CHICAGO -- The winning rally lacked a signature hit, and that was just fine with the Chicago Cubs. To them, Wednesday's comeback was a testament to the team's collective resolve.
Matt Szczur scored on A.J. Ramos' wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, capping a three-run rally that gave the Cubs a 5-4 victory and a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins.
Chicago tied it when Ramos (1-1) walked Ben Zobrist with the bases loaded and two outs.
"I think we've got a good group," Cubs starter John Lackey said. "A group that keeps fighting."
Chicago Manager Joe Maddon also credited those among the Wrigley Field crowd of 41,147 who stayed until the end.
"They had so much energy," Maddon said. "It was a long day and it was hot out there and we have to get on the road. All those different mental factors, and our fans picked us up."
It was Ramos' second blown save in 33 chances this season.
Miguel Montero started the rally with a leadoff double and went to third on a single by Javier Baez. Szczur was pinch-hitting when he drew a walk from Ramos that loaded the bases. Dexter Fowler made it 3-2 with a sacrifice fly, and all the runners advanced.
Kris Bryant struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch for the second out, and Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked to load the bases again. The strategy backfired when Ramos, who threw just 13 strikes in 35 pitches, walked Zobrist and then unloaded a game-ending wild pitch with Willson Contreras at the plate.
"My job was to get Zobrist out there and I just didn't execute," Ramos said. "I was trying to go for the strikeout or get some weak contact. But I couldn't get it in the zone where I wanted to.
"It was just one of those days, I guess."
Zobrist's teammates credited him for resisting the temptation to go out of the zone for a walk-off hit.
"With Zobrist, he's not going to swing [just] to swing," Montero said. "[Ramos] was nibbling."
With the Cubs surging again, Lackey was asked what fair expectations are for this season. "Fair expectations? We're trying to win the World Series," he said. "I didn't come here for a haircut. I came here for jewelry."
PADRES 12, BREWERS 3 Edwin Jackson pitched seven scoreless innings and had an RBI double, and Jabari Blash hit his first major league home run to help San Diego rout visiting Milwaukee. Jackson (2-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced, and the Brewers didn't put a runner in scoring position until Kirk Nieuwenhuis doubled in the fifth. He gave up 3 runs -- 2 on Ryan Braun's home run -- on 8 hits and struck out 5 over 8 innings. The Padres made it 8-0 on Yangervis Solarte's two-run, two-out home run in the sixth. Blash homered in the two-run seventh. Junior Guerra (7-3) had a rare rough second-half outing, allowing 4 runs in the first 2 innings in a 4-inning stint.
NATIONALS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Max Scherzer struck out 11 in eight innings and delivered a two-run single to help his cause in Washington's victory over host Arizona. Washington earned its fourth road series sweep of the season and first since May 30-June 1 at Philadelphia. Arizona lost its fourth consecutive and sixth in seven games. Scherzer (12-6) allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, giving up 2 home runs, and walked 1. He is 3-0 in four starts against the Diamondbacks, who drafted him No. 11 overall in 2006. Daniel Murphy's sixth-inning solo home run broke a 1-1 tie before Scherzer bounced a single up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs, driving in Anthony Rendon and Danny Espinosa. Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley (3-2) allowed 4 runs on 8 hits with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk in 6 innings.
CARDINALS 5, REDS 4 Brandon Moss singled home a pair of runs during St. Louis’ fourrun first inning and St. Louis held on for a victory over host Cincinnati to even their series.
BRAVES 8, PIRATES 4 Ender Inciarte broke a tie with an RBI single in the fifth inning and Atlanta had 15 hits to beat visiting Pittsburgh.
ROCKIES 12, DODGERS 2 Carlos Gonzalez homered twice before leaving with an apparent ankle injury and host Colorado beat Los Angeles. PHILLIES 5, GIANTS 4 (12) Maikel Franco drove home the winning run with one out in the 12th inning to give Philadelphia a victory over visiting San Francisco.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ORIOLES 3, RANGERS 2 Kevin Gausman outpitched Cole Hamels, and host Baltimore rode a three-run first inning to a victory over Texas. TIGERS 2, WHITE SOX 1 J.D. Martinez broke an eighth-inning tie with a pinch home run on the first pitch he had faced since June and Detroit beat visiting Chicago.
RAYS 12, ROYALS 0 Jake Odorizzi had his third consecutive scoreless start, Steven Souza Jr. homered for the first time in two months and host Tampa Bay beat Kansas City.
TWINS 13, INDIANS 5 Joe Mauer had four hits and four RBI, Brian Dozier hit a three-run home run and visiting Minnesota continued its mastery over Cleveland.
BLUE JAYS 3, ASTROS 1 Josh Donaldson hit two home runs, Marco Estrada threw seven solid innings and visiting Toronto beat Houston.
MARINERS 3, RED SOX 1 Nelson Cruz, Mike Zunino and Adam Lind hit solo home runs and Seattle beat visiting Boston, handing Rick Porcello his first loss since May. Only one baserunner managed to reach second base in the first seven innings against Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma (12-7), that coming in the third when former Razorback Andrew Benintendi got his first major league hit and advanced to second on Brock Holt’s two-out single. Benintendi was stranded when Xander Bogaerts fouled out to end the inning. Iwakuma struck out seven and walked none, leaving with one out in the eighth after Benintendi’s second hit. Mookie Betts greeted reliever Drew Storen with a single to advance Benintendi to second but he was stranded there again after Bogaerts flew out to the warning track in left to end the inning.
INTERLEAGUE
YANKEES 9, METS 5 Mark Teixeira hit a tiebreaking, three-run drive off Steven Matz in the second inning of the New York Yankees’ victory over the visiting New York Mets.
Sports on 08/04/2016