>>Lester Leads Cubs Over Cardinals
David Ross homered and teamed with Jon Lester for another scoreless performance, and the Chicago Cubs hurt St. Louis' wild-card chances with 3-1 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday night.
Ben Zobrist had three hits and scored two runs as Chicago finished with a major league-best 57-24 home record. It's the most home wins for the Cubs since they went 58-19 at the West Side Grounds in 1910.
The Cardinals lost for the third time in four games, wasting a chance to improve their playoff positioning. They remain a half-game back of San Francisco for the second NL wild card.
Lester (19-4), one of the top candidates for the NL Cy Young Award, struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander allowed three hits and walked one while improving to 10-0 with 1.34 ERA in his last 13 starts.
Carlos Martinez (15-9) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.
Jaime Garcia (10-12, 4.59 ERA) faces Cincinnati RHP Tim Adleman (2-4, 4.06 ERA) on Monday night in the opener of a seven-game homestand. After four against the last-place Reds, the Cardinals finish the regular season with a three-game series against Pittsburgh.
Kyle Hendricks (15-8, 2.06 ERA) pitches for Chicago in the opener of a four-game series at Pittsburgh. RHP Chad Kuhl (5-3, 3.73 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates on Monday night.
>>Rodon, White Sox Shut Out Indians
Carlos Rodon struck out a career-high 11 over eight dominant innings and the Chicago White Sox denied Cleveland any chance of winning the AL Central title by beating the Indians 3-0 on Sunday.
Rodon (8-10) blanked the Indians on just two singles and easily handled the division leaders who still haven't wrapped up a playoff spot and have gone flat at the worst time possible. Cleveland needed to win its regular-season finale at home and Detroit to lose to Kansas City for the Indians to clinch their first division championship since 2007.
Now, they will have to try and do it on the road against the Tigers, whom they've beaten 13 times in 15 games this season. The clubs open a four-game series Monday at Comerica Park.
It was a disappointing finish for the Indians at Progressive Field, where they went 50-27 and had 11 walk-off wins in a season of comebacks. Cleveland had three errors for the second straight game.
Carlos Sanchez had two RBIs off Josh Tomlin (12-9).
At a loss to explain his struggles since coming to Chicago in June, James Shields is 0-6 in his last 10 starts. The right-hander starts the series opener against Tampa Bay, the team he played for from 2006-12.
>>White Sox Minor League Pitcher Suspended For Positive Drug Test
Chicago White Sox pitcher Yojensy Arias has been suspended for 72 games under baseball's minor league drug program following a positive test for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic used to treat high blood pressure.
The 23-year-old left-hander had a 3.54 ERA in 10 relief appearances this year for the Dominican Summer League White Sox. He will serve the suspension at the start of next season.
Major League Baseball announced the discipline Friday. There have been 83 suspensions this year under the minor league drug program and 13 under the major league program.
>>Baseball Star Jose Fernandez Killed in Boating Accident
Jose Fernandez has died at age 24, the Marlins confirmed on Sunday morning.
Fernandez and two others were killed in an early-morning boating accident along the coast of Miami beach. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue reportedly received a call concerning a possible accident around 3 a.m. ET. Upon arrival, they found an overturned boat that had crashed into the rocks.
Three bodies were subsequently discovered -- Fernandez's and a pair of his friends, each male and aged in their mid-to-late-20s. There is no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved, per Florida Fish and Wildlife.
As a result of the tragic news, the Marlins canceled Sunday's game against the Braves.
Fernandez won the 2013 Rookie of the Year award by posting a 2.18 ERA over 172 innings. He made his first of two All-Star Game appearances that season as well, and finished third in Cy Young voting, behind Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright. That was his age-20 season.
This season marked a triumph for Fernandez, as he returned to a full workload after making 11 high-quality starts in 2015. He showed no rust. Fernandez entered the weekend with the best strikeout rate and most wins (16) of his career.
The Marlins will resume play tonight when they host the New York Mets. Fernandez was the scheduled starter for tonight's game.
