RAYS 6, CUBS 5
CHICAGO -- Joe Maddon's Tampa Bay reunion didn't go quite the way he wanted.
Tim Beckham homered, and the Rays hung on to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Tuesday.
Beckham's two-run drive highlighted a five-run fourth against Jon Lester (5-5). Alex Colome gave up two runs in the ninth, but the Rays won their first meeting against their former manager since he left for Chicago following the 2014 season.
Maddon chatted with Evan Longoria and some of his former staffers, such as pitching coach Jim Hickey and third base coach Tom Foley, as the Rays took batting practice.
"They're a great bunch of guys," Maddon said. "There's a lot of humor on that side, and I got my giggles in."
The Rays got the final word even though things got tense near the end. Colome threw 38 pitches in the ninth but came away with his 22nd save in 26 chances.
He gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Albert Almora Jr. and walked Jon Jay to put runners on first and second. After Kris Bryant popped out, Anthony Rizzo lined an RBI single to make it 6-4.
Ben Zobrist then bounced into a force to bring home another run. Ian Happ walked on a 3-2 pitch to put men on first and second, before Jason Heyward hit a fly to left.
"You're going to have some games where a team comes back," Manager Kevin Cash said. "They're a very good club and they believe they're never out of game. They gave us every bit of it, but it was nice to see us come out on top."
Chris Archer (7-5) picked up his third victory in four starts, giving up 3 runs and 8 hits in 6 innings. The former Cubs prospect also had an RBI single after a fake bunt for his first career hit.
Chicago lost for the fifth time in seven games on another frustrating afternoon. The defending World Series champions have hovered around .500 all season after winning it all for the first time since 1908 last fall.
"We haven't gotten hot, we haven't gotten going," Lester said. "We do two, three, four games in a row and then it's kind of like we go the other way for two, three, four games. I feel like it's time to be paid up on that, you know? It's time to get some guys hot. It's time to get some guys on the mound that just go, just roll. We haven't had that."
Lester lasted five innings. He tied a season-high by allowing six runs and gave up nine hits -- all but one on ground balls.
The Rays sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie.
Trevor Plouffe led off with a single and Beckham drove the next pitch to the center-field basket for his 11th home run.
TIGERS 5, GIANTS 3 Victor Martinez homered, Michael Fulmer pitched eight innings and host Detroit snapped San Francisco's six-game win streak with a victory over the Giants.
BREWERS 6, ORIOLES 2 Eric Thames hit a pair of home runs and Jimmy Nelson pitched seven strong innings to lead Milwaukee to a victory over visiting Baltimore.
PADRES 1, INDIANS 0 Cory Spangenberg drove in the only run with a groundout, and six San Diego pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the Padres edged host Cleveland despite a record-setting outing by All-Star Corey Kluber.
ASTROS 16, BRAVES 4 Jose Altuve homered and drove in four runs, Josh Reddick hit a grand slam and Houston pounded Atlanta.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 11, METS 4 Daniel Murphy drove in five runs on four hits, Bryce Harper had three hits and two RBI, and host Washington routed New York.
MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 2 Christian Yelich hit a three-run home run, Jose Urena tossed five solid innings and visiting Miami beat St. Louis.
PIRATES 3, PHILLIES 0 Jameson Taillon struck out a career-best nine in five innings, Andrew McCutchen hit a pair of solo home runs and Pittsburgh beat host Philadelphia.
REDS 8, ROCKIES 1 Homer Bailey went six solid innings for his first win since Aug. 12, Billy Hamilton had a two-out, two-run single and Cincinnati beat host Colorado.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 1 CC Sabathia was chased during a four-run third inning in his return from the disabled list, and Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single that helped visiting Toronto beat New York and stop a five-game losing streak.
TWINS 5, ANGELS 4 Kyle Gibson pitched into the seventh to snap his three-game winless streak, Byron Buxton hit his fifth home run and host Minnesota held off Los Angeles.
ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6 Franklin Barreto homered in the ninth inning, Yonder Alonso went deep twice and Oakland snapped a season-high six-game losing streak by beating Chicago.
ROYALS 7, MARINERS 3 Whit Merrifield hit the first pitch of the game from Felix Hernandez for his seventh home run, Mike Moustakas added his 24th home run of the season, and Kansas City beat host Seattle.
RED SOX 11, RANGERS 4 Former Arkansas Razorback Andrew Benintendi went 5 for 5 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and a terrific catch in left field, and David Price struck out 9 over 6 scoreless innings as visiting Boston beat Texas.
Sports on 07/05/2017