CINCINNATI -- Friday marked the halfway point of the 2021 season and the Reds certainly aren't where they want or need to be -- yet. But their series opener against the Cubs gave them an optimistic start to a huge portion of the schedule.

In front of a packed Great American Ball Park with 40,854 fans, the Reds earned a 2-1 victory in a tense game over the Cubs. It was their second straight one-run decision after Thursday's 5-4 walk-off win over the surging Padres.

It was Joey Votto's two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning that was the difference in Friday's game.

"Last night was kind of a tone-setter for tonight," Votto said. "Always a reminder that we’re in games, and to run through the tape, like Chris Webber says, in life. I like today’s win. I like last night’s win. [We're] 41-40 through the first half of the season, so we have to play some really strong baseball the rest of the way. We think we can do that. So we’re looking forward to it."

Beginning with Friday, 10 of Cincinnati's next 13 games are against the second-place Cubs or first-place Brewers. 

"I think our team is doing a nice job of just focusing on each game," Reds manager David Bell said. "Every single game is fun to be a part of. They're close games going up against good teams, and we know what it takes to win and that's the way it should be. If we continue to do that each day, it'll all take care of itself."

The Reds are now a half-game behind Chicago, which has lost seven in a row -- but they remained eight out behind Milwaukee, which has won 10 straight.

"Just stay close and they’re not going to go 10-0 or however they’re doing here all season," said reliever Brad Brach, who worked a pivotal 1 1/3 scoreless innings. "It’s definitely an important stretch for us. We’re playing really good baseball right now. We’ve had a lot of tight games here lately, it’s been a lot of fun out there. Just hopeful we can pull out some of these close games and just keep pace with them. That’s really all you can do right now."

Until the bottom of the sixth, with a 1-0 lead, Cubs starter Alec Mills had complete command of the Reds’ lineup, having allowed one hit through five innings. After Jonathan India's single with two outs in the third inning, Mills retired eight in a row.

“Our offense went up against a guy that was pitching really well," Bell said. "His ball was moving all over the place. We knew it was going to be a close game and come down to a big hit."

Trouble brewed in the sixth when India drew a one-out walk and Nick Castellanos notched a two-out single to center that gave Cincinnati its first threat of the night.

The Cubs summoned lefty reliever Adam Morgan to face the lefty-hitting Votto. On a 2-1 pitch, Votto slashed his double to the wall in right field to score both runners.

"Sometimes, games feel like this, where the pitcher is tough on the other side and you’re just trying to snag something," Votto said. "Tonight was one of those nights, so I’m glad that we collectively pulled away with a win."

In his first start since June 8, Sonny Gray returned from the injured list and pitched five strong innings with one earned run, five hits and one walk on his line. Gray, who was out with a right groin strain, also struck out eight. A two-out double in the fourth inning by Jason Heyward scored Kris Bryant for the game's first run.

Because Gray was on a limited pitch count, the rest of the game fell to the bullpen and the group rose to the occasion with four scoreless innings and just one hit allowed.

Brach took over for Amir Garrett in the seventh with a runner on first and two outs and blew through the middle of the Cubs’ order -- including strikeouts of Javier Báez and Anthony Rizzo in the eighth inning.

"It’s a lot of fun, that’s what baseball is all about. Packed house, July 4 weekend; getting to face the heart of the Cubs’ order is a lot of fun," said Brach, who has a 1.80 ERA over his last 16 appearances. "It’s making me realize how much I enjoy playing this game and how much I enjoy being in those spots."

The final three outs went to Heath Hembree, who gave up a two-out single, but closed the game with a strikeout to earn his second save. Fans of both the Reds and Cubs were on their feet for nearly the whole inning as the atmosphere and tension built in the ballpark.

"We just kind of passed the ball off to each other," Hembree said. "Each guy that came in did their job and onto the next guy. Everybody was prepared. We just fed off each other as the game went on. You could tell early on, it didn’t seem like there was going to be too many runs scored, so it was just going to come down to a battle of the pitching."