MLB capsules: Chicago Cubs hit four homers, deliver 1,000th win to Joe Maddon
CHICAGO – Slumping sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber homered, rookie Ian Happ connected again and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 on Tuesday night to give manager Joe Maddon his 1,000th victory.
Happ hit his second homer in his third major league game and Addison Russell also went deep as Chicago returned to .500 after a lackluster road trip. NL MVP Kris Bryant added two hits in his first appearance after missing three games with an illness.
The Cubs (19-19) had dropped seven of nine, including four of their last six at division leaders Colorado and St. Louis. Schwarber’s continued trouble in the leadoff spot and the shaky performance so far by the rotation had created some angst for a fan base expecting more of the same after Chicago’s historic World Series championship last year, but no one seemed a bit worried around the team.
Willson Contreras had two hits and two RBIs, and John Lackey (4-3) pitched into the sixth inning in the opener of a 10-game home stand.
Joey Votto, Zack Cozart and Tucker Barnhart homered for Cincinnati on a warm and windy night at Wrigley Field. But Bronson Arroyo (3-3) was hit hard in five innings, allowing five runs and eight hits.
RANGERS 5, PHILLIES 1
ARLINGTON, Texas – Yu Darvish struck out nine over seven solid innings and Texas beat Philadelphia to stretch the majors’ longest active winning streak to seven games.
Nomar Mazara had a solo homer in the first, and Mike Napoli hit a two-run shot in the eighth. Napoli, who came in hitting .165, went 3 for 3.
Darvish (4-2) allowed four hits and two walks. He preserved a two-run lead by striking out Brock Stassi with runners at first and second after he allowed his only run on an RBI single by Freddy Galvis in the seventh inning.
Phillies starter Jared Eickhoff (0-4) struck out eight and allowed seven hits in his first career start against the franchise that drafted him in 2011.
ORIOLES 13, TIGERS 11 (13)
DETROIT – Chris Davis homered in the 12th inning and again in the 13th, and Baltimore finally held on after the second one.
Davis led off the 12th with a home run that started a three-run inning for the Orioles, but Detroit rallied with three of its own in the bottom half to keep the game going. Davis came up again with a runner on third in the 13th and hit a two-run shot off Francisco Rodriguez (1-5) that gave Baltimore the lead for good.
The Orioles led 7-1 after scoring seven runs in the third, but they squandered that big advantage and needed Mark Trumbo’s solo shot with two outs in the ninth just to force extra innings. Baltimore snapped a four-game losing streak.
Richard Bleier (1-1) earned his first career win.
ASTROS 12, MARLINS 2
MIAMI – Unbeaten ace Dallas Keuchel became the first seven-game winner in the majors despite pitching only five innings, his shortest outing this season, and Houston beat swooning Miami.
Jake Marisnick tripled his season RBI total to six with a pair of two-run homers against his former team, both caroming off the home run sculpture at Marlins Park. Brian McCann also had four RBIs.
Keuchel allowed two runs, both in the first inning, and threw 70 pitches before departing with a 10-2 lead. His ERA rose to 1.84.
Tom Koehler (1-2) gave up eight runs in three innings, inflating his ERA to 7.04.
NATIONALS 8, PIRATES 4
PITTSBURGH – Bryce Harper belted his 13th home run, Ryan Zimmerman smacked a two-run double to add to his major league-leading RBI total and Washington held off struggling Pittsburgh.
Harper’s laser to the last row of seats in right field in the ninth gave the 24-year-old star a home run in every ballpark in the National League. He finished with two hits to move ahead of Zimmerman for the major league-lead in batting average (.388).
Stephen Strasburg (4-1) allowed three runs in six-plus innings, walking one and striking out three on a night he didn’t have his best stuff.
Josh Harrison had two hits for the Pirates, including his sixth home run of the season, and also avoided a tag at second base with an acrobatic slide in the sixth. Chad Kuhl (1-4) remained winless since the first week of the season.
ROCKIES 7, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS – Charlie Blackmon hit a towering two-run homer during a four-run sixth inning and finished with three hits to lead Colorado over Minnesota.
Blackmon had three RBIs, Gerardo Parra added a solo homer and Kyle Freeland pitched six innings as first-place Colorado earned its 12th win in 17 road games.
Freeland (4-2) allowed three runs, five hits and four walks while striking out three. Greg Holland recorded his 17th save in 17 chances after Minnesota put two runners on in the ninth against Chris Rusin.
Byron Buxton hit a solo homer for the Twins, but Phil Hughes (4-2) had another disappointing outing. He gave up five runs, eight hits and a walk in five innings.
RED SOX 6, CARDINALS 3
ST. LOUIS – Mookie Betts homered and drove in two runs, Jackie Bradley Jr. also went deep and Boston beat St. Louis in the opener of a two-game interleague series.
Bradley had two of Boston’s six hits, and starter Eduardo Rodriguez (2-1) allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. Rodriguez walked two, struck out five and threw a season-high 110 pitches.
St. Louis made three errors and lost for just the second time in 10 games. Lance Lynn (4-2) gave up four runs, two earned, and three hits in six innings, striking out four and walking one.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.
YANKEES 7, ROYALS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer, Chris Carter added a two-run shot and CC Sabathia got back on track as New York rolled over Kansas City.
Pitching on six days’ rest, Sabathia (3-2) went 6 2/3 shutout innings to win for the first time since April 15.
Sanchez drilled an 0-1 pitch from Jason Hammel (1-5) to center field with nobody out in the third, and Carter pounded a 1-1 pitch to almost the same place with two down in the fourth.
GIANTS 2, DODGERS 1
SAN FRANCISCO – Brandon Belt homered for the fourth time in six games and scored the tiebreaking run on Brandon Crawford’s single in the sixth, lifting San Francisco to its fifth straight win.
Buster Posey added two hits and Ty Blach (1-2) pitched seven innings, spoiling Dodgers starter Rich Hill’s return from the disabled list. Blach allowed one run, five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
San Francisco improved to 5-1 on its homestand after a sluggish nine-game road trip when manager Bruce Bochy’s ballclub won only three games.
Hunter Strickland retired three batters and Derek Law pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, METS 4
PHOENIX – Yasmany Tomas homered against reeling New York again and Zack Greinke (5-2) pitched Arizona to a victory.
Tomas has gone deep in five consecutive meetings with the Mets, who matched a season high with their sixth straight loss.
Tommy Milone (1-1) allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 10th save.
RAYS 6, INDIANS 4
CLEVELAND – Corey Dickerson hit two of Tampa Bay’s season-high five home runs in a victory over Cleveland.
Dickerson hit solo home runs in the third and fifth off Danny Salazar (2-4). Colby Rasmus and Derek Norris also hit solo shots off Cleveland’s starter while Tim Beckham hit a two-run homer off Shawn Armstrong.
Jake Odorizzi (3-2) allowed four runs in six innings. Alex Colome pitched out of a ninth-inning jam for his 10th save.
BRAVES 9, BLUE JAYS 5
TORONTO – Dansby Swanson hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman also had a two-run shot and Atlanta beat Toronto, sweeping their two-game series.
Swanson snapped a 5-all tie with a leadoff drive to center off Danny Barnes (0-1).
Freeman hit his NL-leading 14th home run, matching Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for most in the majors. Jose Ramirez (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win.
BREWERS 6, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO – Eric Sogard had a career-high four hits and drove in a run, and Jimmy Nelson struck out eight in six-plus innings and hit an RBI single to help Milwaukee beat San Diego.
Nelson (2-2) gave up two runs and seven hits, with one walk. Clatyon Richard (2-5) lost his third straight decision.