CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Spencer Steer homered for the fourth consecutive game and the Cincinnati Reds gained crucial ground in the National League wild-card race with a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds (79-76) pulled to within one game of the New York Mets for the final playoff spot. With the Mets’ loss to Washington earlier Saturday, Cincinnati now controls its own destiny, holding the tiebreaker should the teams finish even. The Cubs (88-67), who have already clinched a postseason berth and hold the top wild-card position, lost their third straight.

TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson also homered for the Reds, who have won four straight. Stephenson’s two-run shot in the eighth inning provided critical insurance, breaking a 4-4 tie after the Cubs had rallied to knot the score in the top of the frame.

The game was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading runs. Chicago struck first when Michael Busch launched a solo home run to right-center field in the third inning, his 30th of the season.

The Reds answered immediately in the bottom of the inning. Matt McLain and Friedl singled, and Steer drove in the first run with a fielder’s choice. Will Benson then singled to center, scoring Friedl to tie the game at 2-2.

Chicago catcher Reese McGuire put the Cubs back ahead with a solo homer to right in the fifth, but Steer erased the lead with one swing in the bottom half, crushing a game-tying solo shot to left-center.

Friedl gave Cincinnati its first lead of the night in the seventh, lining a solo home run to right field to make it 4-3.

The Cubs fought back in the eighth. Willi Castro hit a ground-rule double and scored on a sharp RBI double from McGuire, his second extra-base hit of the game, to tie the score at 4-4.

The tie was short-lived. In the bottom of the eighth, Stephenson connected for a two-run homer off reliever Drew Pomeranz, scoring Noelvi Marte to secure the win.

Zack Littell earned the win for Cincinnati, improving to 10-8. He allowed two runs on three hits over five innings, striking out four. Pomeranz took the loss for Chicago, falling to 2-2 after surrendering two runs in one inning of work. Emilio Pagán closed the door in the ninth for his 29th save of the season.

The announced attendance was 31,756, and the game took 2 hours, 28 minutes to complete. The two teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday.