He was immediately inserted into the leadoff spot Friday and delivered a two-run single in the second inning and scored two runs in the Cubs’ 12-1 win over the Mariners.
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Chicago made it 5-0 in the third as Heyward snapped out of a 5-for-46 (.108) slump with his first home run since June 11.
The lefty had lasted just 16 innings over his previous four starts, going 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA. He went 0 for 2 with a walk. Three of those runs occurred when he allowed a home run to Todd Frazier. M’s starter Hisashi Iwakuma was charged with five runs on eight hits over three frames with Nathan Karns allowing five more in two innings.
With his team trailing by a dozen runs at the time, having sat through a 74-minute rain delay and just embarking on a stretch of 32 games in 33 days, Mariners skipper Scott Servais figured it was the right time to lean on a position player to pitch for the first time this season. “(The) three-run homer definitely did hurt us right there. Ben Zobrist started in right field for the second straight game.
The Cubs scored three times off Iwakuma in the second inning after putting runners at second and third with two outs following Lester’s sacrifice bunt down the first-base line. Jeremy Jeffress got Jung Ho Kang to ground out to third on one pitch to record his 25th save in 26 chances. Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Walker threw a “pain-free” three-inning simulated game on Wednesday at PNC Park, and his return to the big league rotation appears imminent.
The Cubs added another run before the inning ended. He knows he wasn’t ideal in six shutout innings.
Rays 5, Yankees 1 – At St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jake Odorizzi pitched masterfully into the seventh inning, Logan Forsythe and Corey Dickerson hit solo homers in the first, and Tampa Bay cooled off surging NY. He had a decent eighth, scoreless with one single, and then he got into trouble in the ninth.
Twins 2, White Sox 1, 12 inn.: Pinch-hitter Joe Mauer drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning for Minnesota. Reliever Tommy Kahnle then came on and walked Brian Dozier and Mauer to push across the winning run.
Trevor May (2-2) pitched a flawless 12th inning to pick up the win. Meanwhile, Martin (above) has been solid for the Mariners, providing superb defense in center field and rebounding from his worst big-league season offensively to hit a career-high 13 homers. Heyward drove in another run later with a sac fly. Heyward has been a source of frustration for many at the plate, and though there remains some reason to be a bit hopeful (his exit velocity on batted balls is up), a cloud of cynicism has been hovering over his at bats for a while.
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Braves 2, Phillies 1 – At Atlanta: Tyrell Jenkins earned his first career victory, pitching six innings with four strikeouts and one unearned run to help Atlanta beat Philadelphia.
