NATIONAL LEAGUE

Hendricks, Zobrist lead Cubs over Nats in first of 4

CHICAGO -- Kyle Hendricks pitched six scoreless innings, Ben Zobrist drove in four runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between two of baseball's hottest teams.

Hendricks (2-2) allowed 2 hits, struck out 4 and walked 2 as Chicago began a 10-game homestand with its fourth consecutive victory and eighth in nine games.

Zobrist hit a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run home run in the eighth, helping the Cubs improve their major league-best record to 21-6 for their best start since they were 23-4 in 1907.

Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper singled and walked twice against Hendricks, but the right-hander shut down the rest of Washington's lineup. Michael Taylor was stranded at second after a two-out double in the third for the Nationals' first hit.

Jayson Werth hit a long two-run home run in the ninth for Washington, which had won five of six, including a 13-2 victory at World Series champion Kansas City on Wednesday. The Nationals began the day with baseball's second-best record at 19-8.

Joe Ross (3-1) matched Hendricks for much of the chilly night, striking out nine in 62/3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and walked two.

One rough stretch was enough to send Ross to his first loss since Aug. 16 at San Francisco.

Chicago's first four batters in the fourth reached safely, producing two runs. Tommy La Stella singled, Kris Bryant had a ground-rule double and Anthony Rizzo was walked intentionally before Zobrist's single to right gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Rizzo was thrown out trying to advance to third on Zobrist's hit, and Ross retired the next two hitters to get out of the inning. But the damage was done.

Clayton Richard and Justin Grimm combined for a perfect seventh for Chicago before Pedro Strop wriggled out of a jam in the eighth.

Zobrist connected for his third home run and Addison Russell added an RBI double in the bottom half, providing some valuable breathing room.

Washington second baseman Daniel Murphy was greeted with a round of boos when he came to the plate in the second inning. It was Murphy's first game at Wrigley Field since he hit four home runs while helping the New York Mets sweep the Cubs in the National League Championship Series last year.

MARLINS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 0 Adam Conley pitched shutout ball for the second start in a row and host Miami completed a three-game sweep of Arizona.

REDS 9, BREWERS 5 Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run to help Cincinnati beat visiting Milwaukee.

CARDINALS 4, PHILLIES 0 Jaime Garcia pitched seven sharp innings, Brandon Moss hit a long home run and host St. Louis beat Philadelphia.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RED SOX 7, WHITE SOX 3 Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. all hit home runs as visiting Boston won for the ninth time in 11 games with a victory over Chicago.

ORIOLES 1, YANKEES 0 (10) Pedro Alvarez drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and host Baltimore beat New York.

BLUE JAYS 12, RANGERS 2 Edwin Encarnacion homered, doubled twice and drove in six runs, powering Toronto past visiting Texas.

MARINERS 6, ASTROS 3 Robinson Cano had three hits and his tiebreaking three-run double in the ninth inning lifted visiting Seattle to its fourth consecutive victory, this one over Houston.

INDIANS 9, TIGERS 4 Michael Brantley was 4 for 5 with three RBI, Mike Napoli hit a three-run home run and host Cleveland beat Detroit for the sixth consecutive time this season.

Sports on 05/06/2016

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