CHICAGO (AP) — Reds manager Dusty Baker is excited for the time when both his hitters and pitchers are performing at a high level.

Johnny Cueto pitched seven scoreless innings, Jay Bruce homered in the ninth and Cincinnati beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Joey Votto had an RBI double in the eighth inning and Cueto also had two hits for the Reds, who ended the Cubs’ three-game winning streak.

‘‘We hit the ball good today against a very good pitcher in (Ted) Lilly. You know we’re going to hit. It’s just a matter of when and hopefully our pitching continues to throw until our hitting catches on and hopefully we’ll do both at the same time,’’ said Baker.

Cueto (1-1) gave up four hits and struck out three. He retired his last seven batters and left after throwing 108 pitches. David Weathers pitched the eighth and Francisco Cordero got the last three outs for his sixth save.

‘‘I came out very aggressive and tried to get ahead a lot and throw the first strike,’’ said Cueto, through an interpreter. ‘‘I was very aggressive in the strike zone and used my fastball a lot.’’

After being out of the starting lineup for six games with a groin strain, Milton Bradley returned and was 0-for-4 and is 1-for-23 on the season. He was called out on strikes with runners on first and second in the first inning, drawing some boos from the fans.

In the sixth, Bradley took another called third strike on a 3-2 pitch. Bradley took a few steps toward first base before home plate umpire Lance Barksdale called him out.

Bradley did not comment after the game. He left the clubhouse before media entered.

‘‘Milton doesn’t have many at-bats so he is going to be fine,’’ said teammate Derrek Lee. ‘‘He can just flat out hit that isn’t even a concern for us.’’

He ended the night by striking out swinging against Cordero, igniting more boos from the fans.

Reds 3, Cubs 0

Cincinnati Chicago

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Taveras cf 2 0 0 1 ASorin lf 4 0 2 0

HrstnJr lf 4 1 1 0 Fukdm cf 4 0 1 0

Votto 1b 4 0 1 1 D.Lee 1b 4 0 2 0

Encrnc 3b 4 0 0 0 Bradly rf 4 0 0 0

Bruce rf 4 1 2 1 ArRmr 3b 3 0 1 0

Phillips 2b 4 0 2 0 Soto c 4 0 0 0

RHrnandz c 4 0 0 0 Theriot ss 4 0 0 0

AlGnzalz ss 4 1 1 0 Miles 2b 3 0 0 0

Cueto p 2 0 2 0 Lilly p 2 0 0 0

Nix ph 1 0 0 0 AGzmn p 0 0 0 0

Weathrs p 0 0 0 0 Fontent ph 1 0 0 0

Dickersn ph 1 0 0 0 Gregg p 0 0 0 0

Cordero p 0 0 0 0

Totals 34 3 9 3 Totals 33 0 6 0

Cincinnati 001 000 011 — 3

Chicago 000 000 000 — 0

E—Lilly 2 (2). DP—Chicago 1. LOB—Cincinnati 6, Chicago 7. 2B—Votto (5). HR—Bruce (3). SB—Phillips (2). S—Taveras. SF—Taveras.

IP H R ER BB SO

Cincinnati

Cueto W,1-1 7 4 0 0 0 3

Weathers H,5 1 1 0 0 0 1

Cordero S,6-6 1 1 0 0 0 1

Chicago

Lilly L,2-1 7 5 1 0 0 2

A.Guzman 1 2 1 1 0 1

Gregg 1 2 1 1 0 1

HBP—by Cueto (Ar.Ramirez). Umpires—Home, Lance Barksdale; First, James Hoye; Second, Adrian Johnson; Third, Randy Marsh. T—2:38. A—38,738 (41,210).