Cubs win 6-1 over Reds; Ryan Dempster on DL; Marlon Byrd could be traded

The Cubs ended their 6-game losing streak today by beating the Reds, 6-1 at Wrigley Field.  Paul Maholm earned his first win with the Cubs, which was also his first win since July of 2011, when he won over the Cubs when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Maholm only allowed four hits and one run during the six innings he pitched. 

Paul Maholm earned his first win as a Cub today against the Reds (photo from cubs.com)

David DeJesus, Darwin Barney, and Starlin Castro combined for seven hits, four runs, and three RBIs today.  Steve Clevenger had three singles and raised his batting average to .588.  While he was being interviewed on the field after the game, Clevenger was showered with ice from a fellow teammate, which was fun to see.

Today, the Cubs officially put Ryan Dempster on the 15-day disabled list for a right quad strain.  Randy Wells is scheduled to start in tomorrow's game against the Reds and will take Dempster's spot in the starting rotation. 

Tony Campana was called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Dempster's spot on the roster, so one more roster spot needs to be cleared in order to add Wells.  There has been talk of a Marlon Byrd trade with the Boston Red Sox.  Byrd is hitting .070 this season and wasn't in today's lineup, but he was in the Cubs' clubhouse.  Byrd is scheduled to make $6.5 million this season, so the Cubs would most likely have to eat most of that salary.

Tomorrow the Cubs will play the rubber game against the Reds at 1:20pm and Randy Wells will get a chance to impress Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Dale Sveum.  Let's go Cubbies and and let's start a winning streak!