CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are on a roll, and even their depth players are going deep to keep them streaking.
Matt Szczur hit two home runs and the Cubs won their 11th consecutive game, backing Jake Arrieta and battering Adam Wainwright to rout the St. Louis Cardinals 13-2 Friday.
Willson Contreras launched a three-run shot to cap a five-run second inning, and Javier Baez and Jorge Soler also connected to make things easy for Arrieta (14-5).
The Cubs’ winning streak is their longest since a 12-game run in 2001. They pulled 14 games ahead of scuffling St. Louis in the NL Central and improved the best record in the majors to 73-41.
Manager Joe Maddon gave outfielders Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward a day off following a 4-3, 11-inning victory over the Cardinals on Thursday. From left to right, Contreras, Szczur and Soler started in the outfield instead and came through on a muggy afternoon.
CUBS 13, CARDINALS 2
Maddon saluted all three, especially Szczur, who shuttled between the Cubs and the minors last season.
“He homers, runs the ball in the outfield, got things going,” Maddon said. “I knew he’d be ready to play. He pretty much stirred it up for the entire group.”
“The entire outfield hit four homers today. That not a bad thing,” he said.
Szczur, who recorded his first multi-home run game, and Kris Bryant each had three hits.
“It was awesome to see my name in the lineup when I got to the ballpark today,” Szczur said. “Joe has tremendous faith in me and always expects me to produce and I’ve been able to produce for him.”
The Cubs roughed up Wainwright (9-7) for seven runs and chased him after two innings, tying his shortest outing in 245 career starts.
“I was horrible, Wainwright said. “My stuff was bad, my delivery was bad, everything was bad. The team deserves more than that.”
Arrieta pitched one-run ball into the sixth inning and gave up four hits overall.
“The story today was our offense was really good,” Arrieta said. “I think we know what we’re capable of.
“This 11-game winning streak is special, but we want to be playing our best baseball going into October.”
Stephen Piscotty and Jedd Gyorko homered for the Cardinals, who remain in a tight race for the second NL wild card despite dropping six of their last nine.
Arrieta delivered a second consecutive solid start in August after going 0-3 with two no-decisions and a 4.88 ERA in July. The 2015 NL Cy Young winner pitched eight shutout innings at Oakland last Saturday.
Wainwright hasn’t won since July 16 and is 0-2 in his last five starts. During that span, he’s allowed 21 runs in 25 2/3 innings.
The Cubs jumped on Wainwright early. Line-drive doubles by Bryant and Addison Russell drove in runs in the first to make it 2-0.
Bryant hit another RBI double in the second and Contreras sent his seventh halfway up into the left-center bleachers to make it 7-0.
Szczur and Soler hit solo home runs in the sixth off Jerome Williams. Szczur and Baez added tworun shots in the seventh before Gyorko connected in the eighth.
BRAVES 8, NATIONALS 5 Atlanta used home runs from Jace Peterson, Freddie Freeman and Anthony Recker to beat host Washington, snapping a 14-game losing streak in Washington. Mike Foltynewicz (6-5) allowed 4 runs over 52/3 innings as Atlanta won for the 11th time in 17 games.
PHILLIES 10, ROCKIES 6 Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to help Jake Thompson earn his first major league victory and lead Philadelphia to a victory over visiting Colorado. Howard finished with three hits and Cesar Hernandez, Cameron Rupp and Aaron Altherr added two each for Philadelphia.
PADRES 8, METS 6 Rookie Ryan Schimpf homered twice and drove in six runs for San Diego as it beat host New York. Jabari Blash and Christian Bethancourt also homered early for the Padres.
REDS 7, BREWERS 4 Homer Bailey struck out 11 in six scoreless innings in his third game back from Tommy John surgery in visiting Cincinnati’s victory over Milwaukee. Adam Duvall hit his 27th home run and Billy Hamilton stole three bases to push his major league-leading total to 51.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 5, BLUE JAYS 3 Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings for his first major league victory, Teoscar Hernandez homered for his first big league hit and Houston beat host Toronto. Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis had four hits, including two doubles.
INDIANS 13, ANGELS 3 Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez each stole three bases to help Cleveland tie the franchise record with eight, Brandon Guyer drove in five runs and the team routed visiting Los Angeles.
ROYALS 7, TWINS 3 Yordano Ventura won consecutive starts for the first time in two months, Kendrys Morales homered in his return from a one-game suspension and visiting Kansas City beat Minnesota. Ventura (8-9) struck out 9 in 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs.
INTERLEAGUE
RED SOX 9, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Hanley Ramirez had two three-run home runs for six RBI, David Ortiz added a home run and host Boston beat Arizona. Ortiz had three hits, including his 1,000th extra-base hit with Boston.
WHITE SOX 4, MARLINS 2 Carlos Rodon pitched six innings to record his first victory since May as visiting Chicago beat Miami. Adam Eaton tied a career-high with four hits for the White Sox, who had four players drive in a run in their first game in Miami since 2004.
Sports on 08/13/2016