INTERLEAGUE

Contreras drives in 4 runs as Cubs beat White Sox

CUBS 7, WHITE SOX 2

CHICAGO -- Willson Contreras drove in four runs and Carl Edwards Jr. provided some timely relief, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Tuesday.

Ben Zobrist reached four times from the leadoff spot as the Cubs won for the ninth time in 11 games since the All-Star break. John Lackey (7-9) became the first major leaguer to hit four batters in two years, but managed to get into the sixth inning for his second consecutive victory.

The AL-worst White Sox were unable to overcome a strange performance by Carlos Rodon (1-4) in their 10th loss in 11 games. The left-hander matched a career high with 11 strikeouts and smacked a two-run double for his first career hit, but lasted just four innings in his third consecutive loss.

Contreras helped the Cubs get off to a fast start with a three-run drive in the first for his 16th home run. He singled in the third and drove in Jon Jay with another base hit in Chicago's two-run sixth.

Contreras' three-hit day was a nice rebound performance after he struck out looking with two runners on for the final out in the Cubs' 3-1 loss in the series opener on Monday. He is batting .347 (25 for 72) with seven home runs and 18 RBI in 18 July games.

The Cubs carried a 4-2 lead into the sixth, but Lackey was pulled after the White Sox put runners on second and third with no outs.

Edwards came in and struck out Tyler Saladino before making an athletic play on Melky Cabrera's comebacker for the second out. With the Wrigley Field crowd of 40,717 standing and cheering, Edwards then struck out Jose Abreu to end the inning.

Omar Narvaez went 2 for 2 with 2 walks for the White Sox, who have dropped 22 of 30. Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, was charged with 4 runs and 7 hits.

Both benches were warned by home plate umpire Lance Barksdale after White Sox reliever Chris Beck plunked Ian Happ in the fifth. Lackey hit three batters in the top half of the inning, including Abreu for the second time, but Tim Anderson bounced into a fielder's choice for the final out.

Lackey became the first Cubs pitcher to plunk four guys since Moe Drabowsky on June 2, 1957, at Cincinnati.

YANKEES 4, REDS 2 Todd Frazier had an unforgettable first at-bat in his home debut at Yankee Stadium, grounding into a rare run-scoring triple play as New York beat Cincinnati.

ASTROS 5, PHILLIES 0 Derek Fisher drove in two runs just hours after arriving in Philadelphia and Charlie Morton pitched seven innings to lead visiting Houston over the Phillies.

RANGERS 10, MARLINS 4 Joey Gallo homered twice, Mike Napoli and Rougned Odor also went deep, and Texas slugged past Miami.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BREWERS 8, NATIONALS 0 Travis Shaw, Eric Thames and Manny Pina homered, Zach Davies tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings and visiting Milwaukee beat Washington.

CARDINALS 3, ROCKIES 2 Harrison Bader doubled leading off the ninth inning for his first major league hit and slid across the plate to score the winning run of his debut on Jedd Gyorko's short sacrifice fly, lifting St. Louis over Colorado.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

BLUE JAYS 4, ATHLETICS 1 Cesar Valdez pitched a career-high six innings to win for the first time since his big league debut more than seven years ago, Ryan Goins had two RBI, and Toronto beat Oakland.

RAYS 5, ORIOLES 4 Tim Beckham's three-run home run capped a five-run inning for Tampa Bay and rookie Jake Faria pitched into the eighth inning to help the Rays snap a five-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore.

ROYALS 3, TIGERS 1 Whit Merrifield homered on the first pitch of the game and Kansas City led the rest of the way, beating Detroit for its seventh consecutive victory.

INDIANS 11, ANGELS 7 (11) Edwin Encarnacion hit a grand slam in the 11th inning as Cleveland, which wasted a seven-run lead, beat Los Angeles for its fifth consecutive victory.

Sports on 07/26/2017

Upcoming Events