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Cubs, White Sox Win; Cardinals Lose

>>Baez Homers Twice To Power Cubs
 
Javier Baez homered twice for the second straight day and scored the go-ahead run on a daring dash around the bases, helping the Chicago Cubs pound the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-5 on Wednesday.
 
Kris Bryant added three hits and two RBIs as Chicago got its first home win in the first night game at Wrigley Field this season. Albert Almora Jr. also had three hits and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs in the Cubs' highest scoring performance in their first 11 games.
 
Baez belted a three-run shot to right-center against Steven Brault in the second and connected against Dovydas Neverauskas in the eighth, sending a solo drive to back of the bleachers in left. The crowd of 35,596 chanted "Ja-vy! Ja-vy!" after he rounded the bases, and he obliged the cheers with a curtain call.
 
Baez also hit two solo homers in Tuesday's 8-5 loss in the series opener. The dynamic infielder became the first player with consecutive multihomer games for the Cubs since Alfonso Soriano from May 16-17, 2008.
 
Pittsburgh had won four of five for its first 8-2 start since 1992. Sean Rodriguez belted a three-run homer and David Freese connected for a solo shot, but the game got away from the Pirates during the Cubs' four-run sixth.
 
Baez struck out swinging leading off the inning against Tyler Glasnow (0-1), but he reached safely when the ball got past catcher Francisco Cervelli for a wild pitch. He advanced on Jason Heyward's bouncer to first and then swiped third with pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella at the plate.
 
Pittsburgh then brought its infield in and La Stella hit a grounder to second baseman Josh Harrison. Baez broke for the plate and Harrison's throw was wild as Chicago grabbed a 5-4 lead.
 
The Cubs poured it on from there. Zobrist capped the sixth-inning outburst with a two-run single back up the middle. Pinch-hitter Ian Happ connected for a two-run homer in the seventh, and Bryant tacked on his second RBI double of the game.
 
Brian Duensing (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win.
 
Rodriguez's massive drive to center off Jon Lester put Pittsburgh in front in the second, but Chicago responded with four in the bottom half against Steven Brault. Zobrist scored on a wild pitch before Baez went deep for his third of the season.
 
Trevor Williams (2-0, 1.59 ERA) tries for his third straight win to begin the season when he starts the series finale on Thursday afternoon. Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 4.09 ERA) gets the ball for the Cubs after he went 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in three starts against the Pirates last year.
 
>>Davidson HR Powers White Sox Past Rays
 
Matt Davidson hit a two-run homer off Austin Pruitt in the eighth inning and the Chicago White Sox rallied for their first home win, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Wednesday.
 
Davidson gave the White Sox the shot they needed after dropping their first five games at Guaranteed Rate Field. That matched Chicago's worst home start since 1975 at Comiskey Park.
Davidson, who hit three home runs on opening day, struck out with the bases loaded to end the third. But he made up for it with a drive that just cleared the center field wall for his fifth homer, after Jose Abreu singled.
 
James Shields settled down after a shaky start and exited to cheers with one out in the seventh. He held his former team to one run and four hits while striking out six and walking five - all in the first two innings.
 
Bruce Rondon (1-0) retired the side in the eighth. And Nate Jones converted his first save opportunity with a scoreless ninth.
 
Yonny Chirinos went 5 1/3 innings in his second straight scoreless start, scattering four hits while striking out five and walking one. The 24-year-old right-hander has thrown 14 1/3 scoreless innings over three appearances.
 
C.J. Cron hit an RBI double off the center-field wall in the fifth. But Pruitt (1-2) gave up four hits in the eighth as the Rays fell to 3-9.
 
The White Sox had runners on first and third with one out in the seventh, only to come away empty-handed.
 
Left fielder Mallex Smith deflected Omar Narvaez's fly near the line off the thumb of his glove and threw wildly toward second, allowing the runner to reach third. Chaz Roe relieved Jose Alvarado and hit pinch-hitter Leury Garcia.
 
But Narvaez got caught between home and third on what seemed to be a squeeze when Yoan Moncada pulled his bat back while taking a pitch for a strike. Catcher Jesus Sucre threw behind the runner, and Moncada then struck out to end the inning.
 
Chicago opens a four-game series at Minnesota on Thursday, with RHP Lucas Giolito (0-1, 6.17) starting for the White Sox and RHP José Berríos (1-1, 3.29) for the Twins. Giolito gave up five runs over 5 2/3 innings in a loss to Detroit on Saturday.
 
>>Brewers Overcome Cardinals
 
Matt Albers held on to a one-run lead in the ninth inning to earn his first save for Milwaukee, retiring Kolten Wong and Dexter Fowler to strand a pair of runners, and the Brewers beat the Cardinals 3-2 Wednesday.
Milwaukee had a two-run lead when Tommy Pham led off the bottom of the ninth with a drive against Josh Hader that hit a railing above the fence in left-center. The play originally was ruled a double by second base umpire Lance Barrett, but the call was overturned on a video review.
 
Albers relieved and allowed singles to Marcell Ozuna and Jose Martinez, then retired Wong on a foulout and struck out Fowler, who was pinch-hitting, for his third big league save. He got his first two for Washington last year.
 
Junior Guerra (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start this season.
 
Adam Wainwright (0-2), making his second start after a stint on the disabled list caused by a strained left hamstring, allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.
 
Milwaukee built a 3-0 lead on home runs by Perez in the second and Eric Thames in the third followed by Jonathan Villar's RBI groundout in the fifth.
 
Thames' fifth home run of the season went just over the glove of right fielder Harrison Bader, who jumped at the 9-foot fence and looked at his glove in disbelief after he failed to snag the ball.
 
Matt Carpenter hit a run-scoring groundout in the sixth. He failed to reach base in a game for the first time this season.
 
Michael Wacha (1-1, 5.59) takes the mound start as St. Louis starts a four-game series at Cincinnati Thursday.

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