MESA—Ryan Dempster pitched four solid innings, Marlon Byrd had three hits and rookie D.J. LeMahieu hit a game-ending home run as the split-squad Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in 10 innings Sunday.Dempster, entering his eighth season with the Cubs and 14th overall, was picked by manager Mike Quade shortly after spring training began to start the opener April 1 against Pittsburgh at Wrigley Field.There was a meeting early in camp with Quade and pitching coach Mark Riggins “and we laid the plan out for how many innings we need to get,” Dempster said after he gave up a run and three hits and struck out three. Aaron Miles hit a leadoff triple in the third and scored on a groundout by Trayvon Robinson.Carlos Marmol looked as if he was ready to go right now by striking out three in the fifth inning.Of position players who might be set ready to start the season, center fielder Marlon Byrd probably is at the top of the list. He doubled twice and drove in a run with his fourth multihit effort in six games this spring. He is hitting .600 (9 for 15) with four doubles and three RBIs.Kosuke Fukudome broke a 2-all tie for the Cubs with a seventh-inning single, but the Dodgers got the run right back on an RBI double by Marcus Thames, who was celebrating his 34th birthday.

GOODYEAR—Johnny Cueto is pitching as if it were 2010.Cueto pitched three scoreless innings and World Series MVP Edgar Renteria got two hits as the Cincinnati Reds beat the other Cubs split squad 10-0 Sunday.Cueto allowed one hit and one walk.Renteria, a shortstop last year when he helped San Francisco win the championship, signed with the Reds before spring training and started at second base. He scored twice.Paul Janish, expected to start for the Reds at shortstop, also had two hits and Zack Cozart homered. Chris Heisey and Juan Francisco drove in two runs for Cincinnati.The Cubs managed just two hits, one an infield hit off Cueto and a ninth inning single by Starlin Castro. The Cubs were hitting .301 as a team starting the day.Todd Wellemeyer and Casey Coleman are competing for an open spot in the Cubs rotation. Wellemeyer allowed a run on three hits in two innings. Coleman allowed three runs on four hits in two innings.