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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

MLB capsules: Cubs defeat Brewers to extend lead in N.L. Central

The Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant hits a two-run home run during the 10th inning  Thursday in Milwaukee. (Morry Gash / AP)
Associated Press

Javier Baez grounded a tying single with two outs in the ninth inning, Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer in the 10th and the Chicago Cubs widened their N.L. Central lead over Milwaukee, beating the host Brewers 5-3 Thursday night.

The Cubs are 4 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers after winning the opener of a four-game series.

Milwaukee was in position to win it in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with one out. But Wade Davis (4-1) struck out Domingo Santana and then, after falling behind 3-1 in the count to Orlando Arcia, came back to retire him on an easy comebacker on a full-count pitch.

The Cubs trailed 3-2 when Ian Happ led off the ninth by hitting a grounder that first baseman Neil Walker fielded wide of the bag. Reliever Jeremy Jeffress covered first and Happ was called safe in a close play, a ruling upheld on replay.

Happ moved to second on a one-out grounder and scored when Baez, down to his last strike, singled up the middle.

Bryant hit his 28th homer, connecting off Oliver Drake (3-5).

Padres 3, Rockies 0: Visiting Colorado stumbled again as it tries to protect its tenuous hold on the N.L.’s second wild card, losing to a San Diego team powered by veteran left-hander Clayton Richard and rookie slugger Christian Villanueva.

Richard (8-14) struck out eight in 7 1/3 scoreless innings a day after agreeing to a two-year contract extension through 2019, and Villanueva homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs.

It was the fourth straight loss and sixth in eight games for the Rockies. They kept their one-game lead over Milwaukee thanks to the Brewers’ 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Colorado lefty Tyler Anderson (5-6) was pulled after 5 2/3 innings, having allowed three runs and six hits, with six strikeouts and a walk.

Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his 20th save. He has 100 strikeouts this season.

Rangers 4, Mariners 2: Cole Hamels dominated for eight innings, Adrian Beltre and Shin-Soo Choo homered and visiting Texas beat Seattle to hang around the A.L. wild-card hunt.

Texas and the Los Angeles Angels are 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the second wild card. The Angels lost to Cleveland, while the Twins blew out Detroit.

Hamels (11-4) allowed three hits and a run while striking out eight. He gave up a solo homer to Nelson Cruz – his 35th – in the seventh, along with a pair of singles to Jean Segura.

Keone Kela got his second save despite yielding a solo homer to Robinson Cano in the ninth. It was Cano’s 22nd this season and 300th of his career.

The Mariners have lost six straight games and are five back in the wild-card chase with nine games remaining.

James Paxton (12-5) allowed two runs in 3 2/3 choppy innings.

Indians 4, Angels 1: Francisco Lindor homered and Cleveland finished a three-game sweep of Los Angeles in Anaheim, California, for its 27th win in 28 games.

It matched the 1884 Providence Grays for the best 28-game run in major league history. The Grays went 28-1 before cooling.

After hitting a two-run homer Wednesday night, Lindor came back with a three-run homer in the fifth off Parker Bridwell (8-3) to break a 1-all tie. It was his 32nd home run.

The was Cleveland’s 11th straight victory over the Angels, who have lost four of five overall in a struggling effort to overtake the Minnesota Twins for the final A.L. wild card.

Zack McAllister (2-2) threw 1 1/3 innings of relief. Tyler Olson threw a scoreless ninth for his first career save.

Twins 12, Tigers 1: Joe Mauer and Jorge Polanco had three hits each, and Minnesota extended its lead for the American League’s second wild card with a win in Detroit.

The Twins are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Angels in the race for the A.L.’s final postseason spot.

Minnesota scored three runs apiece in the fourth and sixth innings, then added four more in the eighth. The Twins rebounded from a three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, routing a depleted Detroit team that is 4-17 in September after trading Justin Verlander and Justin Upton.

Adalberto Mejia fell one out short of a win, allowing a run and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Dillon Gee (3-2) was credited with a victory in relief.

Jordan Zimmermann (8-13) yielded three runs and five hits in four innings.

Dodgers 5, Phillies 4: Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier and Curtis Granderson homered as Los Angeles clinched a tie for the N.L. West title, ending a four-game losing streak by beating host Philadelphia.

The Dodgers can win their fifth straight division crown Friday night with either a victory at home over San Francisco or a loss by second-place Arizona to Miami.

Los Angeles avoided a four-game sweep by the last-place Phillies, winning for just the sixth time in 26 games.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner sustained a bruised right thumb when he was hit by a pitch from Mark Leiter Jr. in the first and exited the game. Turner is hitting a team-leading .321 with 21 homers and 70 RBIs.

Ethier tied it with a home run in the seventh off reliever Ricardo Pinto (1-2) that made it 4-all. Chris Taylor followed with a triple and scored the go-ahead run on a grounder by Austin Barnes.

Rookie Walker Buehler (1-0) pitched a hitless inning to win his first major league decision. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 39th save.

White Sox 3, Astros 1: Chris Volstad and Chicago’s bullpen covered 8 2/3 innings after starter Carson Fulmer left with a blister to lead a win in Houston.

Volstad (1-0) got his first win since 2012 with the Chicago Cubs. He allowed a run over 4 1/3 innings, and six relievers kept Houston scoreless from there. Juan Minaya worked around two walks in the ninth for his fifth save.

Chicago built a 2-0 lead off Dallas Keuchel (13-5) by the third inning. Brian McCann got Houston within 1 on a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.

Royals 1, Blue Jays 0: Jason Vargas and four relievers combined on a two-hitter, and Melky Cabrera had three hits and the only RBI as visiting Kansas City defeated Toronto.

Vargas (17-10) struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start. None of the three batters he walked advanced beyond first base.

The Blue Jays did not have a runner reach scoring position. The Royals, who have 10 games remaining, are 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the second A.L. wild-card spot.

Cabrera’s RBI came in the third against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (9-11).

Orioles 3, Rays 1: Gabriel Ynoa pitched eight innings of five-hit ball, Manny Machado homered and host Baltimore beat Tampa Bay in a matchup between fading A.L. East teams.

Machado’s two-run homer in the first off Matt Andriese (5-4) propelled the Orioles to their third win in 15 games.

Ynoa (2-2) struck out three and walked two in earning his first win as a starter in six career tries. He failed to go past five innings in any of his previous starts. Brad Brach pitched the ninth for his 18th save

Cardinals 8, Reds 5: Dexter Fowler delivered again, getting three hits and driving in two as visiting St. Louis overcame Scott Schebler’s two home runs to beat Cincinnati for a three-game sweep.

The Cardinals began the day 2 1/2 games behind Colorado for the second N.L. wild card and five games behind the Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

Carlos Martinez (12-11) lasted 6 1/3 innings on a muggy night with a game-time temperature of 85 degrees, allowing four runs and nine hits.

Homer Bailey (5-9) became the third consecutive Reds starter to be lifted without getting through five innings.

Braves 3, Nationals 2: R.A. Dickey frustrated visiting Washington with his knuckleball for eight innings, Ozzie Albies had three hits and Atlanta beat the Nationals.

Dickey (10-10) gave up two runs, four hits and no walks. He made a strong case that the Braves should pick up his $8 million club option for 2018, but said after the game that he may retire following this season.

Arodys Vizcaino struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.

The Braves scored two runs in the fourth off Tanner Roark (13-10).