“This is a tough group and we’ll find a way to come out of this”. Jon Lester pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits to win his third consecutive decision and the Cubs moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the defending World Series champions in the race for the second wildcard spot. With the win, the Cubs also extended their Wild Card lead over the Giants to a game-and-a-half. 500 (60-48) for the first time since the 2008 NL Central championship season.
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“It’s a nice compliment”, he said.
Got a team, player, series, pitching matchup, or fan experience that you’d like to see featured on Today’s Knuckleball? The Cubs showed that good record when they beat the Giants 7-3 on Friday by scoring five runs in the fifth inning.
Braves 6, Marlins 3 • Nick Markakis had three hits, including a tie-breaking two-run double in the seventh to lift host Atlanta.
Red Sox 7, Tigers 2 • David Ortiz homered and Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts added two-run doubles to lead visiting Boston. He walked two and struck out three after finishing with a season-high 14 strikeouts against Colorado last week.
Wacha (13-4), who overcame a 68-minute rain delay at the start, allowed only two runners past second base.
Giants: RHP Mike Leake will miss a turn in the rotation because of a strained left hamstring. The Giants fell to 3-5 on a 10-game trip. Epstein gives him that freedom, and Maddon runs with it. RHP Ryan Vogelsong (7-7, 4.16) goes for the Giants in Leake’s place. Chris Coghlan made the second start of his career at second base and had two hits before being replaced in the field to start the sixth.
Schwarber began the day with a. 342 average and six homers after going deep the previous two games.
Schwarber’s two-run single against Jeremy Affeldt bounced off Tomlinson’s glove to bring in Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler.
The Cubs capped their five-run rally when David Ross looped an RBI single that many center fielders swoop in to catch.
Castro, the three-time All-Star, no longer seems to be the undisputed everyday shortstop.
Hector Rondon came into the ballgame in “crunch time”, as manager Joe Maddon likes to call it, in the eighth inning and earned a five-out save to preserve the win for Chicago.
His return created a bit of a crowd behind the plate with Schwarber and Ross in the mix.
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Schwarber started in left field after catching Thursday. Well, skipper, Joe Maddon was approached by the media just three days ago and he wasn’t ready to talk about anything just yet – at least to everyone who stepped foot in his office before Tuesday’s game.
