The Cubs, who have seven games remaining against the Reds this season, could have another player join that impressive list. The performance gave San Francisco’s slumping bullpen a much-need break. Cincinnati won for just the third time in 14 games overall. Zach Britton got his 25th save in as many chances. They took two of three from NY to capture their fifth straight series.
Advertisement
Lackey got through six innings as the Cubs cut an early 5-0 deficit to a run with a four-run third. He allowed eight runs, tying his big league high, and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Kang has not been charged, and Major League Baseball said in a statement it would “respond fully as additional facts emerge”.
Meals ejected manager Joe Maddon in the second after a questionable strike call with David Ross batting. He had a two-run double and finished with two hits. The 31-year-old knuckleballer was voted an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Offensively, Jay Bruce leads Cincinnati with 82 hits, Zack Cozart has 37 RBI and Adam Duvall has 22 home runs. The Cubs are 5-2 in their last 7 Wednesday games and 51-21 in their last 72 home games.
Ken Giles (1-3) struck out two in a scoreless eighth for the win.
Nationals 7, Brewers 4 – At Washington: Bryce Harper hit the first of Washington’s three home runs, and the Nationals returned to form in a win over Milwaukee.
After watching Washington score a combined two runs in the first two games of the series, manager Dusty Baker said before the finale, “We’re operating at a low energy level right now”. It was his second ejection of the season.Eugenio Suarez made it 5-0 with two out in the third with a double to the right-field corner to score Phillips from first.The Cubs got four runs back in the third, hitting Finnegan with a season-high three home runs in the inning to trim the margin to 5-4.Javier Baez send a leadoff solo home run to left for his ninth homer of the year while Bryant followed with a one-out shot to almost the same spot for his major league-leading 25th. He also went deep in Monday’s loss. Lackey is 0-2 in his past four starts, though he pitched into the seventh in a no-decision against the Mets last week.
TORONTO – Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and singled home the winning run in the eighth as Toronto completed a three-game sweep.
Cozart doubled and scored in the fourth.
YANKEES 9, WHITE SOX 0 Carlos Beltran had three of New York’s season-high 20 hits, and the Yankees cooled off host Chicago.
Gonzalez (2-4) matched his longest outing of the season and shut down NY after it pounded out a season-high 20 hits in Tuesday’s 9-0 romp.
Blue Jays 8, Royals 3 – Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Troy Tulowitzki had a three-run blast and Toronto connected four times to beat Kansas City.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – All-Star Mike Trout homered and Jered Weaver pitched six innings of one-run ball for Los Angeles.
Bryant’s towering drive to center in the second left him two homers shy of his total last season on the way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. Russell drove in three runs and scored two.
Advertisement
Shelby Miller (2-9) allowed six runs in five innings. Ernie Banks hit 10 home runs against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960, and Dave Kingman hit nine against the New York Mets in 1979. Tommy La Stella (hamstring) was activated off the DL, started at third and went 1 for 4.
