CINCINNATI -- Reds rookie Blake Dunn bolted out of the batter’s box in the fifth inning on Friday night and was not only thinking about collecting his first Major League hit. Dunn was thinking double.

“I was hustling hard,” Dunn told reporters. “And when I turned around [first] base and I picked my head up, I was able to see that they had just kind of gotten to it. So, I put my head down and went into second base hard.”

It was not only a personal moment that Dunn will not soon forget, but his first career hit fell in line with a recent theme for the streaking Reds. His double sparked a two-out rally in a 3-2 win over the Cubs at Great American Ball Park, giving Cincinnati a six-game winning streak that moved the team into a tie with Chicago for second in the National League Central.

All three runs that the Reds scored on Friday night came with two outs, making it 32 two-out runs scored (out of 45 runs total) during the winning streak. The Reds have also scored 135 runs with two outs this season, marking the second-most in the Majors at the time their win was sealed.

“It’s not like a concerted effort to only try to score with two outs,” Reds manager David Bell told reporters. “But it does speak to the inning’s never over, the game’s never over. You just keep playing the game. It’s one pitch at a time. You get one hit, you can run the bases, you might be able to get into scoring position. Just getting on base any way we can and keep creating the opportunities.”

The Reds had few chances early on against Cubs left-hander Justin Steele.

Steele retired his first 10 batters in a row before Elly De La Cruz's walk gave Cincinnati its first baserunner. With two outs in the fourth and Spencer Steer batting, De La Cruz bolted as Steele made a pickoff attempt. The throw to second was not in time as De La Cruz swiped his 33rd base of the season.

“We had a play to make to get him out,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We got a pickoff and have to be perfect with him. And the throw was not good enough to get the out.”

Later in the fourth, the Reds caught another break when Steer struck out swinging on a 2-2 slider that skipped under the glove of catcher Miguel Amaya and rolled deep into foul territory. Steer was able to reach first on the play, putting runners on the corners with two outs for Tyler Stephenson.

Stephenson received one of Steele’s signature sliders -- this one middle-in -- and the Reds' catcher ripped it into the left-field corner to give the Reds a 2-0 advantage.

“I feel like the past week or so, there's been some huge two-out hits,” Stephenson told reporters. “I feel like those can kind of make or break a game, so every single one you get is huge. It's been great to see some of those go through.”

On a night that Steele -- a NL Cy Young contender last season -- was pitching well for the Cubs, those two-out hits proved huge. They also went a long way in backing a solid outing by Cincinnati lefty Nick Lodolo, who limited the Cubs to one solo homer by Dansby Swanson in his six innings of work.

The two-out magic continued in the fifth after Steele retired TJ Friedl and Santiago Espinal via groundouts. That set things up for Dunn, who was playing in his fourth career game for the Reds.

Dunn, the Reds’ No. 11 prospect, saw a first-pitch four-seamer from Steele and sent the offering back up the middle for a sure single. The fleet-footed rookie read where the ball bounced between Chicago’s outfielders and turned on the burners. Dunn hit a Sprint Speed of 29.1 feet/second, per Statcast, and slid into second ahead of an off-target throw.

Stuart Fairchild brought Dunn home with a single up the middle, continuing the Reds’ two-out success. That run proved to be the difference in helping Cincinnati pull off its 11th win in 14 games amid a climb back into the NL Wild Card picture.

“Not much has changed inside the locker room, honestly,” Lodolo told reporters. “The one thing is, with two outs, we’re getting those hits right now. And as a unit -- starters to the bullpen -- we’re throwing the ball well.”