Ted Lilly lost both his no-hitter & the game, as the Cincinnati Reds rallied late to beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Wednesday evening from Wrigley Field.

The Cubs took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the 2nd inning after Aramis Ramirez hit a lead-off single against Reds starter Bronson Arroyo.

Jim Edmondes then grounded out to Jeff Keppinger at shortstop, but was able to advance Ramirez to 2nd on the play.

Ramirez then advanced on 3rd base on Arroyo’s wild pitch during Mark DeRosa’s at-bat, who hit an RBI single to bring home Aramis & give Chicago a 1-0 lead.

The Cubs then had chances to add on more runs after Kosuke Fukudome hit a groundout to Brandon Phillips at 2nd base, which advanced DeRosa into scoring position with 2 outs.

After Geovany Soto was intentionally walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd, Ted Lilly grounded out to Edwin Encarnacion at 3rd base to end the inning.

Chicago had a chance to add onto their lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning after Alfonso Soriano drew a lead-off walk from Arroyo.

2 batters later, Derrek Lee walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with just 1 out for Aramis Ramirez.

Ramirez hit into a doubleplay to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs had yet another chance to add onto their lead in the bottom of the 4th inning after Jim Edmonds drew a lead-off walk from Arroyo.

Mark DeRosa then hit a bloop outfield single to put runners at the corners with nobody out for Kosuke Fukudome.

Fukudome flied out to Chris Dickerson in centerfield, but was unable to bring home Edmonds from 3rd base.

It would prove to be costly, as Geovany Soto then wound up hitting into an inning-ending doubleplay.

Cincinnati finally was able to break-up Ted Lilly’s no-hitter in the top of the 6th inning on Ryan Hanigan’s lead-off double.

2 batters later, Lilly appeared to record an 2nd out after striking out Chris Dickerson, but the ball got away from Geovany Soto at catcher which allowed Dickerson to reach 1st base safely.

Hanigan was also able to advance to 3rd base on the play.

Jeff Keppinger then tied the game 1-1 on his fielder’s choice RBI, which scored Hanigan from 3rd base.

Keppinger then was able to steal 2nd base during Jay Bruce’s at-bat, who walked to put runners at 1st & 2nd with 2 outs for Brandon Phillips.

Phillips flied out to Kosuke Fukudome to right field to end the inning.

The Reds then took the lead for good in the top of the 7th inning after Edwin Encarnacion hit a lead-off double against Lilly.

Joey Votto then grounded out to Mark DeRosa at 2nd base, but advanced Encarnacion to 3rd base on the play.

Jolbert Cabrera then delivered the game-winning sac fly to Alfonso Soriano in left field, which scored Encarnacion from 3rd base & gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.

With the exception of a 7th inning Geovany Soto walk, the Cubs were retired in order to end the game.

Bronson Arroyo (11-10) gets the win for the Reds after pitching 7 innings & allowing 1 run on 3 hits despite walking five batters & striking out four.

Ted Lilly (12-7) takes the loss for the Cubs after allowing 2 runs on 2 hits in 7 innings of work & striking out 7 Reds.

Francisco Cordero struck out the side in the 9th inning for his 24th save of the season.

The Chicago Cubs can become baseball’s first team to 78 wins with a victory Thursday afternoon at 1:20 PM cst against the Cincinnati Reds from Wrigley Field.

Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano (12-5, 3.38) will be opposed by Reds righthander Josh Fogg (2-5, 7.71).

Zambrano has had a lackluster August so far, as the 2008 NL All-Star has gone 0-1 in 3 starts with a 8.80 ERA.

However, Zambrano is 3-0 against Cincinnati this season in 3 starts with a 1.17 ERA & has allowed just 3 runs in 23 innings pitched.

Fogg is also having a lackluster August, as the 8 year veteran pitcher is 0-2 in 3 starts with a 7.31 ERA.

Fogg has been hit the hardest during day starts, as he is 0-1 in 2 starts with a 17.42 ERA.

Fogg suffered his worst start to date of the season against the Cubs back on April 16th, as he allowed 9 runs on 7 hits in just 2 innings of work during the Reds’ 12-3 loss.

Happy Birthday to Cubs’ starting pitcher Jason Marquis, who will turn 30 on Thursday.

Signing off for now,