Local Sports

Ozuna homers in 10th as Cardinals top Rockies 5-4

Marcell Ozuna got the his first of his career in the 10th inning Monday night, and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped Colorado's four-game win streak with a 5-4 victory over the Rockies.
 
Ozuna connected against Jake McGee (1-4), sending a one-out drive deep to center for his 13th homer of the season. The slugger also extended his homer streak to three straight games.
 
Dakota Hudson (1-0) got three outs for his first career win.
 
St. Louis has won eight games on game-ending hits this season and has won three of its last four contests.
 
Colorado took a 4-0 lead when Nolan Arenado hit his fifth career grand slam in the fifth inning off Daniel Poncedeleon, who replaced Carlos Martinez when the right-hander departed with a mild shoulder strain with two outs.
 
Arenado went deep for the third time in four games. The drive to center gave him 79 RBIs, one behind Cincinnati's Eugenio Suarez for the National League lead.
 
Martinez was activated from the disabled list prior to the game. He missed his previous start with a right oblique strain.
 
Colorado left-hander Tyler Anderson allowed four runs in six-plus innings. He was replaced by Scott Oberg after he walked the first three batters in the seventh.
 
Dexter Fowler then struck out, but Harrison Bader walked and Matt Carpenter hit a tying two-run single with two out.
 
Charlie Blackmon singled off Martinez in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, matching his season high.
 
Gerardo Parra initially scored on a pitch from Poncedeleon to Anderson that sailed to the backstop in the sixth inning. The call was overturned after the Cardinals challenged the ruling on the field that Parra evaded Poncedeleon's tag.
 
Jedd Gyorko homered in the fifth inning for St. Louis. It was Gyorko's first since July 5 and No. 8 on the season.
 
Rockies RHP Jon Gray (8-7, 5.16 ERA) will face Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty (4-5, 3.28 ERA) in the second game of the four-game series tonight. Gray has a 1.26 ERA in 14 1/3 innings since being recalled from Albuquerque on July 14. Flaherty will be making his first career appearance against Colorado. He has failed to pitch into the sixth inning in his last four starts.
 

MVFC Preseason Polls Announced

Defending national champion North Dakota State has been unanimously picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference title.
 
The FCS powerhouse, which has won or shared the league crown in each of the last seven seasons, received all 39 first-place votes in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
 
South Dakota State was picked second, followed by Northern Iowa, Youngstown State and Illinois State.
 
MVFC teams went 8-4 in last year's FCS playoffs, and North Dakota State won its sixth national title since 2011.

Redbird basketball player turns professional, forgoes final three seasons

Following the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) U20 European Championships, Elijah Clarance has decided to forego his final three years of collegiate eligibility and begin his professional basketball career.
 
Clarance is the 17th player that Dan Muller has coached at Illinois State to sign a professional basketball contract.
 
Playing for Sweden's U20 National Team at the European Championships, Clarance led the tournament in scoring, averaging 22.4 points per game over the seven games of the tournament. He also finished sixth in the tournament in steals (1.9), 12th in rebounds (6.4), and 18th in assists (2.7).
 
In an injury-plagued freshman season at Illinois State, Clarance came off the bench in 21 games to average 2.7 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 rebounds per game.

Cubs down Cardinals 5-2

Kyle Hendricks retired his last 17 batters, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Sunday night to salvage the finale of their weekend series.
 
Ben Zobrist and Anthony Rizzo homered as NL leading-Chicago moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. Zobrist finished with four hits.
 
Hendricks (7-9) settled into a nice little groove after Marcell Ozuna's two-run homer in the first. The right-hander allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked none in seven innings.
 
It was Hendricks' second win in his last eight starts. He has yielded 59 runs this season - 21 in the opening inning.
 
St. Louis had won three of four. John Gant (3-4) was charged with three runs, two earned, and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
 
Zobrist, who also had four hits in a 7-2 win over St. Louis on July 21, drove Gant's seventh pitch of the game over the wall in right-center for his seventh homer. Rizzo tied it at 2 with his 15th homer in the third.
 
Chicago then went ahead to stay with three runs in the fifth, taking advantage of a key error by second baseman Yairo Munoz.
 
Zobrist's two-out double put runners on second and third before Munoz bobbled Jason Heyward's grounder, allowing Rizzo to score. Javier Baez followed with a two-run double.
 
Pedro Strop pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.
 
Ozuna's first-inning homer was his second in as many games. He hit a grand slam in Saturday's 6-2 win.
 
The Cardinals have split eight games with the Cubs since the All-Star break.  The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 16 minutes due to rain.
 
RHP Carlos Martinez (6-6, 3.39 ERA) will take on LHP Tyler Anderson (6-3, 3.57 ERA) in the first of a four-game series at home against Colorado today, as the Cubs will have the night off.

White Sox fall 7-4 to Blue Jays

Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run double in a five-run ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Sunday.
 
Luke Maile had an RBI double and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added an RBI single in the inning before Gurriel exited with an injury. Teoscar Hernandez homered to tie the game earlier in the ninth for the Blue Jays, who won two of three against the White Sox.
 
Hernandez's homer to lead off the inning was his 16th of the season.
 
Gurriel extended his Toronto record of consecutive multihit games to 11 with his RBI single in the eighth that cut the lead to 3-2. The 24-year-old has batted .500 (25 for 50) during the streak, which ties Tony Perez in 1973 for the longest in the last 50 years in the majors.
 
Gurriel went down with an injury at second base trying to extend his single into a double and was helped off the field in the ninth inning.
 
Aledmys Diaz had two hits, including his 10th home run, for the Blue Jays, who had lost four of their last five.
 
Pinch-hitter Daniel Palka homered in the ninth for the White Sox off Ryan Tepera. Omar Narvaez had three hits, including his first career triple, and drove in two runs. Matt Davidson had two hits for Chicago.
 
Luis Santos (1-1) allowed a run in two innings for the win.
 
Tepera allowed a run and two hits in the ninth. Jace Fry (0-2) allowed three runs without recording an out.
 
Carlos Rodon gave up two runs and five hits, struck out six and walked one in 7 2/3 innings for the White Sox. He has allowed four runs in his last 22 2/3 innings.
 
Rookie left-hander Ryan Borucki allowed two runs and six hits, struck out five and walked one in six innings for Toronto. The 24-year-old native of nearby Highland Park, Illinois, grew up rooting for the White Sox. Nearly 200 of his friends and family members attended the game, according to the Blue Jays.
 
Narvaez hit his fourth home run of the season in the seventh off Santos.
 
Davidson's one-out single gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead in the sixth. The inning ended when Adam Engel was ruled to have run out of the baseline on a grounder to the pitcher.
 
Narvaez's groundout tied the game at 1 in the fifth inning.
 
Rodon retired 11 straight batters before Diaz homered on the first pitch of the fifth inning.
 
The Jays and RHP Marco Estrada (4-7, 4.72 ERA) are set to open a three-game series against Oakland and RHP Edwin Jackson (1-2, 3.86).  The White Sox have the night off before beginning a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals.
 

Six players inducted into Cooperstown

On Sunday in Cooperstown, six former players including Chipper Jones, Alan Trammell, Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Jack Morris -- were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
 
Jones across parts of 19 seasons with the Braves racked up 2,726 hits; 468 home runs; 549 doubles; and 85.2 WAR, one NL MVP Award (1999); and eight All-Star appearances.
 
Trammell was a plus-fielding shortstop who spent more than 18,000 defensive innings at the position.  Trammell along the way racked up 2,365 hits; 652 extra-base knocks; 236 steals; and 70.7 WAR. As well, he won four Gold Gloves and made the All-Star team six times. 
 
Hoffman, thanks in large measure to one of the great changeups in baseball history, racked up a whopping 601 saves across his 18-year career (only Mariano Rivera has more saves) while converting 89 percent of his opportunities. 
 
Guerrero in his career tallied 2,590 hits; 449 home runs; 447 doubles; 181 stolen bases; nine All-Star appearances; eight Silver Sluggers; a robust .318/.379/.553 batting line; and a WAR of 59.4.
 
Thome spent 22 years in the bigs, and along the way he cracked 612 homers (!); drew the seventh-most walks of all-time (1,747); and reached base more than 4,000 times. Thome also topped 1,000 extra-base hits for his career and built a WAR of 72.9.
 
Over the course of his 18-year career, Morris won 254 games; struck out almost 2,500 batters; notched 175 complete games; pitched to a 3.90 ERA; and seven times finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young vote. In 1991, Morris also crafted one of the great pitching performances in World Series history when we worked 10 shutout innings against the Braves in Game 7. 
 

Dustin Johnson wins RBC Canadian Open

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson pulled away Sunday in the RBC Canadian Open for his third victory of the season and 19th on the PGA Tour.
 
Tied for third-round lead with Kevin Tway, Byeong Hun An and Whee Kim, Johnson shot a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Kim and An. Johnson finished at 23-under 265, winning at Glen Abbey after finishing second in 2013 and 2016 -- and a week after missing the cut in the British Open.
 
Kim and An each shot 69 in the round interrupted by a nearly 2-hour lightning delay.  Keegan Bradley had a 64 to finish fourth at 19 under. He shot 63 on Friday, but had a 73 on Saturday.
 
Mackenzie Hughes was the top Canadian, shooting a 68 to tie for eighth at 15 under.  Tway had a 76 to drop into a tie for 17th at 13 under. He was trying to win his first PGA Tour title in the event where father Bob Tway won the last of his tour titles 15 years ago.
 

WGA to Provide Live Streaming Coverage of 2018 Western Amateur

The Western Amateur championship will be streamed live for the first time ever on Golf Channel’s digital platforms and on other online platforms.
 
The Western Amateur again will be played on Chicago’s North Shore, at Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield, Illinois, from July 30-Aug. 4. Competition includes 18-hole stroke play rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a cut to the players with the low 44 scores and ties. Those who make the cut play 36 holes of stroke play on Thursday, with the low 16 advancing to match play.
 
Founded in 1899, the Western Amateur is the world’s third-oldest amateur championship behind the British Amateur (1885) and the U.S. Amateur (1895), and regularly attracts the top amateur players from across the country and around the world. Past champions include Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. 
 
Beginning with the Sweet 16 match play competition, the WGA will provide an expected 12 hours of live streaming coverage on Friday, Aug. 3 and Saturday, Aug. 4, bringing the action of golf’s third-oldest amateur championship into the homes of fans worldwide. The stream will be available at GolfChannel.com, the Golf Channel mobile app and thewesternamateur.com.

Cubs 9th inning comeback over D-Backs 7-6

David Bote hit a tying, two-run homer off Brad Boxberger with one out in the ninth inning, Anthony Rizzo followed two pitches later with a winning home run and the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Thursday.
 
Bote was called up when Kris Bryant was put on the disabled list Thursday because of inflammation in his left shoulder. Bote drove a thigh-high 0-2 fastball about a half-dozen rows in the bleachers in left-center for his second home run this season, tying the score 6-6.
 
Rizzo took a strike, then sent a thigh-high changeup to the top of the bleachers in right-center. Boxberger (1-4) blew a save for the fifth time in 29 chances.
 
Nick Ahmed hit his first career grand slam in the fifth, an inning after Alex Avila's two-run homer, as the Diamondbacks built a 6-1 lead.
 
Chicago got two runs in the fifth on Anthony Rizzo's RBI single and run-scoring grounder by Albert Almora Jr., who reached when third baseman Daniel Descalso allowed his potential inning-ending, double-play grounder to bounce away for an error.
 
Kyle Schwarber scored from third base with two outs in the sixth when Javier Baez reached while striking out as Zach Godley bounced a breaking ball for a wild pitch.
 
Eddie Butler (1-1), the fifth Chicago reliever, retired Jon Jay on a flyout that stranded two runners in the ninth.
 
Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood allowed four runs, five hits and six walks in 4 2/3 innings. Chatwood leads the major leagues with 85 walks and has a 7.71 ERA in his last five starts.
 
Godley gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
 
LHP Mike Montgomery (3-3, 3.73) takes the mound against Cardinals RHP Luke Weaver (11-6, 4.65) in the opener of a three-game set in St. Louis today.

Angels beat White Sox 12-8

Francisco Arcia became the first Los Angeles Angels player with four RBIs in his major league debut, hitting a three-run homer in a 12-8 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
 
A 28-year-old who has spent 12 seasons in the minor leagues, Arcia was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and started at catcher following the trade of Martin Maldonado to Houston earlier in the day. Batting eighth in the order, Arcia lined out in the second inning, walked in the fourth, struck out in the fifth and hit a three-run homer in the seventh against Juan Minaya that put the Angels ahead 9-5. He added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Chris Volstad.
 
Ian Kinsler and Kole Calhoun also homered for the Angels, who have won consecutive games for the first time since June 29-30. Albert Pujols singled for his 3,060th hit, tying Craig Biggio for 24th place, and Justin Upton had four hits for the first time with the Angels.
 
Daniel Palka and Jose Abreu each hit two home runs for the White Sox, who matched their season high with six homers. Avisail Garcia and Nicky Delmonico also went deep.
 
Nick Tropeano (4-5) won at home for the first time since May 18, 2016, allowing five runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings with a season-high seven strikeouts.
 
Dylan Covey (4-6) lost for the fourth time in five starts, giving up six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed Calhoun's eighth career leadoff homer, his first this year.
 
Kinsler hit a tiebreaking home run in the fourth for a 3-2 lead, and Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run triple later in the inning that became a Little League home run as three runs scored. The ball rolled past center fielder Leury Garcia to the warning track, and Simmons came home when shortstop Tim Anderson's relay throw went 30 feet up the first-base line for an error.
 
Avisail Garcia and Palka homered on consecutive pitches in the bottom half, and Delmonico's drive off the screen attached to the right-field foul pole later in the inning cut Chicago's deficit to 6-5.
 
RHP Reynaldo Lopez (4-8, 4.13 ERA) has lost three straight starts heading into today's game against visiting Toronto.

Cubs' Kris Bryant on disabled list with inflamed shoulder

The Chicago Cubs have placed third baseman Kris Bryant on the 10-day disabled list because of an inflamed left shoulder.
 
The team said Thursday the move is retroactive to July 24.
 
This is Bryant's second stint on the DL. The injury caused him to miss 16 games and affects the follow-through on his swing. Bryant didn't play between June 22 and July 11. The 2016 NL MVP was withheld from the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday against Arizona.
 
He is batting .276 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs in 76 games.
 
To fill the roster spot, the Cubs recalled infielder David Bote from Triple-A Iowa.

Brewers acquire closer Joakim Soria from White Sox

Two-time All-Star closer Joakim Soria was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday for a pair of pitching prospects, left-hander Kodi Medeiros (Mud-day-roos) and right-hander Wilber Perez.
 
As part of the trade, Chicago will send Milwaukee $1,064,516 to cover part of the $4,145,161 remaining in the guaranteed portion of Soria's $25 million, three-year contract. Soria has a $9 million salary this year, and his deal includes a $10 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout.
 
The 34-year-old right-hander from Mexico was 0-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 16 saves in 40 relief chances with the rebuilding White Sox this season. He had 49 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings as opponents batted just .230. Over his last 25 outings, Soria posted a 0.74 ERA and held opponents to a .161 batting average with 32 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.
 
Soria is 28-34 with a 2.84 ERA and 220 saves in 613 relief appearances and 662 strikeouts in 612 1/3 innings in 11 seasons that also has included time with Kansas City (2007-11, 2016-17), Texas (2013-14), Detroit (2014-15) and Pittsburgh (2015).
 
Milwaukee trailed the Chicago Cubs by 2½ games entering play Thursday.
 
The 22-year-old Medeiros, selected by Milwaukee with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft, is 7-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 15 starts and five relief appearances this year with Biloxi of the Double-A Southern League.
 
Perez, 20, is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA in eight starts this season for the Dominican Summer League Brewers, striking out 47 in 40 1/3 innings.

Cubs acquire lefty Cole Hamels in trade with Rangers

The Chicago Cubs have acquired left-hander Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers for several low minor-league prospects.
 
The teams agreed to the trade Thursday, pending physicals for the players involved, the sources said.
 
The Cubs stepped up their efforts on Thursday after losing out on lefty J.A. Happ, who was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the New York Yankees.
 
Hamels, 34, has a 5-9 record and a 4.72 ERA this season, but has been much better on the road -- and away from hitter-friendly Texas -- where he has a 2.93 ERA. He's given up 16 home runs over 59 innings at home and 7 home runs over 55 1/3 innings on the road.
 
Hamels would likely slide into the Cubs' rotation in place of either Tyler Chatwood or Mike Montgomery. Chatwood walked six batters in the Cubs' 7-6 walk-off win over Arizona on Thursday, giving him 85 walks in 94 innings.
 
A four-time All-Star, Hamels is 152-111 with a 3.43 ERA in his 14th season in the league. He played for the Phillies from 2006 to 2015 and won a World Series, a World Series MVP and an NLCS MVP with them in 2008. On July 25, 2015, in his last start for Philadelphia before being traded to the Texas Rangers, Hamels no-hit the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Cubs edge Diamondbacks 2-1 on unearned run in eighth

Jon Lester bounced back from his worst start of the season with six strong innings and the Cubs scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on Arizona shortstop Nick Ahmed's throwing error as Chicago edged the Diamondbacks 2-1 on Wednesday.
 
Chicago mounted the winning rally against Arizona reliever T.J. McFarland (2-2) without getting a ball out of the infield. Pinch-hitter Javier Baez led off the eighth by squibbing a single toward the mound. McFarland threw wide of first, and Baez advanced to second.
 
After pitcher Tyler Chatwood ran for Baez, who didn't start because of a sore left knee, and Ian Happ walked, pinch-hitter Jason Heyward bounced to second baseman Ketel Marte. Marte flipped to Ahmed for a force at second, but Ahmed's throw to first sailed over Paul Goldschmidt as he tried to complete a double play.
 
Reliever Carl Edwards Jr. (3-1) pitched a hitless seventh and eighth. Pedro Strop tossed a scoreless ninth for his fourth save in seven chances as NL Central leading Chicago bounced back after losses to Arizona in the first two games of the four-game series.
 
Ben Zobrist singled in Albert Almora Jr. to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the fourth.
 
A.J. Pollock hit a solo shot off Lester to lead off the seventh to tie it at 1.
 
Lester allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven and walking none in six-plus innings, but was matched by a strong outing by Robbie Ray. Arizona's left-hander went seven innings, also yielding four hits while fanning six and walking one. Ray was efficient, shaking off a funk that left him 0-2 with a 7.65 ERA in his last four starts.
 
Lester rebounded from his shortest and worst start of the season, last Friday against St. Louis when he allowed a season-high eight runs in the first three innings of the Cardinals' 18-5 rout. Even with the lopsided loss to St. Louis, Lester is 9-1 in his last 11 starts.
 
Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant didn't start for the second straight day with a recurrence of the left shoulder inflammation that caused the slugger to miss 16 games. Manager Joe Maddon said Bryant's injury requires rest, and the two-time All-Star is out day-to-day.
 
Baez's suffered his bruised knee when Arizona's Steven Souza Jr. slid hard into the All-Star at second in the seventh inning of the Diamondbacks' 5-1 win on Tuesday night.
 
Arizona RHP Zack Godley (11-6, 4.65) faces Chicago RHP Tyler Chatwood (4-5, 4.84) in the finale of the four-game series this afternoon. Chatwood leads the majors with 79 walks.

Reds 7-3 win over Cardinals

Cincinnati's All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez homered for the third straight game, this time in the first inning, Tucker Barnhart added a two-run shot and the Reds powered to a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
 
Adam Duvall also homered for the Reds. Sal Romano (6-8) allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings to give the Reds consecutive series wins over St. Louis for the first time since 2011.
 
Romano, who hadn't pitched in 10 days and hadn't started in 15, was surprisingly sharp with just one walk.
 
Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina hit solo homers for the Cardinals, who went 3-5 on their eight-game road trip. DeJong homered in the third inning and Molina hit his 14th of the season in the seventh inning.
 
Molina flied out with the bases loaded and St. Louis trailing 5-3 in the eighth. The Cardinals were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had 11 runners left on base - so many that it looked to interim manager Mike Shildt as if it were twice as many.
 
Suarez tied Monday's game with a two-out solo homer in the ninth inning and Tuesday's game with a two-out, two-run, seventh-inning shot.
 
The Cardinals had rookie starters each go deep without allowing a hit in the first two games of the series. The Reds went 7 1/3 innings without a hit on Monday and 6 1/3 without a hit on Tuesday.
 
Suarez got the Reds offense going early on Wednesday when he hit a two-run homer off Jack Flaherty.
 
Duvall added a two-out, opposite-field solo shot into the right-field seats in the fourth to make it 3-1, giving the Reds more than two runs in a game for the first time in their past six games.
 
John Gant gave up Barnhart's two-run drive into the bullpen down the right-field line in the sixth to make it 5-2.
 
Phillip Ervin broke the game open with an eighth-inning two-run double.
 
Flaherty (4-5) allowed three runs, four hits, two walks with eight strikeouts in five innings.
 
RHP Luke Weaver (5-9) will face righty Tyler Mahle (7-8) for the Reds as both pitchers have struggled entering the mathcup.

Angels rout White Sox 11-3

With their three biggest stars all shining Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Angels put on quite a show.
 
Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game for the first time, and the Angels romped to an 11-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
 
Pujols passed Ken Griffey Jr. for sixth place on the career list with his 631st home run. Trout connected twice and drove in four runs. Ohtani launched a two-run shot projected at 446 feet.
 
Not to be outdone, Tyler Skaggs (8-6) tied a career high with nine strikeouts in six overpowering innings. He whiffed his first five batters - the previous Angels pitcher to accomplish that was Jim Abbott at Oakland in September 1995.
 
Trout had another grand day with his 13th career multihomer game. He hit a solo shot in the first inning and a three-run drive in the sixth to give him 28 homers this season. The two-time MVP went 3 for 4 and scored three runs.
 
Trout has been walked 93 times, the most in club history through 103 games. He got pitches to hit Wednesday and also reached base when he was plunked in the elbow.
 
Pujols hit a solo homer to left field in the second, his 17th of the season. The 38-year-old slugger even swiped third in the fourth inning for his first stolen base this year.
 
Skaggs retired the first 10 batters he faced, seven by strikeout. He allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits.
 
The Angels had lost five of their previous six games, but Skaggs got early run support and then his teammates broke the game open.
 
James Shields (4-12) had another difficult outing for Chicago, giving up three home runs. He struck out six in the first two innings but also allowed two solo homers during that stretch. He permitted six runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings.
 
Kole Calhoun doubled in the fifth for the go-ahead RBI as the Angels broke through with a four-run rally. They added five runs in the sixth.
 
Ohtani hit second for the third time this season. Batting in front of Trout, the two-way rookie star from Japan hit his ninth home run.
 
Matt Davidson had a solo homer in the ninth for the White Sox, who won the first two games of the four-game series.
 
RHP Dylan Covey (4-5, 4.95 ERA) who pitched a career-high 8 1/3 innings in his last start, a win at Seattle will take on Angels RHP Nick Tropeano (3-5, 4.58) who makes his second start since spending time on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.
 

White Sox defeat Angels 4-2

Carlos Rodon pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning, Yoan Moncada homered in the seventh and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Tuesday night.
 
Rodon (3-3) took a no-hitter deep into the sixth and finished with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. He yielded three walks, but worked quickly and smoothly while the White Sox earned back-to-back victories for the second time in July.
 
Nicky Delmonico added an RBI single in the eighth as the White Sox took the first two games of a four-game series between two major-market AL teams with zero playoff victories in this decade.
 
Rodon retired 15 consecutive Angels between Mike Trout's first-inning walk and David Fletcher's two-out walk in the sixth. Andrelton Simmons singled to center to break up the no-hit bid but got caught rounding first base too far by alert third baseman Yolmer Sanchez after Fletcher slid in safely.
 
The Angels chased Rodon and rallied in the eighth with Fletcher's RBI double and Trout's two-out, bases-loaded walk from reliever Juan Minaya. Jeanmar Gomez then got Justin Upton on a shallow flyout to end the rally.
 
Felix Pena (1-1) pitched six innings of four-hit ball for the Angels (50-52), who fell two games below .500 for the first time all season. Los Angeles has lost four of five on its 10-game homestand.
 
Joakim Soria pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 19 chances, retiring pinch-hitter Shohei Ohtani on a fly to center for the second out.
 
The 25-year-old Rodon was outstanding in his seventh start since returning to the mound in June after shoulder surgery last September.
 
The Angels' season-long struggles against left-handed pitching also continued against Rodon. The club was batting .219 against lefties entering the game, and the Angels didn't even come close to getting a hit in the first five innings, mostly striking out or grounding out meekly.
 
Pena, a reliever pressed into a rotation spot by the Angels' staggering list of injuries to their starting pitchers, struggled with control but largely kept Los Angeles in the game.
 
Chicago cobbled together two runs in the third inning on Jose Abreu's bases-loaded walk and Avisail Garcia's sacrifice fly.
 
Moncada interrupted his 1-for-15 slump since the All-Star break by going 2 for 4 with a walk and a homer to right off reliever Noe Ramirez in the seventh.
 
James Shields (4-11, 4.26 ERA) is 0-6 in his last eight road appearances, including seven starts as he'll face Tyler Skaggs (7-6, 2.68 ERA) who has a 1.43 ERA over his last seven starts.

Cardinals rally over Reds 4-2 in 11 innings

Austin Gomber was ready to start the bottom of the seventh, still working on a no-hitter, when a siren sounded and lights started flashing. Great American Ball Park's fire alarm had malfunctioned.
 
That was a new one for the Cardinals' rookie left-hander, who got an unexpected 7-minute, 30-second break.
 
Gomber lost his no-hitter and his shutout after the alarm was silenced in the seventh inning, but Dexter Fowler hit a two-run shot in the 11th on Tuesday night, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
 
For the second straight night, a Cardinals rookie went deep into the game without allowing a hit. Daniel Poncedeleon threw no-hit ball for seven innings in his major league debut Monday before the Reds rallied against Norris for a 2-1 win featuring Eugenio Suarez's homer.
 
Joey Votto singled with one out for the Reds' first hit, and Suarez followed with his 21st homer, ending the rookie's debut as a starter. Gomber made 15 relief appearances this season before the Cardinals sent him to Triple-A to get in shape to help their depleted rotation. He threw 90 pitches in his first major league start.
 
Mired in a season-long slump, Fowler connected off left-hander Amir Garrett (0-2) for only his second homer while batting right-handed. Fowler is batting .179 overall.
 
Sam Tuivailala (3-3) escaped a two-on threat in the 10th. Bud Norris got his 19th save in 22 chances, one night after he took a loss.
 
Homer Bailey returned from his latest injury and gave one of his best performances of the season, allowing a pair of runs and striking out a season-high eight batters in 6 2/3 innings. Bailey has been sidelined since late May by a sore right knee.
 
Jose Martinez singled home a run in the fourth and Yairo Munoz doubled home another in the seventh.
 
Jack Flaherty (4-4) makes his fourth career start against the Reds.  Sal Romano (5-8) has faced the Cardinals twice, with the Reds losing both games.
 

D-backs beat Cubs 5-1

Clay Buchholz pitched effectively into the seventh in his return from the disabled list, Steven Souza Jr. had three hits and an RBI and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.
 
Souza, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb each drove in a run during Arizona's three-run fifth, and then Jon Jay and Ketel Marte drove in a run each to help the Diamondbacks pull away. Souza reached base five times as Arizona won for the fifth time in its last six games at Wrigley Field.
 
Buchholz (3-1), sidelined since June 25 with an oblique injury, walked two and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings as he lowered his ERA to 2.38 in eight starts with Diamondbacks. Brad Boxberger, Arizona's third reliever, struck out the side in the ninth.
 
Jason Heyward lined a solo shot off Buchholz in the sixth, but NL Central-leading Chicago lost for the third time in its last four.
 
Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was held out of the starting lineup with a recurrence of the left shoulder inflammation that caused the slugger to miss 16 games. Manager Joe Maddon said Bryant's injury requires rest, and the two-time All-Star may sit again Wednesday.
 
Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks (6-9) labored through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. The righty struck out eight and escaped jams in the first and third innings.
 
Buchholz signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks in May after being released by Kansas City. The 33-year-old right-hander had signed a minor league deal with the Royals in March in a bid to come back from right forearm surgery that limited him to just two games with Philadelphia in 2017.
 
In this one, Buchholz didn't allow a hit until two outs in the fourth when Javier Baez squibbed an infield single to third.
 
Hendricks threw 71 pitches through the first three innings. The Diamondbacks loaded the based in the third on a single and two walks, but Hendricks ended the threat by striking out Lamb.
 
After taking a 3-0 lead in the fifth, the Diamondbacks added a run in the sixth off Eddie Butler on Jay's sacrifice fly.
 
Heyward cut it to 4-1 in the bottom half of the inning when he homered into the basket in left field.
 
Andrew Chafin relieved Buchholz with two outs in the seventh after Buchholz allowed sharp singles to Ben Zobrist and Victor Caratini. Archie Bradley closed out the inning by fanning Albert Almora Jr.
 
Marte singled in a run in the ninth to complete the scoring.
 
Up next Arizona LHP Robbie Ray (3-2, 5.37) takes the mound against Cubs LHP Jon Lester (12-3, 3.14).
 

Cubs' Bryant out with recurrence of shoulder inflammation

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was held out of the starting lineup against Arizona last night with a recurrence of the left shoulder inflammation that caused the slugger to miss 16 games.
 
Bryant did not play between June 22 and July 11 because of the shoulder pain, which bothered the two-time All-Star on the follow-through of his swing. Manager Joe Maddon said Bryant also could miss today's game.
 
The 2016 NL MVP felt pain again on a swing during Monday night's 7-1 loss.  Maddon didn't know if Bryant's condition might require more aggressive treatment during the offseason.
 
Bryant is hitting .276 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs, including .250 with two homers and eight RBIs since returning from the DL.
 
Cubs starter Yu Darvish, who has not pitched since May 20 because of right elbow impingement and inflammation, threw a 16-pitch bullpen session that was without discomfort, according to Maddon. Darvish is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight games since signing a $126 million, six-year contract.

Maui Invitational bracket set

Five-time Maui Invitational champion Duke will open against San Diego State in the quarterfinals of this year's bracket, with a potential showdown against Arizona or Gonzaga in the title game.
 
This year's tournament, Nov. 19-21 at the Lahaina Civic Center, also includes Xavier, Auburn, Iowa State and Illinois.
 
Arizona opens with Iowa State and Gonzaga faces Illinois in the bracket's lower half. Auburn and Illinois play the opening game.
 
Duke is 16-0 in Maui, joining Syracuse as the only undefeated teams in tournament history. The Blue Devils won their last Maui title in 2011.
 
Arizona is a two-time Maui champion and Gonzaga and Illinois both have won titles. Xavier is making its first Maui appearance.

Abreu homers to back Giolito as White Sox beat Angels 5-3

Jose Abreu homered and drove in two runs, leading Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox to a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
 
Abreu launched a solo shot in the first inning for his 14th home run of the season but only his second this month. He also tied the game at 3 with a single in the sixth.
 
Abreu raised his batting average to .253. He batted just .212 with three home runs in June but seemed to find something in Seattle last weekend.
 
Shohei Ohtani hit a solo home run for the Angels, who squandered a 3-1 lead.
 
Leury Garcia had a go-ahead sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in Chicago's three-run sixth. Los Angeles starter Jaime Barria (5-7) and reliever Hansel Robles combined to walk three batters and hit another with a pitch during the inning, in addition to allowing an infield single. The White Sox had just two hits during the rally.
 
Giolito (7-8) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings during his first career start against the Angels. The Southern California native struck out five and walked four, one intentional.
 
Giolito escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting Albert Pujols to ground into a fielder's choice.
 
It was Giolito's first major league start in California. He had pitched at Angel Stadium in a showcase event, but this time he did it in front of about 15 friends and family members.
 
Joakim Soria allowed a leadoff single to David Fletcher in the ninth and walked Mike Trout with two outs before throwing a called third strike past Justin Upton for his 15th save. Los Angeles went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
 
Kole Calhoun had an RBI double for the Angels in the third and Trout added a sacrifice fly. Trout walked four times, one intentional.
 
Ohtani homered to center field in the fourth to give Los Angeles a 3-1 advantage. The two-way star from Japan has hit all eight of his long balls at home against right-handed pitchers. He is the first Angels rookie to hit his first eight homers at home.
 
Garcia scored on Kevan Smith's groundout in the fifth. Smith also was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth, forcing in a run.
 
Barria, winless since June 1, lost his sixth consecutive decision. He issued back-to-back walks in the sixth and left with a 3-2 lead before being replaced by Robles. Barria was charged with four runs and four hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out two.
 
 LHP Carlos Rodon (2-3, 3.56 ERA) is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 13 strikeouts over his past two starts as he'll face RHP Felix Pena (1-0, 3.42) has a 4.76 ERA at home compared to 0.96 on the road this season. He'll face the White Sox for the first time.

Cards' righty unhittable in debut, Reds rally for 2-1 win

Daniel Poncedeleon was sensational 14 months after suffering a severe head injury, throwing no-hit ball for seven innings Monday night before Eugenio Suarez led the Cincinnati Reds' rally in the ninth for a 2-1 victory.
 
The 26-year-old right-hander was hit on the right temple by a line drive while pitching for Triple-A Memphis on May 9 last year, fracturing his skull and causing bleeding in the brain. He had emergency surgery followed by months of slow recovery.
 
Poncedeleon was one of the top pitchers in the Pacific Coast League when St. Louis called him up Monday to help their injury-depleted rotation. With 10 family members cheering from the stands, he walked three and struck out three , threw 116 pitches and gave way to a pinch-hitter in the eighth with St. Louis up 1-0.
 
Poncedeleon prayed for calmness before his debut, went to the bullpen to warm up and hurt his neck on one pitch.
 
The neck was fine once the game began. Poncedeleon joined the Dodgers' Ross Stripling as the only major leaguers to throw at least seven no-hit innings in their debuts since 1908.
 
Given his high pitch count, Shildt had no thought about leaving him in.
 
Jordan Hicks gave up a one-out single up the middle by pinch-hitter Phillip Ervin in the eighth for Cincinnati's first hit.
 
Suarez's two-out, solo homer off Bud Norris (3-3) tied it 1-1. The closer then loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, and pinch-hitter Dilson Herrera singled to end the Reds' losing streak at four games. Jared Hughes (3-3) pitched the ninth.
 
Matt Carpenter had a pair of hits that extended his streak, including a double in the fifth inning off Luis Castillo. Yadier Molina followed with a single for his 17th RBI against the Reds this season, the most by any major league player against Cincinnati.
 
Carpenter homered in six straight games last week, a streak that ended on Sunday. He's 14 for 28 in the last eight games.
 
LHP Austin Gomber (0-0) makes his first major league start after 15 relief appearances this season as the Reds Homer Bailey (1-7) returns from the DL and makes his first start since May 28.

Diamondbacks 7-1 win over Cubs

The Arizona Diamondbacks staked Patrick Corbin to a five-run lead before he threw a pitch.
 
Paul Goldschmidt homered and Corbin pitched seven strong innings to pick up his first win in seven weeks, leading Arizona to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
 
A.J. Pollack had two hits and Jeff Mathis added a two-run double as the Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in their last five games at Wrigley Field.
 
They sent nine batters to the plate while scoring five in the first.
 
Corbin (7-4) gave up just one run and six hits while striking out nine for his first win since June 5. He was 0-2 with a 3.98 ERA in seven starts since.
 
Goldschmidt's homer, his 22nd of the season, made it 6-0 in the second. He was 2 for 5 after going 1 for 12 with nine strikeouts in three games since the All-Star break. Goldschmidt came in with a .361 career average (48 for 133) against the Cubs, including a three-homer game at Wrigley Field last Aug. 3.
 
For the second time in four days, Chicago turned to position players to pitch at the end of a lopsided game. Backup catcher Victor Caratini threw one pitch to get the final out of the eighth. After giving up a lead-off single to Goldschmidt in the ninth, Caratini got David Peralta to hit into a double play. Anthony Rizzo then came on to get the final out of the inning in his first career appearance on the mound.
 
Rizzo had been lobbying manager Joe Maddon to pitch for years.
 
After playing five games in four days following the All-Star break, the Cubs turned to Luke Farrell (3-4) for a spot start. It didn't go well from the outset.
 
Pollack opened the scoring by lining a one-out RBI single off Farrell's left forearm and into center field, scoring Jon Jay from second base. Jake Lamb followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
 
Ketel Marte then singled to drive in Pollack for a 3-0 lead. After Daniel Descalso singled, Mathis capped the big inning with a two-run double down the left-field line.
 
Farrell allowed six runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings as his ERA jumped from 3.86 to 5.17.
 
The Cubs broke through against Corbin in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Rizzo, scoring Ian Happ who led off with a double.
 
Nick Ahmed drove in Arizona's final run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
 
RHP Clay Buchholz (2-1, 2.56 ERA) is expected to be activated from the 10-day DL to start for the D-Backs as RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-8, 3.99) pitches for the Cubs.

Bulls claim G Cleveland off waivers from Atlanta

The Chicago Bulls have claimed guard Antonius Cleveland off waivers from the Atlanta Hawks.
 
Cleveland played in 13 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season and four for the Hawks. Atlanta waived him on Saturday and Chicago claimed him on Monday. He played four years at Southeast Missouri State, averaging 12.9 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Jacksonville State picked to win fifth straight OVC title

Jacksonville State is the preseason pick to win the Ohio Valley Conference as the Gamecocks chase their fifth consecutive league title.
 
OVC coaches and sports information directors gave Jacksonville State 14 of their 18 first-place votes in the preseason poll that came out Monday. Austin Peay got the other four first-place votes and was picked second.
 
They were followed in order by UT Martin, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri, Murray State and Tennessee Tech.
 
Southeast Missouri running back Marquis Terry was named the OVC preseason offensive player of the year. Jacksonville State defensive back Marlon Bridges is preseason defensive player of the year.
 
Jacksonville State has won 32 straight OVC games, the longest active conference win streak by any Football Championship Subdivision or Football Bowl Subdivision program.

Cubs beat Cardinals 7-2

Jose Quintana pitched seven effective innings, keeping Matt Carpenter in the ballpark and helping the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2 on Sunday.
 
Quintana (9-6) allowed two runs and six hits, struck out six and walked four in his first start since July 10. The left-hander also matched his career high with 121 pitches after he got an extended break to work with pitching coach Jim Hickey on his changeup and get over some shoulder fatigue.
 
Kyle Schwarber hit a tiebreaking solo homer off Mike Mayers (2-1) with two out in the sixth inning, and the Cubs broke it open with three runs in the eighth. The NL Central leaders took three of five from the Cardinals in their first series after the All-Star break and moved 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place Milwaukee.
 
Carpenter's homer streak ended at six games, a single-season record for St. Louis.
 
The Cubs will host Arizona tonight as the Cardinals reamin on the road heading to Cincinati to begin a series with the Reds.

White Sox fall 8-2 in finale with Mariners

Ryon Healy hit a pair of three-run homers for a career-best six RBIs, lifting the Seattle Mariners over the Chicago White Sox 8-2 Sunday.
 
Healy homered in a five-run first off Reynaldo Lopez (4-8) and in the eighth against Hector Santiago, giving him 20 homers and 53 RBIs this season. Healy had five-RBI games against Colorado on July 8 and for Oakland versus Toronto on June 5 last year.
 
Marco Gonzales (11-5) won his fourth consecutive start, allowing two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. He did not give up a hit or a walk in the first five innings.
 
Lopez (4-8) allowed five hits and four walks in five innings.
 
Seattle had scored only three runs in the previous two games before the first inning, which included Kyle Seager's bases-loaded, go-ahead walk and Denard Span's sacrifice fly.
 
Adam Engel reached on an infield single with two outs in the sixth for Chicago's first hit and Tim Anderson followed with a home run.
 
RHP Lucas Giolito (6-8, 6.18) is to start Monday's series opener at the Los Angeles Angels. Giolito allowed two hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings against Kansas City in his last start. 

Cubs add reliever Chavez to roster after trade with Rangers

The Chicago Cubs have added reliever Jesse Chavez to their roster and placed right-hander Anthony Bass on the 10-day disabled list with a back injury.
 
Chavez was acquired in a trade with Texas on Thursday for minor league pitcher Tyler Thomas. The 34-year-old Chavez went 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 30 appearances with the Rangers this season.
 
The Cubs also recalled reliever Dillon Maples from Triple-A Iowa and optioned right-hander James Norwood to their top farm club. Reliever Luke Farrell was brought up from Iowa.
 
Bass has a strain on the right side of his back. He was just activated from the DL on Thursday after being sidelined by an illness.

Cardinals place RHP Martinez on DL with oblique injury

The St. Louis Cardinals have placed right-hander Carlos Martinez on the 10-day disabled list with a right oblique strain.
 
The move is retroactive to Friday, a day after Martinez struggled through five innings in a 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
 
St. Louis also activated right-hander Miles Mikolas from the paternity list and recalled reliever John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis.
 
The Cardinals created a roster spot when they optioned reliever Matt Bowman to Triple-A Memphis.

Franceso Molinari wins British Open, first major title

Francesco Molinari played, bogey-free final round at the 147th Open Championship on Sunday to win the first major of his career and first ever for an Italian golfer. Molinari shot a 2-under 69 to get to 8 under overall at Carnoustie and took home the Claret Jug by two over Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele.
 
Following 13 straight pars to start the day, Molinari pushed it to red numbers with a birdie on the par-4 14th. A few more pars at the gauntlet of holes Nos. 15-17, and it looked like a par at the last would be enough. Molinari wanted to make sure, though, so he ended the tournament with a birdie on the last.
 
Tiger Woods lost the lead with one bad swing that would have been even farther left of the 11th green had it not crashed into the fans, leading to double bogey. He followed that with a bogey and never caught up. He had to settle for a 71.
 
Jordan Spieth, tied for the lead in his bid to go back-to-back in the British Open, failed to make a single birdie and shot 76, his highest score Sunday in a major.
 
Kevin Chappell made two double bogeys, the last one on No. 17 that derailed his hopes. Kevin Kisner made his double bogey early. Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose each made a run with eagles on the par-5 14th hole, McIlroy with a 50-foot putt , Rose with a second shot that bounced off the base of the pin. They ran out of holes.
 
Xander Schauffele, the last hope to keep alive the American streak of five straight majors, was one shot behind until he sent a long iron to the right of the 17th and failed to make a 15-foot putt for par.
 
POS. PLAYER NAME
1 Francesco Molinari -8
T2 Kevin Kisner -6
T2 Rory McIlroy -6
T2 Justin Rose -6
T2 Xander Schauffele -6
T6 Kevin Chappell -5
T6 Eddie Pepperell -5
T6 Tiger Woods -5
T9 Tony Finau -4
T9 Matt Kuchar -4

Heyward helps Cubs beat Cardinals 9-6 in return from break

 Jason Heyward had three hits and two RBIs, Ian Happ belted a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-6 on Thursday night in baseball's first game after the All-Star break.
 
Anthony Rizzo added two doubles from the leadoff spot as Chicago kicked off a five-game series against St. Louis with its fourth consecutive victory. Victor Caratini had three hits and scored three times, and Ben Zobrist delivered a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the Cubs' five-run fifth inning.
 
With Chicago and St. Louis returning a day earlier than the rest of the majors, Cubs manager Joe Maddon held All-Stars Willson Contreras and Javier Baez out of the starting lineup. Caratini and Zobrist picked up the slack quite nicely as the NL Central leaders increased their advantage to a season-high three games over idle Milwaukee.
 
Yadier Molina matched a career high with four hits for St. Louis, but interim manager Mike Shildt was handed his first loss in his second game in charge after Mike Matheny was fired Saturday night. Tommy Pham and Matt Carpenter each hit a solo homer.
 
The Cardinals had a 3-1 lead before the Cubs started teeing off on Carlos Martinez (6-6) in the fifth.
 
Caratini singled, advanced to second on shortstop Paul DeJong's throwing error and scored on Rizzo's stinging double into the gap in right-center. Heyward hit a tying RBI single and Zobrist followed with a fly ball to center, driving in Kris Bryant for a 4-3 lead.
 
Happ then hit a drive deep to right-center for his 12th homer. He also went deep in his previous game, connecting for a solo shot in Saturday night's 11-6 victory at San Diego.
 
Brian Duensing (3-0) got the last out of the fifth for the win. Pedro Strop got one out for his third save after the Cubs placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list as part of a flurry of pregame moves.
 
Martinez allowed six runs, five earned, and seven hits in five innings. The right-hander went 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in his previous four starts.
 
Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks also struggled, yielding nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. But he wiggled out of a couple jams while limiting the Cardinals to three runs.
 
Cubs ace Jon Lester and Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty get the ball this afternoon. Lester (12-2, 2.58 ERA) is 8-0 with a 2.80 ERA in his last nine starts. Flaherty (3-4, 3.24 ERA) pitched five shutout innings in a no-decision against Cincinnati in his previous start on Saturday.

Cubs place closer Morrow on 10-day DL

The Chicago Cubs have placed closer Brandon Morrow on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps inflammation.
 
Morrow has 22 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 35 games in his first season with the Cubs. The DL stint is retroactive to Monday.
 
Morrow, who turns 34 on July 26, also spent time on the DL earlier this season with lower back tightness.
 
The Cubs also activated outfielder Albert Almora Jr. and relievers Carl Edwards Jr. and Anthony Bass before Thursday night's game against St. Louis. Almora was placed on the family medical emergency list on Sunday. Edwards was on the paternity list, and Bass was sidelined by an illness.
 
Infielder David Bote and reliever Rob Zastryzny were sent down to Triple-A Iowa.

Bulls sign guard Antonio Blakeney to NBA contract

The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Antonio Blakeney to an NBA contract.
 
Undrafted out of LSU in 2017, Blakeney signed a two-way deal with the Bulls and averaged 7.9 points in 19 games while splitting time between Chicago and the G League's Windy City Bulls. He was the G League's Rookie of the Year, averaging 32.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists
 
The Bulls announced the move Thursday.
 

Bears report to camp in Bourbonnais

The Chicago Bears reported to camp Thursday looking for bigger things after a busy offseason.
 
They brought in a new coach in the offensive-minded Matt Nagy and gave quarterback Mitchell Trubisky some new playmakers. They also expect to have a healthy roster, with no one on the physically unable to perform list, when practices start on Friday. Nagy says receiver Allen Robinson and guard Kyle Long should be good to go.
 
The Bears had one notable player missing Thursday, with rookie linebacker Roquan Smith unsigned. He was the Bears' first-round pick at No. 8 overall.

Chelios leaving Red Wings to return to Chicago

Chris Chelios is leaving the Detroit Red Wings to return to his hometown of Chicago.
 
Chelios spent a decade with the Red Wings as a player from 1999-2009, and he's also been an adviser for the team. He says he is going to Chicago to be closer to his family.
 
Chelios says he was skeptical about the 1999 trade that sent him to Detroit. He'd spent over eight seasons with the rival Blackhawks, but he says he began to feel at home with Detroit, and the Stanley Cup victories with the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008.

Record 10 homers as AL wins All-Star Game 8-6 in 10 innings

Astros teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer homered on consecutive pitches to begin the 10th inning, and the American League beat the National League 8-6 Tuesday night for its sixth straight win.
 
Mike Trout, Aaron Judge and Jean Segura also connected for the AL in a game where every run except one scored on a homer.
 
Scooter Gennett hit a tying two-run shot off Seattle closer Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the ninth. Joey Votto, Willson Contreras, Trevor Story, Christian Yelich also homered for the NL.
 
There had never been more than six homers in an All-Star Game since Babe Ruth hit the very first one in 1933.
 
While several sluggers went deep, not everything went their way. Starters Max Scherzer and Chris Sale and the relievers combined to fan 15 in the first 4 1/2 innings, and there were 25 strikeouts overall.
 
Fitting, because this season is on pace to become the first with more strikeouts than hits, a year after a record number of home runs.
 
Martinez, who leads the majors in homers and RBIs, singled and struck out in his two at-bats.
 
Orioles shortstop Manny Machado had fun, pulling out a camera to snap a selfie at second base after Matt Kemp doubled. By Wednesday, they could be teammates - Baltimore seems ready to trade Machado, with the Dodgers and Phillies in the mix.
 
A day after hometown star Bryce Harper electrified the crowd by winning the Home Run Derby, it was eerily quiet for most of the evening at Nationals Park. Harper didn't excite the fans, either, fanning in his two at-bats.
 
The only thing missing was a bevy of defensive shifts. Overloaded infields are the norm now, Hinch and NL manager Dave Roberts of the Dodgers pretty much played things straight up.
 
Bregman and Springer homered off losing pitcher Ross Stripling of the Dodgers - that's kind of how last year ended, too, with Houston battering Los Angeles pitchers in the World Series.
 
Segura's three-run homer in the eighth landed in the bullpen and broke a 2-all tie. The Seattle infielder popped up the previous pitch, but Votto, Cincinnati's reliable first baseman, dropped it for an error as he approached the dugout railing. Segura then connected off Hader.
 
Judge homered in the second off Scherzer, the Nationals ace who became the first reigning Cy Young Award winner to start an All-Star Game in his home park. 
 
Trout kept up his All-Star excellence, tagging Mets righty Jacob deGrom. A two-time MVP in his event, Trout is 7 for 15 with five extra-base hits and three walks in these games.
 
Diaz wound up with the win and Toronto's J.A. Happ got his first pro save after giving up Votto's homer.
 
The AL won for the 18th time in 21 games played to a decision, and leads the series 44-43-2. Not since the early 1960s has the AL been ahead.

147th British Open Round One Tee Times & Odds

The complete field has been set for the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie, and there are some intriguing threesomes that will link up over the first two rounds. Sandy Lyle, Martin Kaymer and Andy Sullivan will kick things off at 1:35 a.m. ET on Thursday.  Some of the other pairings to get round one underway tomorrow include:
 
3:03 a.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Satoshi Kodaira, Rafa Cabrera Bello  
4:58 a.m. -- Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
5:09 a.m. -- Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Chris Wood
5:20 a.m. -- Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed  
7:31 a.m. -- Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jimmy Walker
7:53 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen
8:04 a.m. -- Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Charley Hoffman  
10:10 a.m. -- Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Shubhankar Sharma
10:21 a.m. -- Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox  
 
ODDS:
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson remains on top of the board as the favorite to win. DJ's got 12-1 odds entering the tournament, followed closely by the trio of Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose. 
 
Defending champion Jordan Spieth is listed next with two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka following and three-time Open winner Tiger Woods sitting than a dozen spots behind DJ. 
 
Dustin Johnson: 12-1 
Rory McIlroy: 16-1 
Rickie Fowler: 16-1 
Justin Rose: 16-1
Jordan Spieth: 18-1
Justin Thomas: 20-1 
Tommy Fleetwood: 20-1
Brooks Koepka: 20-1
Jon Rahm: 20-1 
Jason Day: 25-1
Henrik Stenson: 25-1 
Tiger Woods: 25-1
Sergio Garcia: 30-1
Patrick Reed: 30-1 
Paul Casey: 30-1
Alex Noren: 30-1
Francesco Molinari: 30-1 
Hideki Matsuyama: 40-1
Marc Leishman: 40-1
Branden Grace: 40-1 
Tyrell Hatton: 40-1
Phil Mickelson: 50-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick: 50-1
Ian Poulter: 50-1

Cubs sweep Padres with 7-4 win

Jon Lester won for the eighth time in nine starts, Jason Heyward drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs swept the San Diego Padres with a 7-4 win on Sunday.
 
The Cubs jumped to a 5-0 lead after two innings against rookie left-hander Eric Lauer, who came within one out of his first complete game in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in his previous start.
 
It was more than enough for Lester (12-2), who struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings. The All-Star lefty allowed three runs and six hits while improving to 10-1 in his last 12 starts.
 
Lester was selected for Tuesday's showcase in Washington by the players' vote, but he won't be on the active roster due to Sunday's outing.
 
The 34-year-old Lester carried a 7-1 lead into the sixth inning before getting into a jam. He hit Freddy Galvis with the bases loaded, forcing in a run. James Norwood then came in and got Austin Hedges to pop out before walking pinch-hitter Carlos Asuaje, bringing home another run.
 
Manuel Margot then flied out to right, ending the inning.
 
Pedro Strop surrendered Hunter Renfroe's seventh homer in the seventh, but Justin Wilson got three outs before Brandon Morrow pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
 
Chicago closed out a 4-2 road trip to San Francisco and San Diego and opened a 2 1/2-game lead over slumping Milwaukee in the NL Central.
 
Christian Villanueva also homered for San Diego, hitting his 19th of the season in the fourth. Villanueva had two hits and scored twice.
 
Lauer, meanwhile, was in trouble early and often. He faced seven batters and threw 37 pitches in the first inning, when Javier Baez and Addison Russell hit RBI singles and Ben Zobrist drove in a run on a groundout. Heyward hit a two-run single in the second.
 
That was it for Lauer (5-6), who allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one.
 
The Cubs added an unearned run in the fourth, when the Padres committed three errors.
 
David Bote drew a leadoff walk, stole second and took third on catcher Hedges' throwing error. He scored on Anthony Rizzo's sacrifice fly. Kris Bryant then beat out a dribbler for an infield single and reached third on consecutive errors by Hedges and right fielder Renfroe. Bryant was stranded when Heyward popped up to shortstop.
 
Bryant brought in a run in the sixth when he was hit by a pitch by Adam Cimber with the bases loaded.
 
Kyle Hendricks (6-8, 3.92 ERA), who beat the Padres on Saturday night, is scheduled to start Thursday night as the Cubs open the second half against the St. Louis Cardinals.
 

Offense sparks White Sox to 10-1 rout of Royals

Daniel Palka and Yoan Moncada homered, and Lucas Giolito tossed two-hit ball into the seventh inning, lifting Chicago to a 10-1 victory over the struggling Kansas City Royals.
 
Moncada was 3 for 3 with a walk and three runs scored a day after leaving a game with a bruised right knee. Palka also had three hits and two RBIs while Tim Anderson and Kevan Smith each hit a two-run double as Chicago pounded out 13 hits.
 
The rebuilding White Sox had dropped seven of nine before Sunday and are 33-62 overall.
 
Adalberto Mondesi homered leading off the eighth for the Royals, who are 2-11 in July.
 
Kansas City decided to go with a bullpen day instead of a regular starting pitcher. The relievers were no match for Giolito (6-8). The right-hander allowed just two hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking three.
 
After Giolito worked out of his only jam in the top of the first with an assist from the defense - Jorge Bonifacio was thrown out trying to score from second on a single to left with one out - Palka's two-run blast off starter Burch Smith (0-1) gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead.
 
The lead grew to 4-0 in the third as Jose Abreu scored on a wild pitch and Leury Garcia followed with an RBI single against left-hander Brian Flynn. Chicago then broke the game open with a five-run fifth against left-hander Enny Romero. Moncada, who was hit in the knee by a pick-off throw on Saturday, started things with a lead-off homer. It was his 12th of the season and first right-handed. Anderson and Smith each had a two-run double to make it 9-0.
 
Moncada doubled and scored in the sixth to make 10-0 before Mondesi's homer off Jeanmar Gomez broke the shutout.
 
RHP James Shields (4-10, 4.43 ERA) takes the mound Friday night for the start of a three-game series at Seattle.

Cardinals win in interim manager Shildt's debut

Mike Shildt wasn't sure what to expect in his first day as interim manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
 
He certainly didn't foresee the treatment he received in a wild post-game celebration that occurred following the Cardinals' 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
 
Rumors of discontent in the locker room, along with inconsistent play, spelled the end for manager Mike Matheny, who was fired after Saturday's 8-2 loss after six-plus seasons. The Cardinals were 591-474 during Mathey's tenure and made the playoffs in each of his first four years. But St. Louis failed to reach the postseason the last two years.
 
Matheny was a gold glove catcher for St. Louis from 2000-04 and used those leadership qualities as a manager.
 
Matt Carpenter and Fowler homered to lead an opportunistic seven-hit attack Tommy Pham broke out of a 0-for-20 slump with a two-run, go-ahead single for the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
 
Cincinnati, which had won four of five, is 35-26 since beginning the season 8-27.
 
John Gant (3-3) picked up the win with four hitless innings of relief. He struck out four and walked two.
 
Carpenter began the game with a first-pitch homer, his fifth leadoff home run of the season and 20th of his career. He leads the team with 19 round-trippers.
 
Fowler added a solo shot in the second off Anthony DeSclafani (4-2) for a 2-0 lead.
 
Pham erased a 3-2 deficit with a two-run single that highlighted a four-run outburst in the fourth. It was Pham's first hit since July 5. He entered the game in the second inning after starter Harrison Bader left with a knee injury.
 
Both Pham, who is hitting .243 and Fowler (.176), have struggled at times this season.
 
Adam Duvall tied the game for the Reds with a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fourth. Jose Peraza then put his team in front with a single off the leg of starter Miles Mikolas.
 
DeSclafani allowed six earned run on five hits over 3 1-3 innings.
 
Mikolas, who is headed to the All-Star Game, surrendered three runs on six hits over four innings in his shortest outing of the season.
 
Reds outfielder Jesse Winker extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a third-inning single.
 
St. Louis travels to Chicago for a four-game series against the Cubs after the break.

Cubs place Almora on family medical emergency list

The Chicago Cubs have placed outfielder Albert Almora Jr. on the family medical emergency list and recalled infielder David Bote from Triple-A Iowa.
 
The Cubs made the moves prior to Sunday's series finale against the San Diego Padres.
 
Bote returns to the majors for his fourth stint this season. He hit .300 with one homer and nine RBIs in his first 19 games with the Cubs.
 
Almora is hitting .319, third in the NL going into Sunday, with four homers and 28 RBIs.

Former NHL goalie Ray Emery drowns in Hamilton, Ontario

Former NHL goaltender Ray Emery has drowned in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He was 35.
 
Hamilton Police said Emery was identified as the victim of the swimming accident Sunday morning. Staff sergeant Paul Evans said police received a call just after 6 a.m. that an adult swimmer did not surface and that the Niagara Police assisted in the recovery effort. Emery's body was recovered Sunday afternoon.
 
Nicknamed "Razor" for his aggressive style, Emery played parts of 11 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks from 2003-2015. He helped the Senators reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 and won it as a backup with the Blackhawks in 2013.
 

Singh tops Maggert in playoff at Senior Players Championship

Vijay Singh birdied the second playoff hole to beat Jeff Maggert and win the Constellation Senior Players Championship on Sunday.
 
Singh knocked in a putt from about 2 feet after a nearly perfect approach on the 18th hole at Exmoor Country Club. He gave an understated fist pump as the ball fell in, giving him his first major title on the PGA Tour Champions.
 
Singh (67) and Maggert (68) finished at 20-under 268. Brandt Jobe (66) was two strokes behind, while Jerry Kelly (64) and defending champion Scott McCarron (71) finished at 17 under.
 
Maggert had chances to win in regulation and on the first playoff hole but missed birdie putts both times.
 

Laura Davies cruises to victory in US Senior Women's Open

Laura Davies went virtually unchallenged in Sunday's final round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open, claiming the title by 10 strokes over Juli Inkster.
 
The 54-year-old Davies shot a 5-under 68 to finish at 16-under 276 at Chicago Golf Club in the USGA's championship for women 50 and older.
 
A 7-under 66 Saturday provided Davies with a five-shot lead over Inkster. The World Golf Hall of Famer from England widened her advantage early Sunday when she birdied the par-5 second hole and Inkster made bogey.
 
Davies' lead never fell below six shots after that as she added to her extensive trophy collection. She has 85 career victories, still plays on the LPGA Tour and finished tied for second at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup earlier this year.
 
Inkster shot an even-par 73. England's Trish Johnson also shot 73 to finish third, 12 shots back. Danielle Ammaccapane was fourth and Yuko Saito finished fifth.
 
Martha Leach was the top amateur, tying for 10th at 6-over 298.

Chicago Bulls waive guard Sean Kilpatrick

The Chicago Bulls have waived guard Sean Kilpatrick.
 
Signed in late March, Kilpatrick averaged 15.4 points in nine games for Chicago after spending time last season with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. He has averaged 10.3 points in four seasons after going undrafted out of Cincinnati.
 
The Bulls announced the move on Thursday.
 

Wheatcroft shoots 9-under for 1-stroke lead in Quad Cities

Steve Wheatcroft shot a career-best 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead in the John Deere Classic.
 
Wheatcroft birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish a shot ahead of Michael Kim. Johnson Wagner, Nick Taylor, Andres Romero and Joel Dahmen shot opening-round 64s. Francesco Molinari, who won the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago, was among a group of players three strokes back.
 
Zach Johnson shot 69 and three-time John Deere winner Steve Stricker finished at 1-under 70.
 
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, the highest-ranked player in the field, withdrew because of a right shoulder injury.

Perry, Small share 1-stroke lead at Senior Players

Kenny Perry and Mike Small shot 7-under 65s to share a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Constellation Senior Players Championship on Thursday.
 
Bart Bryant, Glen Day and 2015 U.S. Senior Open champion Jeff Maggert were one stroke back in the fourth of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions schedule.
 
Defending champion Scott McCarron was in a pack at 5 under, while three-time Senior Players winner Bernhard Langer and Vijay Singh were another shot back at Exmoor Country Club. David Toms, coming off a win at the U.S. Senior Open, shot 2 over.
 
The 57-year-old Perry made eight birdies and one bogey to put himself in contention for his fifth senior major.
 
Small is the longtime golf coach at Illinois and has never won on the PGA Tour Champions.

Elaine Crosby leads inaugural US Senior Women's Open

Elaine Crosby shot a 3-under-par 70 Thursday at Chicago Golf Club for the lead after one round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open.
 
A winner of two tournaments in 17 LPGA seasons, the 60-year-old Crosby owns a one-shot advantage over Trish Johnson, Laura Davies and Liselotte Neumann.
 
Crosby started on the back nine with a 3-under-par 34 and made just one bogey on the day at one of the oldest 18-hole courses in the U.S.
 
Johnson, who won the first Senior LPGA Championship in 2017, birdied four of the five par-5 holes.
 
Helen Alfredsson shot a 72, while Juli Inkster, Jean Bartholomew, Marilyn Lovander and Alicia Dibos matched par.
 
The first 72-hole USGA championship for women 50 and older began with a tee shot by the oldest player, 79-year-old JoAnne Carner. Carner proceeded to shoot her age, and has set a goal of making the 36-hole cut.

White Sox blank Cardinals 4-0

Carlos Rodon pitched three-hit, shutout ball into the eighth inning to outduel Luke Weaver and lead the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
 
Tim Anderson tripled and had two RBIs. Charlie Tilson singled in a run off reliever Mike Mayers in Chicago's two-run seventh 
 
and Jose Abreu added an RBI groundout as White Sox ended a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time in their last 13.
 
Rodon (2-3) allowed only two singles and a double while walking two and striking out a season-high seven though 7 1/3 
 
innings. The 25-year-old left-hander, who spent the first two months of 2018 on the disabled list rehabbing from shoulder surgery, sparkled in just his seventh start this season.
 
Joakim Soria got the final four outs for his 13th save in 16 chances.
 
Weaver (5-8) allowed one run on three hits and fanned seven his second straight impressive start. The right-hander pitched two-hit ball over a career-high eight innings last week in San Francisco.
 
Jose Martinez grounded a sharp single off Rodon with two outs in the first. Then the White Sox lefty didn't allow another hit - and retired 14 of 15 batters - before Matt Carpenter doubled with one out in the sixth.
 
Rodon was coming off his strongest outing this season, when he allowed two runs on five hits in a six-inning no-decision at Houston last week.
 
The White Sox managed only three baserunners - with Yolmer Sanchez singling twice - before the fifth, when Chicago took a 1-0 lead.
 
Leury Garcia walked to lead off, advanced to third on Omar Narvaez's single and came home when Anderson grounded into a force at second.
 
The White Sox scored twice with two outs in the seventh to make it 3-0. Narvaez singled, then scored on Anderson's triple to the left field corner. Tilson's single plated Anderson.
 
The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the eighth to chase Rodon. Paul DeJong led off with a single, Kolten Wong reached on an error and Carpenter walked.  But Juan Minaya fanned Tommy Pham for the second out, then Soria struck out Martinez to end the threat.
 
The White Sox added a run in the eighth when Yoan Moncada came home on Abreu's groundout.
 
RHP James Shields (3-10, 4.53) squares off against Kansas City RHP Brad Kelley (2-3, 2.52) in Chicago.
 

Cubs fall 5-4 to Giants in extras

 Buster Posey singled off the right-field wall in the 13th inning for his fifth career game-ending hit, sending the San Francisco Giants past the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Wednesday.
 
Brandon Belt drew a two-out walk from James Norwood (0-1). Andrew McCutchen then singled to bring up Posey, who ended the 4-hour, 30-minute game with San Francisco's first run since scoring four in the first.
 
Dereck Rodriguez (4-1) pitched three scoreless innings for the win. He also had three of San Francisco's 16 strikeouts.
 
Norwood worked the 12th and 13th in his major league debut. He immediately struck out Brandon Crawford on a 99 mph fastball.
 
Cubs slugger Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer in his return from the disabled list, and All-Star Javier Baez tied the game with a solo homer to start the seventh.
 
Tony Watson's scoreless streak at home ended at 20 2/3 innings with Baez's 18th homer - and Watson hadn't allowed a run in 18 innings overall, which had been the longest active streak in baseball.
 
San Francisco's Johnny Cueto struck out seven in five innings in his second start back from a lengthy trip to the disabled list with a sprained elbow. The right-hander hasn't won since April 28.  Cueto was under a careful watch in just his seventh start of 2018 because of two trips to the DL.
 
Bryant hit his 10th homer of the year in the fifth following a single by Jason Heyward, who homered leading off the third.
 
Out since June 23 with inflammation in his left shoulder, Bryant rejoined the Cubs from his Double-A rehab assignment. The 2016 NL MVP started at third base before moving to right field in the ninth.
 
The Cubs missed a chance when they loaded the bases in the sixth.
 
Heyward wound up with three hits on a day former Cubs catcher Miguel Montero attended the game to see his old club. 
 
Some of San Francisco's more unheralded contributors staked Cueto to an early cushion.
 
Chase D'Arnaud homered to begin the first inning for the Giants, the first leadoff drive of his career. Gorkys Hernandez hit a two-run double before Steven Duggar singled him home.
 
Cubs starter Mike Montgomery gave up eight hits in five innings. He has never beaten the Giants in three starts.

White Sox cut reliever Bruce Rondon

The Chicago White Sox have designated veteran reliever Bruce Rondon for assignment.
 
The 27-year-old Rondon went 2-3 with an 8.49 ERA and one save in 35 games with Chicago. The right-hander got one out and issued three walks in Tuesday night's 14-2 loss to St. Louis.
 
The White Sox also purchased the contract of righty Jeanmar Gomez from Triple-A Charlotte before their game against the Cardinals on Wednesday night.
 
The 30-year-old Gomez was 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA and two saves in 30 relief appearances with Charlotte. He was 3-5 with 37 saves with Philadelphia in 2016.

Mikolas to start Sunday, replaced by Stripling in ASG

Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas has been removed from the National League's active roster for the All-Star Game next Tuesday because he is scheduled to start Sunday for St. Louis against the Cincinnati Reds.
 
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling was added to the NL pitching staff Wednesday as Mikolas' replacement.
 
Mikolas is 10-3 with a 2.65 ERA and was selected to his first All-Star team. The 29-year-old right-hander is enjoying a resurgent season in the majors following three years in Japan.
 
Stripling also has been a big surprise since stepping into an injury-depleted rotation for the Dodgers. He is 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 24 games, including 13 starts. In his third big league season, he has 103 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 89 1/3 innings.
 

DeChambeau looking to repeat at John Deere Classic

Bryson DeChambeau will enter a PGA Tour event looking to defend a title for the first time in his career.
 
DeChambeau's breakthrough came last year at the John Deere Classic, which tees off on Thursday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. After entering the final round four strokes off the pace, DeChambeau birdied six of his final nine holes for a one-shot win over Patrick Rodgers.
 
DeChambeau will enter this year's event as a strong contender to repeat as its champion as well.
 
With most of golf's big names playing the Scottish Open in preparation for next week's British Open at Carnoustie, DeChambeau is the highest-ranked golfer in the field. The 24-year-old is 22nd in this week's world ranking.

Cubs win 2-0 over Giants

Victor Caratini hit an RBI double during a decisive seventh inning, helping the Chicago Cubs back Jose Quintana in a close game and beat the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Tuesday night.
 
A night after losing 2-1 in 11 innings despite a strong start from Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs had enough offense for Quintana (8-6). The left-hander allowed three hits in six scoreless innings to beat the Giants for the first time in his career after going 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA over his first three starts.
 
Addison Russell's one-out double in the seventh chased Giants starter Derek Holland (5-8). Russell advanced on Sam Dyson's wild pitch and scored on a bad throw by catcher Nick Hundley trying to get Russell at third. Caratini later doubled.
 
Carl Edwards Jr. struck out the side in order in the seventh, Justin Wilson followed with a perfect eighth and Steve Cishek closed it out for his third save after taking the loss Monday.
 
Holland struck out eight and didn't walk a batter in 6 1/3 innings. Johnny Cueto had been the announced scheduled starter, but manager Bruce Bochy gave Cueto an extra day to recover, something that could be the norm in the second half for the veteran right-hander.
 
Holland has been versatile: In less than a week, he pinch-ran, pitched twice in relief then returned to the rotation.
 
Giants center fielder Gorkys Hernandez returned to the lineup after missing Monday's game nursing a tight calf that forced him to an early exit Sunday against the Cardinals.
 
Aside from a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth, Buster Posey had the night off for the Giants and was scheduled to catch the day game Wednesday. He has to skip the All-Star Game because of a lingering right hip injury that will require an injection.
 
 LHP Mike Montgomery (3-3, 3.68 ERA) is 0-1 in four career appearances against the Giants with two starts, as he'll face RHP Johnny RHP Cueto (3-1, 1.95) making his second start since coming off the disabled list from a 61-game absence with an inflamed pitching elbow and seventh overall in 2018.

Cards rout White Sox 14-2

Slumping outfielder Dexter Fowler hit his fourth career grand slam, All-Star Miles Mikolas tossed six innings of three-hit ball and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Chicago White Sox 14-2 on Tuesday night.
 
Kolten Wong had four hits, including a two-run homer and a double, as every St. Louis starter except catcher Yadier Molina got at least one hit. Jose Martinez had three hits and two RBIs.
 
Fowler lofted his sixth homer this season, but first since May 6, to cap the Cardinals' seven-run sixth. He finished with two hits and played right field in only his second start since June 27.
 
Fowler entered batting just .167 - and .111 in his previous 20 games. Wong entered hitting only .208 for the season, but has 10 hits in his last 18 at-bats.
 
Mikolas (10-3), selected to his first All-Star team Sunday, faced only three hitters in five of his six innings. The right-hander allowed two runs and struck out six.
 
Charlie Tilson drove in two runs for the White Sox in the third, one of only two innings in which Chicago had baserunners against Mikolas.
 
White Sox starter Dylan Covey (3-5) lasted five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks. The right-hander lost his fourth straight decision and has an 11.70 ERA in his last five starts.
 
Mikolas came out dealing, fanning five of the first six White Sox hitters. Covey started strong, too, retiring eight of the first nine Cardinals batters and striking out four.
 
Then with two outs in the third, four consecutive line-drive singles gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
 
The White Sox tied it 2-all in the bottom half. Tilson's single, the third straight hit off Mikolas to start the inning, drove in both runs.
 
The Cardinals moved back ahead 3-2 in the fourth when Jedd Gyorko scored from third on a forceout. St. Louis made it 4-2 in the fifth on Molina's sacrifice fly.
 
Then the Cardinals broke it open in the sixth with seven runs on three hits and four walks.
 
Omar Narvaez's passed ball and a wild pitch by reliever Bruce Rondon allowed two runs to score. Rondon then issued three straight walks to force in another run before Fowler went deep to left-center off Hector Santiago.
 
Wong's two-run shot off Santiago in the eighth made it 13-2. Martinez doubled home a run in the ninth.
 
RHP Luke Weaver (5-7, 4.92 ERA) faces LHP Carlos Rodon (1-3, 4.29) today in the finale of the two-game set.

Bryant headed to Bay Area to return from DL

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is headed to the Bay Area hoping he will be ready to come off the disabled list and play in Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the San Francisco Giants.
 
Bryant, out since June 23 with inflammation in his left shoulder, played rehab games for Double-A Tennessee on Monday and Tuesday. He had hoped to rejoin the Cubs during their series at AT&T Park.
 
In the two rehab games, Bryant went 2 for 6 with a two-run homer and three RBIs. He left Tuesday's game in the third inning to travel after going 0 for 2 with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Bryant is batting .280 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season.

Avisail Garcia back on DL with hamstring strain

The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Avisail Garcia on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain.
 
Garcia, an All-Star last season who hit .330 with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs, missed two months earlier this season with a more serious strain to the same hamstring muscle. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Garcia's new injury is "in a different location and considered more mild."
 
Hahn hopes Garcia will return after the All-Star break.
 
The 27-year-old outfielder is batting .282 with nine homers and 17 RBIs in 35 games this season. Since returning on June 22 from his first stint on the DL, Garcia was Chicago's hottest hitter with a .333 average, eight homers and 13 RBIs before leaving Sunday's game at Houston.
 
The White Sox added outfielder Ryan LaMarre, claimed off waivers from Minnesota, to their roster to take Garcia's place.
 

Giants down Cubs 2-1

Pablo Sandoval singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning a day after driving in five runs, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.
 
Brandon Crawford loaded the bases when he was intentionally walked by Pedro Strop to bring up Sandoval, who hit a sharp single to left against a five-man infield.
 
Andrew McCutchen and Brandon Belt started the rally with consecutive one-out singles off Steve Cishek (2-1), who entered with one out in the 10th and immediately gave up Hunter Pence's triple before working out of trouble.
 
Ty Blach (6-5) pitched a 1-2-3 11th for the win.
 
The Giants came through an inning after missing a big chance with Pence on third. Pinch-hitter Chase d'Arnaud struck out with the Cubs playing with five infielders, making him 0 for 16 in his last nine games. Then Steven Duggar also struck out.
 
Ben Zobrist hit a two-out double in the ninth off Will Smith but David Bote then grounded out.
 
Alen Hanson tied the game in the fifth when he blazed around the bases to score from first on Anthony Rizzo's second error of the inning. The ball skipped by the first baseman and rolled past the visitor's bullpen in right-field foul territory. The speedy Hanson slid headfirst with his left hand touching home before catcher Willson Contreras could tag him.
 
Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks struck out eight and pitched into the ninth as manager Joe Maddon got a pair of relievers up in the bullpen. After Brandon Belt drew a one-out walk, Hendricks' night was done and he gave way to Randy Rosario.
 
Hendricks is winless in four starts since beating the Cardinals on June 16.  
 
Giants starter Andrew Suarez has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last six outings. He gave up one run on three hits, struck out five and walked four in six innings.
 
LHP Jose Quintana (7-6, 4.22 ERA) tries for his first career victory against the Giants after going 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA in his first three starts.  He'll face RHP Johnny Cueto (3-1, 1.95) who makes his second start since coming off the disabled list from a 61-game absence with an inflamed pitching elbow.

Cubs 6-5 victory over Reds

David Bote drove in the game-winning run with a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning, lifting Chicago to a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
 
Javier Baez had two hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, who have won their last nine games in comeback fashion. Albert Almora Jr. and Ian Happ also had two hits apiece, and Addison Russell drove in three runs.
 
The Cubs trailed 4-3 in the seventh. They scored four times in the eighth inning on Saturday for an 8-7 win.
 
Eugenio Suarez and Adam Duvall homered for the Reds, who had their five-series winning streak snapped.
 
Luke Farrell (3-3) worked a clean 10th inning for the win.
 
Willson Contreras led off the 10th with a walk against Jackson Stephens (2-2). Contreras then advanced on a wild pitch with Victor Caratini at the plate. After Caratini struck out, Happ was intentionally walked.
 
Russell then hit a weak roller to first base. Joey Votto fielded the ball cleanly and had an easy play, but tried to take the ball out of his glove before reaching the bag - to hold Contreras at third - and bobbled it. Russell was initially called out, but the call was overturned following a review, loading the bases with one out. Votto was given an error.
 
Bote worked the count to 3-2 and then took a high fastball for ball four.
 
Baez's two-run single in the seventh gave the Cubs a 5-4 lead. But Duvall led off the ninth with a drive to left off Brandon Morrow. It was Morrow's second blown save of the season.
 
RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-8, 4.27 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of a three-game series at San Francisco tonight.

White Sox swept by Astros, 2-1

The Astros managed just three hits and two runs in the series finale against the White Sox, but it was just enough to get a 2-1 win to complete the four-game sweep.
 
Dallas Keuchel pitched seven strong innings, Jose Altuve hit a homer and the Astros manufactured the go-ahead run in the seventh to get the victory.
 
Altuve's solo shot put Houston up 1-0 in the fourth to help the Astros to improve to a season-high 30 games above .500 (61-31).
 
Chicago starter Lucas Giolito (5-8) had retired nine straight after Altuve's home run when Yuli Gurriel got Houston's second hit of the game with a double with no outs in the seventh. He took third on a fly ball out by Josh Reddick and the Astros went up 2-1 on a sacrifice bunt by Marwin Gonzalez.
 
Keuchel (6-8) yielded six hits and a run while walking three to win his third straight decision.
 
Giolito had one of his best starts of the season, allowing three hits and two runs in a career-high 7 1/3 innings. But he continued to be plagued by a lack of run support with the White Sox being shut out in seven of his starts and managing just one run three other times.
 
He fared much better than he did in his first meeting against the Astros this year when he gave up a career-worst nine runs in two innings of a 10-1 loss.
 
Hector Rondon struck out two in a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
 
Houston's Alex Bregman went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts to snap his 12-game hitting streak, which was the longest active streak in the majors.
 
Yoan Moncada singled with no outs in the seventh and Yolmer Sanchez walked. Both players advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Engel before the White Sox tied it on a sacrifice fly by Tim Anderson.
 
Engel doubled with one out in the fifth and reached third on an error by rookie right fielder Kyle Tucker, who made his major league debut on Saturday. But Keuchel left him stranded when he struck out Tim Anderson before Avisail Garcia grounded out.
 
Giolito had control issues early, walking leadoff hitter George Springer on four pitches before plunking Bregman. He settled down after that, retiring nine of the next 10 batters before Houston got its first hit on the homer by Altuve.
 
Chicago is off on Monday before right-hander Dylan Covey (3-3, 4.82 ERA) is scheduled to start in the opener of a two-game interleague series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

Cardinals fall 13-8 Giants

Pablo Sandoval homered and had five RBIs to back an uneven start by Madison Bumgarner as the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 13-8 on Sunday.
 
Andrew McCutchen and Alen Hanson each added three hits. Brandon Belt and Gorkys Hernandez had two apiece to help the Giants split the four-game series.
 
Bumgarner (2-3) earned his second win this season despite an erratic outing. Making his seventh start after missing the first two months with a broken left pinkie, Bumgarner allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and hit a batter with a pitch.
 
The Giants bailed out their ace with a pair of three-run innings and a five-run sixth while setting a season high for scoring.
 
After Jose Martinez's RBI single off Bumgarner in the fifth put St. Louis ahead 4-3, San Francisco rallied against reliever John Brebbia.
 
Belt doubled and went to third on All-Star Brandon Crawford's single. Sandoval followed with his eighth home run, a three-run drive that bounced into the waters of McCovey Cove.
 
Sandoval added a two-run single in the sixth. The five RBIs were one shy of his career high.
 
Brebbia (1-3) also took the loss against the Giants on Friday.
 
Matt Carpenter hit his 17th home run and Yairo Munoz also went deep for St. Louis.
 
Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty gave up three runs, two earned, in 2 1/3 innings.
 
All-Star RHP Miles Mikolas (9-3, 2.63 ERA) starts Tuesday in Chicago against the White Sox.

Bulls match 4-year contract offer for Zach LaVine

Zach LaVine is staying with the Chicago Bulls, after the team matched a four-year, $80 million offer sheet that he got from the Sacramento Kings.
 
The Bulls made the announcement Sunday, two days after the Kings and LaVine agreed to the offer terms. LaVine was a restricted free agent, which meant the Bulls had right of first refusal. It was expected that the Bulls would match, and now they have.
 
LaVine has missed 91 of a possible 162 games over the past two seasons because of injuries, and the Bulls will have some language in this contract protecting them if his surgically repaired left knee remains problematic. He appeared in only 24 games for the Bulls last season, averaging 16.7 points on 38 percent shooting.
 
The Bulls acquired LaVine a year ago, as part of the trade that sent Jimmy Butler from Chicago to Minnesota.

Mozgov, Biyombo swapped in Hornets-Magic-Bulls trade

Timofey Mozgov has been traded for the second time this summer, dealt from Charlotte to Orlando in a three-team deal that also included Chicago.
 
The Magic sent Bismack Biyombo and two future second-round picks to Charlotte, which traded Mozgov to Orlando. The Magic also got guard Jerian Grant from the Bulls in the deal completed late Saturday night.
 
Chicago acquired Julyan Stone from Charlotte in the trade that saves the Bulls about $2 million.

Cardinals hit 3 HRs, beat San Francisco 11-2

Luke Weaver pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and St. Louis beat the San Francisco Giants 11-2 on Thursday night.
 
Weaver (5-7) faced two over the minimum and had seven strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before giving up a single and Hanson's two-run homer. Weaver then bounced back to retire the final seven batters he faced.
 
Weaver didn't allow a hit until Gorkys Hernandez reached on an infield single with one out in the sixth. Jedd Gyorko made a diving stop on Hernandez's sharp liner near third base but the ball popped out of his right hand as he attempted to throw. Hanson followed with his homer.
 
Gyorko had three hits including a home run and drove in five runs to spoil the return of Johnny Cueto after two months on the disabled list. Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader also went deep while Yadier Molina singled three times.
 
The Cardinals had a season-high 18 hits - their most since getting 19 against the New York Mets on Aug. 24, 2016.
 
Alen Hanson homered for San Francisco. The Giants have scored five runs while losing four straight.
 
Cueto (3-1) was rocked in his long-awaited return from the 60-day disabled list. He gave up four runs in the first inning - one more than he had in 32 innings before going out with right elbow inflammation.
 
Game two of the series will feature John Gant (2-2, 3.48 ERA) for St. Louis as it will be RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-1 3.16) to start for San Francisco.

Sox blow lead in 9th, Astros win 4-3

Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and Yuli Gurriel's RBI single with one out in Houston's two-run ninth lifted the Astros to a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.
 
The Astros trailed by 1 when Joakim Soria (0-3) walked pinch-hitter Tony Kemp with no outs in the ninth before advancing to third on a single by pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez. George Springer snapped an 0 for 8 slump and tied it at 3-3 with his RBI single to shallow center field. It was a much-needed hit for the World Series MVP who has been struggling lately, going 6 for 70 since June 15.
 
Alex Bregman walked to load the bases and Altuve struck out before Gurriel sent a ball over second baseman Yoan Moncada's head into right field to give Houston the victory.
 
Justin Verlander bounced back from his last start where he allowed nine hits and five runs - both season highs - in a loss to Tampa Bay with a solid outing. He yielded four hits and two runs and struck out 10 in seven innings.
 
Joe Smith (3-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for the win in his first appearance since June 6.
 
Omar Narvaez homered with two hits and Leury Garcia's solo shot in the eighth inning put the White Sox up 3-2.
 
The score was tied at 2-all with one out in the eighth when Garcia sent a fastball from Chris Devenski into the bullpen in right-center to put the White Sox on top.
 
Chicago trailed 2-0 when Narvaez got Chicago within one with his solo homer to right field off Verlander to lead off the sixth. Moncada singled with two outs in the inning and Chicago tied it up when Yolmer Sanchez doubled to left field.
 
White Sox starter Carlos Rodon allowed five hits and two runs while tying a career-high with six walks in six innings.
 
Gurriel was on third base with one out in the eighth inning, but got caught in a rundown before Tyler White struck out to end the inning.
 
Rodon worked around singles by White and Jake Marisnick in the second inning and a pair of walks in the third. Houston couldn't get anything going on offense until Bregman doubled with one out in the fifth inning and Altuve followed with his eighth homer of the season to make it 2-0.
 
Chicago's Avisail Garcia went 0 for 4 with a strikeout to end his career-high 14-game hitting streak, which was the longest active streak in the majors.
 
Houston's Lance McCullers (9-3, 3.55 ERA) opposes Chicago's Reynaldo Lopez (4-5, 3.68) as the series continues tonight.
 

Packers RB Aaron Jones suspended for 2 games

The NFL has suspended Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones for the first two games of the 2018 season without pay for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
 
Jones will miss the season opener against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 9 and the Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, with both games at Lambeau Field.
 
He will be eligible to return to the roster on Sept. 17, the day after the Vikings game.
 
The discipline stems from a traffic stop in Brown County, Wisconsin, on Oct. 1, 2017, in which Jones was charged with operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in his system; speeding; and operating a vehicle without a valid license. The case came to light after he entered a plea of not guilty on Nov. 15.
 
The case was resolved in February with Jones pleading no contest to the first charge. He was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in court costs, and his license was revoked for six months. The other two counts were dismissed.
 
The Packers cited confidentiality in declining comment. A representative for Jones referred to the player's apology in November.
 

Cubs defeat Tigers 5-2 for 6 straight

Javier Baez stole home and Willson Contreras hit a tie-breaking homer and to lead the Chicago Cubs past the Detroit Tigers 5-2 on Wednesday for their sixth straight victory.
 
Conditions at Wrigley Field favored the longball, with a game-time temperature of 92 degrees, a heat index of 102 and the wind blowing out.
 
David Bote hit his first homer while Detroit got solo shots from Nick Castellanos and John Hicks, but was swept by the Cubs in the two-game interleague set and has dropped 13 of 15.
 
Bote, playing third in place of injured Kris Bryant, smacked his drive into the batter's eye shrubs in straight-away center on the first pitch he faced in the second to tie it.
 
Contreras homered in the sixth and then added a two-run double in the seventh.
 
Chicago starter Jose Quintana (7-6) allowed two runs on five hits through six innings to win for the first time since May 31. Detroit's Francisco Liriano (3-5) permitted three runs on five hits and five walks in his third outing -and third loss - since returning from the disabled list.
 
Brandon Morrow pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 20 chances.
 
Castellanos hit his 14th homer, and third in five games, to left in the first to put Detroit ahead 1-0.
 
Hicks' shot in the third landed halfway up the left-center bleachers and put the Tigers back in front, 2-1.
 
Baez capped an eventful trip around the bases by stealing home with one out in the fourth to tie it at 2. He singled to lead off the inning, then Liriano picked him off first base. But Hicks' throw to second sailed into left field and Baez advanced to third.
 
Baez sprinted home when Liriano tried pick off Addison Russell at first. Hicks' throw to catcher James McCann was quick and accurate, but Baez slid head-first and touched the plate before McCann could tag him.
 
The Cubs will have the night off as they'll begin a three-game series with the Reds Friday at Wrigley Field.

Cardinals beat D-backs 8-4

The Cardinals scored seven times in the seventh and eighth innings to beat Arizona 8-4 on Wednesday night. After coming to town on a four-game losing streak and off a three-game sweep at the hands of Atlanta, St. Louis took two of three from the first-place Diamondbacks.
 
Yadier Molina's three-run homer on the first pitch from reliever Fernando Salas highlighted a five-run Cardinals seventh inning after Arizona had nursed a 2-1 lead through six in front of a sellout crowd of 44,072.
 
Tommy Pham drove in three Cardinals runs with a double and two singles. Matt Carpenter doubled twice and singled with one RBI.
 
The Diamondbacks dropped to 1-5 on their homestand and lead the surging Los Angeles Dodgers by just a half-game in the NL West.
 
Mikolas (9-3) gave up two runs and seven hits, walked four and struck out three.
 
Arizona reliever Yoshihisa Hirano (2-1) had his franchise-record streak of 26 games without allowing a run end when Yairo Munoz homered to lead off the seventh. Hirano gave up four runs, one earned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning for his first loss since coming to the major leagues from Japan this season.
 
After Munoz's homer, shortstop Ketel Marte booted pinch-hitter Tyler O'Neill's grounder for an error. With one out and O'Neill on second, Pham singled to center to put the Cardinals up 3-2. Center fielder Jarrod Dyson left the game with discomfort in his right groin area, Lovullo said.
 
Salas relieved Hirano and gave up the big hit to Molina, who homered twice in the series.
 
St. Louis will head to San Francisco for four games against the Giants. RHP Luke Weaver (4-7, 5.16 ERA) starts in tonights opener. Johnny Cueto (3-0, 0.84) comes off the disabled list to pitch for the Giants.

White Sox drop series finale to Reds 7-4

Starting pitcher Sal Romano dropped down a suicide squeeze during a six-run fourth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Wednesday night.
 
Jesse Winker and Jose Peraza each had a two-run single during the big inning, and Scooter Gennett also singled in a run. The Reds overcame Daniel Palka's third home run in two games to win the three-game series and complete a 4-3 homestand.
 
The Reds have won 13 of 17 and have come from behind in eight of their last 11 wins.
 
Yoan Moncada added a two-run homer for the White Sox, who have dropped five of seven and 14 of 20.
 
Cincinnati improved to 8-2 in interleague play, the most wins since going 11-9 in 2013. The White Sox are 4-11 against NL teams.
 
Romano (5-8) struck out six and allowing six hits and four runs in five innings. His bunt back to the mound brought home Adam Duvall for the final run of Cincinnati's breakout fourth inning.
 
Reds relievers Amir Garrett and Michael Lorenzen teamed up for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Jared Hughes pitched the finl 1 2/3 for his sixth save.
 
Dylan Covey retired his first nine batters before the Reds erupted for five hits and six runs while sending 10 batters to the plate in the fourth. Winker and Peraza each had a two-run single before Romano's bunt knocked Covey (3-4) out of the game. Covey allowed a walk, struck out two and hit a batter in 3 2/3 innings.
 
Moncada, whose 12th-inning bases-loaded triple broke open Chicago's 12-3 win Tuesday, gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run homer in the third. Palka went deep for a 3-0 lead in the fourth.
 
The Reds added a run in the eighth on pitcher Chris Volstad's bases-loaded throwing error.
 
LHP Carlos Rodon (1-3) faces the Astros today. He is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA in four career starts against Houston.

White Sox rally for 12-8 win over Reds in 12 innings

Daniel Palka and Avisail Garcia each homered twice, and Yoan Moncada tripled with the bases loaded in the 12th inning as the Chicago White Sox pulled off their biggest comeback of the season, beating the Cincinnati Reds 12-8 on Tuesday night.
 
Trailing 7-2 after five innings, the White Sox pulled even in the ninth on Garcia's solo homer off Raisel Iglesias, then pulled it out with the help of a couple of Reds errors.
 
They loaded the bases in the 12th with a walk and two errors. Moncada's triple off Jackson Stephens (2-1) broke the tie, and Yolmer Sanchez followed with another triple.
 
Hector Santiago (3-3) fanned six in two innings as the White Sox extended their domination in the interleague series. They're 17-5 all-time against the Reds, including 11-3 in Cincinnati.
 
Jim Riggleman was ejected by plate umpire Eric Cooper during Chicago's winning rally, his first ejection as the Reds' interim manager.
 
The Reds got the better of a free-swinging game early on, surging ahead 4-0 before Lucas Giolito could record an out. Jose Peraza opened with a triple, Scooter Gennett hit his 14th homer, Joey Votto walked, and Eugenio Suarez followed with his 17th homer. Suarez performed a salsa dance with Votto after he crossed the plate.
 
Adam Duvall added a three-run shot into the upper deck in left field in the fifth inning off Giolito for a 7-2 lead, the second time in his career that the right-hander has allowed three homers in a game.
 
Anthony DeSclafani also gave up a career-high three homers - two by Palka and one by Garcia, who went 3 for 6 and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

Rizzo, Schwarber lead Cubs to 5-3 victory over Tigers

Anthony Rizzo drove in his second run of the game in the seventh inning to snap a tie, Kyle Schwarber followed with a solo homer in the eighth and the Chicago Cubs rebounded from an early three-run deficit to edge the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Tuesday for their fifth straight win.
 
With one out in the seventh, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist singled off Tigers reliever Daniel Stumpf (1-4). Rizzo's slow bouncer up the middle resulted in a force of Zobrist at second, but Jose Iglesias' throw to first was too late to double up Rizzo and Heyward scored from third to put Chicago ahead for the first time, 4-3.
 
Schwarber hit his team-leading 17th homer to right against a steady wind off Lake Michigan in the eighth.
 
Trailing 3-0, Albert Almora, Jr. and Heyward each drove in a run with a double, then Rizzo followed with an RBI single in Chicago's three-run fifth.
 
Detroit leadoff hitter Mikie Mahtook had three singles and scored a run. Niko Goodrum drove in a run with a double, and Jeimer Candelario and James McCann each had an RBI as the Tigers lost their 12th game in their past 14.
 
Justin Wilson (3-2), Chicago's second reliever, worked around an error to pitch a scoreless seventh and earn the win. Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save in four chances.
 
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks labored through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits in a no-decision. In his past six starts, the right-hander is 1-4 with 6.75 ERA.
 
Tigers starter Michael Fulmer went six innings and allowed three runs - all in the fifth - and seven hits.
 
The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. After Mahtook and Nick Castellanos led off with singles, Candelario drove in a run with a groundout. Goodrum's double to the right-field corner scored the second run.
 
The Tigers added a run in the fourth on McCann's RBI single.
 
The Cubs tied it 3-all in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Tommy LaStella, Almora and Heyward led off with consecutive doubles to cut it to 3-2, then Rizzo's hit with one out tied it.
 

Goldschmidt homers, Diamondbacks knock off Cardinals 4-2

Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer, Zack Greinke pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
 
Greinke (9-5) gave up two runs in the second inning to end his 13-inning scoreless streak but was otherwise sharp in winning his fourth straight game. Yoshihisa Hirano needed one pitch to get a groundout with the bases loaded in the seventh and extend his team record with a 26th straight scoreless appearance.
 
Brad Boxberger worked around a walk in the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.
 
Goldschmidt had the big blow, following a four-hit night Monday with a three-run homer off Flaherty (3-4) in the fifth inning. The NL player of the month for June, Goldschmidt is hitting .413 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs his past 26 games.
 
Greinke entered Tuesday's game with the 13-inning scoreless streak after tossing seven scoreless innings against Miami his last start. His streak lasted one more inning; the Cardinals scored two runs in the second inning on Yairo Munoz's single and Kolten Wong's sacrifice fly.
 
Greinke shook off the shaky second by mixing his pitches well, keeping the Cardinals off-balance with low-90s fastballs and looping curves that dipped to 63 mph. He was lifted with two outs in the seventh inning after giving up consecutive hits, allowing two runs on seven hits and four strikeouts.
 
Flaherty allowed four runs on six hits in six innings in a loss to Cleveland his last start. He was sharp after giving up David Peralta's run-scoring single in the first inning, retiring 10 straight batters.
 
Flaherty ran into trouble in the fifth inning, giving up a double and hitting a batter before Goldschmidt lifted a three-run homer just over the wall in right to put Arizona up 4-2.
 
Flaherty allowed four runs on four hits and struck out seven in six innings.

Cardinals beat Diamondbacks 6-3

Yadier Molina came through early in a key situation, sparking the Cardinals to a play-from-ahead victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
 
Molina hit a two-run single in the first inning and homered, helping the Cardinals end a four-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks on Monday night.
 
The Cardinals played from behind most of their series against the Braves, but jumped on the Diamondbacks early.
 
Molina hit a two-run single in the Cardinals' four-run first inning against Robbie Ray (3-1) and hit his 12th homer off the Arizona left-hander in the sixth.
 
Jedd Gyorko also homered and had two RBIs to end Ray's nine-game winning streak, dating to last season.
 
Martinez (5-4) allowed two runs on six hits and lined a double. Bud Norris worked a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances.
 
Paul Goldschmidt had four hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who were not able to overcome the early deficit for their fourth straight loss.
 
Martinez snapped a three-game losing streak his last start, holding Cleveland to two runs on six hits in six innings. The right-hander was staked to a four-run lead before taking the mound and gave up Jake Lamb's run-scoring single in the bottom half.
 
Goldschmidt lined a run-scoring single in the fifth inning off Martinez, who struck out seven.
 
Ray returned from the DL (strained right oblique) to throw six scoreless innings in a 2-1 win over Miami on Wednesday.
 
The Arizona left-hander had a shaky start to his second post-DL outing, allowing four runs on five hits in the first inning.
 
Ray struck out six while retiring 12 of the next 13 hitters before Molina and Gyorko connected on consecutive solo homers to put the Cardinals up 6-2 in the sixth inning.
 
Ray allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings in his 100th career appearance.
 
Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke is 12-5 with a 3.42 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 19 career games against the Cardinals headed into Tuesday's game. He'll face RHP Jack Flaherty, who will be making his first career start against Arizona.
 

White Sox drop series opener with Reds 5-3

Alex Blandino's double in the eighth inning completed the Cincinnati Reds' four-run rally for another comeback victory Monday night, 5-3 over the Chicago White Sox.
 
The White Sox returned to Great American Ball Park for the first time since 2009 and let one slip away with the help of a misplay in the bottom of the eighth.
 
The Reds loaded the bases with one out against Chris Volstad (1-5). Adam Duvall grounded to first baseman Matt Davidson, who was indecisive. He took several steps toward first before throwing home too late to get Scooter Gennett scoring from third base.
 
Billy Hamilton followed with a sacrifice fly that tied it at 3, and Blandino's pinch-hit double put the Reds in position for another comeback win. They've trailed in seven of their last 10 victories.
 
Dylan Floro (3-2) retired two in the eighth. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 18 chances.
 
Until Chicago's bullpen melted down, James Shields was in position to get his first road win since opening day. Chicago has scored three runs or less behind him in 14 of his last 16 starts.
 
Scott Schebler connected on Shields' first pitch of the game, but he allowed only three more hits while going 6 2/3 innings.
 
The White Sox pulled ahead 2-1 in the seventh when Yoan Moncada doubled home the tying run and came around on Yolmer Sanchez's single. Avisail Garcia added his fifth homer in the eighth. Garcia extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
 
Chicago's Jose Abreu went 0 for 3, ending his 19-game hitting streak in interleague play - one shy of Paul Konerko's club record. Abreu fouled a ball off the inside of his left ankle in the sixth inning and left for a pinch hitter in the seventh.
 
Lucas Giolito (5-7) is 2-3 with a 6.81ERA in his last seven starts as he'll face Anthony DeSclafani (3-1) makes his sixth start since returning from a strained oblique.

Cubs top Twins 11-10

Jon Lester hit a three-run homer that highlighted an eight-run burst in the second inning and wound up with his NL-leading 11th win as the Chicago Cubs held off the Minnesota Twins 11-10 on Sunday.
 
Ian Happ also homered for the Cubs, who have scored at least 10 runs in four straight games for the first time since 1930. Chicago swept the three-game series and has won four in a row overall.
 
Lester (11-2) allowed four runs, two of them earned, and nine hits in five-plus innings.
 
Javier Baez, who doubled twice, Happ and Willson Contreras each had three hits for the Cubs.
 
Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer off reliever Dillon Maples as the Twins scored five times in the eighth. Maples, called up from Triple-A before the game when pitcher Brian Duensing went on the disabled list with a sore left shoulder, also allowed an RBI single to Logan Morrison and a two-run triple to Willians Astudillo.
 
Cubs closer Brandon Morrow got one out in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances.
 
Brian Dozier hit a two-run homer and Jake Cave also homered for the Twins. Minnesota concluded a 1-5 Chicago road trip that began with two losses in three tries to the White Sox, and fell 10 games below .500 for the first time this season.
 
In the third consecutive sweltering day at Wrigley Field with a gametime temperature at 93 degrees and a heat index at 101, the Cubs jumped all over Twins starter Lance Lynn (5-7) in the second inning.
 
Lester hit his second career home run, prompting a curtain call from the cheering fans. Baez doubled home two runs and Anthony Rizzo had an RBI double. Kyle Schwarber met reliever Matt Magill with the Cubs' third straight double.
 
Cubs shortstop Addison Russell added an RBI single in the fourth inning and made a highlight grab in the sixth inning before leaving the game with an apparent injury resulting in the catch. Russell bumped into Baez while making the running catch on Eduardo Escobar's ball down the left-field line in foul territory. He walked off the field and into the dugout after talking to a team trainer and manager Joe Maddon.
 
RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-8) will try to bounce back from his shortest outing of the season on Tuesday against the Tigers.

Braves sweep Cardinals take finale 6-5

Mike Foltynewicz (Folt-ah-nev-ich) tossed five shutout innings and Freddie Freeman homered as the Atlanta Braves held off the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Sunday.
 
The Braves outscored St. Louis 22-10 in sweeping a three-game series in St. Louis for the first time since May 11-13, 2012.
 
Tommy Pham homered for St. Louis, which has lost four in a row. The Cardinals scored five times in the seventh to rally from a 6-0 deficit.
 
Foltynewicz matched Julio Teheran and Max Fried to post the Braves third successive scoreless appearance by a starter. Teheran tossed six scoreless innings a 5-1 win on Friday. Fried did not allow a run in 6 2-3 innings of an 11-4 victory on Saturday.
 
Foltynewicz (6-4) surrendered one hit - a fourth-inning single to Marcell Ozuna. He struck out nine and walked three in an 86-pitch outing.
 
Foltynewicz has allowed just two hits and one run over 10 innings in two outings since coming off the disabled list with tightness in his right tricepts on June 25.
 
The Braves three starters allowed seven hits over 17 2-3 innings with 24 strikeouts in the series.
 
A.J. Minter picked up his third save in as many tries by setting the side down in order in the ninth. He has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.
 
Freeman's 16th homer of the season, a two-run drive, pushed the lead to 3-0 in sixth. The blow highlighted a five-run uprising that also included a run-scoring hit from Culberson.
 
Pham hit a three-run homer off Peter Moylan in the seventh to bring the Cardinals to within 6-5.
 
St. Louis starter John Gant (2-3) allowed four runs on four hits over 5 1-3 innings.
 
Francisco Pena had a two-run single in the seventh for St. Louis, which will play 17 of its next 20 games on the road.
 
The Braves have been in first place or tied for first in 60 of the last 62 days. They kicked off their 10-game road trip in style.
 
Atlanta infielder Ozzie Albies extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a sixth-inning single.
 
RHP Carlos Martinez (4-4, 3.22) takes on Arizona LHP Robbie Ray (3-0, 4.01) in the opener of a three-game series in Arizona that kicks off a nine-game road trip. 

White Sox bounce Rangers 10-5

Matt Davidson hit a two-run double in his second straight three-hit game to help the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 10-5 on Sunday.
 
Avisail Garcia had four hits and Davidson and Jose Abreu drove in three runs apiece to help the White Sox avoid a sweep to start a 10-game road trip, their longest of the season.
 
Texas' Shin-Soo Choo extended the majors' longest on-base streak this season to 42 games. He returned after missing a game with a strained right quadriceps that the club said will limit him defensively for a few weeks. He was 0 for 4 as the designated hitter with an eighth-inning walk that kept alive the third-longest streak in club history, and longest since 1995. Choo's 12-game hitting streak ended.
 
Reynaldo Lopez (4-5) made it through 6 1/3 innings in the boiling Texas heat - a first-pitch temperature of 97 degrees that climbed past 100 before the last of Lopez's career-high 114 pitches.
 
The right-hander walked in the tying run in the fourth but escaped further damage with the strikeout of Choo. Lopez allowed seven hits and two runs with six strikeouts.
 
One-time Texas closer Joakim Soria pitched around two hits in the ninth and had three strikeouts in a five-out save. It was his 12th save of the season in his 14th consecutive scoreless appearance.
 
Five straight Chicago hitters reached with one out in a five-run fifth against Texas ace Cole Hamels, starting with ninth-hitting Adam Engel on a wild pitch after a strikeout.
 
Tim Anderson doubled, Garcia hit a run-scoring single and Abreu had an infield single before Davidson's double off the base of the 14-foot wall in left field.
 
Garcia had two doubles and one of two triples for the White Sox, who started the day tied for second in the majors with 23 triples.
 
Hamels (4-7) gave up a season-high seven earned runs on nine hits, which matched the season high from his previous start. The left-hander matched a season low with five innings amid talk of a deadline trade with the Rangers in last place in the AL West.
 
Joey Gallo had a two-run triple and Rougned Odor reached all five times with two walks and three singles for Texas.
 
 RHP James Shields (3-9, 4.29 ERA) is scheduled for the opener of a three-game interleague series in Cincinnati starting today.

Blackhawks add 3 players on 1st day of NHL free agency

The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to contracts with free agents Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning on Sunday, addressing their depth in every position group after missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
 
Kunitz got a one-year deal worth $1 million, and Ward's one-year contract is for $3 million. Manning received a two-year deal.
 
The 38-year-old Kunitz gives Chicago another experienced forward, Ward adds to the Blackhawks' depth in goal after Corey Crawford missed most of last season, and Manning joins a mix of aging veterans and intriguing prospects with the defensemen.
 
Kunitz had 13 goals and 16 assists in 82 games with Tampa Bay last season. He also had an assist in 17 playoff games with the Lightning.
 
Kunitz is a four-time Stanley Cup champion, winning it all with Anaheim in 2007 and Pittsburgh in 2009, 2016 and 2017. He also won gold with Canada at the 2014 Olympics.
 
He joins a Chicago team looking for a comeback after a disastrous season. Crawford got hurt in December and the Blackhawks tumbled to 33 wins and 76 points, their lowest totals since they went 31-42-9 during the 2006-07 season. They finished last in the Central Division.
 
The 34-year-old Ward was selected by Carolina in the first round of the 2002 draft and spent his first 13 seasons with the Hurricanes. He went 23-14-4 last year with two shutouts, a 2.73 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
 
Ward also has 41 career playoff appearances. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006 as playoff MVP when Carolina beat Edmonton for its only Stanley Cup title.
 
The 28-year-old Manning set career highs with seven goals and 12 assists in 65 games last season with Philadelphia. He also played in six postseason games.
 
Chicago also announced it had agreed to a three-year contract with defenseman Adam Boqvist. The Blackhawks selected the 17-year-old Boqvist with the eighth overall pick in this year's draft.

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