday's losing pitcher, to make it 6-3.

"Maybe there was some bending but (the bullpen) didn't break," Francona said. "They competed like crazy and they got their out each inning to get out of it."

Unlike on Friday, the Reds bullpen held its mettle, and Pagán's save marked his 13th of 2025. Pagán saw his way to closing out the contest after he allowed some traffic, including a leadoff home run by Carson Kelly that cut the lead to 6-4 and a one-out double by highly-regarded prospect, Matt Shaw.

As of Saturday evening, Pagán remained third in the NL in saves behind Washington's Kyle Finnegan (15) and San Diego's Robert Suarez (16).

A win Sunday would allow the Reds to take the series off the Cubs. That won't be the end of scrutinizing this critical run of games against NL Central opponents but but it would be a boost to the Reds' aspirations for contending.

"I think they (the Cubs) are a really good team," De La Cruz said. "They're playing really well in general."

The series finale is 1:40 p.m. Sunday, May 25 with the Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo (4-4, 3.22 ERA) vs. Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (3-3, 5.44 ERA).