>>Cubs Route Pirates
Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.
Lester got hurt when he scored from second on Ben Zobrist's two-run single in Chicago's six-run second. The veteran left-hander is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.
Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the fourth as the Cubs earned their largest shutout victory in a home opener in franchise history.
Javier Baez's an RBI single in the second when he threw his bat at a ball that bounced in the dirt , leading to a liner that just got over Newman's head.
Following an off day, right-handers Jordan Lyles and Yu Darvish get the ball when the series resumes Wednesday night. Lyles (0-0, 0.00 ERA) made his Pittsburgh debut Thursday against Cincinnati and pitched five innings in the Pirates' 2-0 victory. Darvish (0-1, 8.10 ERA) struggled in his first two starts of the year, issuing 11 walks in just 6 2/3 innings.
>>Cardinals Outlast Dodgers
Miles Mikolas pitched six solid innings despite hitting three batters, Marcell Ozuna homered and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 4-3 victory on Monday night, ending Los Angeles' five-game winning streak.
Mikolas, who allowed three runs on five hits, had never hit more than one batter in a game and now has 17 in his career.
St. Louis rallied with two runs in the seventh. Jose Martinez singled off Joe Kelly (1-2) to drive in Matt Carpenter, who had singled off Scott Alexander. Paul Goldschmidt later scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Kelly, who has blown three save opportunities.
John Gant worked two scoreless innings in relief and Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for his second save in as many chances.
Ozuna homered off Ryu in the first to tie the game at 2. It was his 16th career first-inning home run.
Dakota Hudson (0-1, 5.40) will be making his second start. In his last outing, he pitched two-thirds of an inning, stranding the bases loaded in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh.
>>Rays Down White Sox
Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Blake Snell struck out 11 over six innings in another strong outing, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Monday. The Rays improved to 8-3 and kept pace with their best start since 2010.
Leading 4-1 in the sixth, he gave up leadoff double to Leury Garcia. Tim Anderson followed with a single off the pitcher's glove, putting runners on first and third.
But Snell struck out Jose Abreu while Anderson stole second. He struck out Welington Castillo and got Yoan Moncada on three pitches each to end the threat.
Avisail Garcia had two hits, including an RBI single in the second that made it 4-0. He also struck out three times against his former team.
Tommy Pham scored two runs and extended his club-record on-base streak to 43 games.
Willy Adames had three hits and two runs, and Guillermo Heredia and Austin Meadows drew bases-loaded walks. Hunter Wood, recalled from Triple-A Durham, threw three scoreless for his first big league save.
Chicago's Carlos Rodon (1-2) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander walked five and threw a wild pitch to go with nine strikeouts.
Jose Rondon homered against Snell in the fifth, stopping a 35-inning scoreless streak by Tampa Bay starters. Carson Fulmer worked three innings after being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, then got optioned back to the minors after the White Sox fell to 3-6.
Charlie Morton (1-0, 1.64 ERA) starts Tuesday. He tossed six scoreless innings against Colorado on Wednesday in a game Tampa Bay lost 1-0 in the 11th. Chicago has not announced a starter, though RHP Ervin Santana is just about ready to join the rotation. Signed to a minor league deal in February, the two-time All Star missed most of last season due to an injured right middle finger.
