Chicago ? Bill Mueller couldn’t have scripted a better comeback if he’d tried.

Mueller hit the tying home run in his first game back from the disabled list, and Alex Gonzalez hit a solo homer with one out in the ninth Monday night as the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5.

“You’ve got to continue to believe in yourself, and that’s what I did tonight,” said Mueller, who finished 2-for-4.

Mueller was activated from the DL before the game after having surgery March 11 to clean out some bone chips in his left knee. Those stemmed from the broken kneecap he suffered last May 13. He spent three months on the disabled list last season.

Gonzalez homered to left-center on a 1-0 pitch from Mike Timlin (0-2).

Reds 8, Brewers 5

Cincinnati Adam Dunn hit a grand slam in front of Cincinnati’s smallest crowd in 10 years, and the Reds overcame Joey Hamilton’s hamstring injury to beat slumping Milwaukee. Despite returning from a West Coast trip in first place in the NL Central, the Reds drew only 12,867. The fans saw Sean Casey collect four hits as Cincinnati ended a four-game losing streak.

Pirates 3, D’backs 2

Phoenix Randy Johnson lost for the first time this season on an unearned run. Second baseman Junior Spivey overthrew first in an ill-advised attempt to turn a double play in the seventh inning, allowing Jason Kendall to score the go-ahead run. Johnson (6-1) struck out eight and walked none in seven innings.