NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 6, GIANTS 2
CHICAGO -- There isn't much Kyle Hendricks thinks he needs to change. And it's hard to argue when he's in command like this.
Hendricks limited San Francisco to 1 run and 2 hits over 7 innings, Ben Zobrist lined a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday.
Hendricks (4-3) struck out seven and walked two, helping Cubs open the series on a winning note after a two-game sweep by Cleveland at Wrigley Field.
"I feel really good," he said. "It's just that constant focus, come in every day. There are a few things that aren't necessarily where I want it to be right now, but overall, it's been really good."
Gorkys Hernandez homered leading off the fourth and singled in the sixth. Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey and Brandon Belt each hit fly balls to the warning track against Hendricks. But San Francisco managed just four hits and fell to 0-3 on an eight-game trip. The Giants have been outscored 21-5.
"It was Kyle's day," Chicago Manager Joe Maddon said. "He gave us a chance to win that game."
Outscored 11-1 in the Cleveland series, the Cubs chased Derek Holland in a four-run seventh.
Zobrist broke a 1-1 tie with his double to left against Will Smith, and Kris Bryant added a two-run single off Cory Gearrin. Addison Russell made it 6-1 with an RBI single in the eighth, and the Cubs hung on for the victory.
Zobrist credited an encouraging hitters meeting in which "guys had good plans and we're working the process."
"As long as we keep doing that, we know the streaks will start coming, and we'll start scoring a lot more runs and getting a lot more wins," he said.
Pedro Strop retired the first two batters in the ninth before Belt singled, went to second on indifference and scored on Longoria's single.
Brian Duensing walked Brandon Crawford to put runners on first and second, but Brandon Morrow struck out Mac Williamson for his 11th save in 12 chances.
Holland (2-6) gave up 3 runs -- 2 earned -- and 5 hits. He matched Hendricks before hitting Javier Baez and walking Ian Happ to start the seventh, triggering the Cubs' big inning.
Addison Russell moved the runners up with a sacrifice against Smith before Tommy La Stella -- batting for Hendricks -- walked. That loaded the bases for Zobrist, who lined a double to left. Bryant's single was the only other hit in the inning, and the Cubs drew two walks in addition to a hit batter while sending nine to the plate.
Before Zobrist's double, only 28 of the Cubs' 98 hits with runners in scoring position had gone for extra bases.
"We're not getting the bang for our buck with our offensive production because a lot of our extra-base hits and home runs are with nobody on base," Cubs President Theo Epstein said. "And we're not performing at the same level with runners in scoring position, so it could even out.
"But you have to make sure it's not something baked into our approach. I don't think it is."
Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said the walks doomed his team on Friday. "That's what came back to get us today. It's an area where we need to get better," he said.
The Giants activated Williamson from the 10-day disabled list and sent left-hander Josh Osich to Class AAA Sacramento.
Williamson had been sidelined since April 24 because of a concussion. He was hurt when he stumbled on a bullpen mound and crashed into the left-field wall chasing a fly ball during a home game.
Osich has an 8.25 ERA in 12 relief appearances.
On the injury front, Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who had a fractured pinky on his throwing hand, is scheduled to throw approximately 45 pitches in a rehab start with Class AAA Sacramento today.
Second baseman Joe Panik, who sprained his left thumb, continues to make progress and could begin a rehab assignment before the team concludes its current road trip that runs through Wednesday.
PIRATES 8, CARDINALS 1 Joe Musgrove came off the disabled list to win his Pirates debut with seven scoreless innings on the mound as host Pittsburgh beat St. Louis.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 5 Max Scherzer was twice unable to hold a two-run lead and won anyway when visiting Washington’s bullpen locked down a victory over Miami.
BREWERS 4, METS 3 (10) A.J. Ramos walked consecutive batters to force in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning, handing host Milwaukee the victory over New York.
ROCKIES 5, REDS 4 Pinch-hitter Noel Cuevas came through with a tiebreaking triple in the sixth inning and Colorado began a long homestand by beating visiting Cincinnati.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 2, ANGELS 1 Gleyber Torres became the youngest American League player to homer in four consecutive games, Aaron Judge threw out two runners from right field and host New York beat Los Angeles.
ORIOLES 2, RAYS 0 David Hess pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, helping visiting Baltimore overcome a strong effort from Tampa Bay’s bullpen.
TIGERS 5, WHITE SOX 4 Jeimer Candelario had a go-ahead RBI bloop single during a three-run eighth inning and host Detroit rallied past Chicago.
ASTROS 11, INDIANS 2 Jose Altuve tied it in the eighth inning with a two-run double and visiting Houston scored 11 times in the final two innings to rout Cleveland.
RANGERS 8, ROYALS 4 Ronald Guzman homered in his fourth consecutive start and drove in three runs, leading host Texas past Kansas City.
INTERLEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 6, PHILLIES 5 Justin Smoak homered, Sam Gaviglio struck out six over six innings and Ryan Tepera escaped a ninth-inning jam for his first save to lead Toronto past host Philadelphia.
RED SOX 6, BRAVES 2 Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 17th home run, J.D. Martinez slugged his 16th and Boston beat visiting Atlanta.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, ATHLETICS 1 Patrick Corbin allowed four hits in seven innings and Nick Ahmed homered to help Arizona beat host Oakland.
Sports on 05/26/2018