Anthony Rizzo's home run on the second pitch from Jhoulys Chacin (6-6) was the third leading off in seven games since Rizzo was moved to first in the order and lifted the Chicago Cubs to a Monday night 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

 

In those seven games, he is 6 for 6 with a walk to open the first inning.

Rizzo's home run was his 17th of the season. Rookie Ian Happ added his ninth in the eighth inning for the Cubs, who won their third straight.

 

Mike Montgomery (1-3) allowed three hits and two walks in six innings, striking out four. Twelve of his other 14 outs came on ground balls.

 

Carl Edwards Jr. and Pedro Strop both allowed two baserunners apiece but pitched out of jams while each throwing an inning, and Justin Grimm had a perfect ninth.

 

The Padres had five hits but left eight runners stranded.

 

Addison Russell hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 2-0. Pinch-hitter Albert Almora Jr. added an RBI double in the eighth.

 

Chacin struck out six batters in six innings, allowing two runs and five hits. Catcher Luis Torrens had two hits.

 

The teams will meet for the series finale Wednesday as Cubs RHP Eddie Butler (3-2, 4.41) faces Padres RHP Miguel Diaz (1-1, 7.36).

 

>>Cardinals Bats Come Alive in 11th for Win Over Phillies

 

Tommy Pham hit a two-run homer as part of a seven-run 11th inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 on Tuesday night.

 

Stephen Piscotty had a two-run double off Casey Fien after Edubray Ramos (0-5) started the inning with two walks. Yadier Molina and Pham followed with homers as the Cardinals had their biggest output of the season in an inning.

 

Fien gave up both homers and then a single to Chad Huffman and double to Carpenter before the pitcher was removed. Philadelphia has now lost 12 of its last 13 games.

 

Mike Leake started the game for St. Louis and allowed one run and three hits in six innings.

 

Jeremy Hellickson gave up six hits and a run in seven innings. His only blemish was a solo homer for Jedd Gyorko in the second inning.

 

Both bullpens pitched well until the Phillies' imploded in the 11th inning. Kevin Siegrist (1-1) pitched one inning in relief for St. Louis to earn the win. The Cardinals relievers pitched five shutout innings allowing just four singles.

 

Philadelphia scored its lone run of the game on a Maikel Franco RBI single after Leake walked the first two batters in the fourth inning.

 

The Cardinals improved to 4-0 against the Phillies this month. St. Louis is 3-12 against everyone else in June.

 

Michael Wacha (3-3, 4.78) had six quality starts in his first seven outings, but has had only one in his last five starts - it came against the Phillies.

 

Nick Pivetta (1-3, 4.46) is coming off the best start of his young career. He threw seven shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox and struck out nine in what was a no decision.

 

>>Twins Outslug White Sox

 

Kennys Vargas hit a 483-foot drive and Miguel Sano added another long homer to help the Minnesota Twins bounce back from a demoralizing sweep by beating the Chicago White Sox 9-7 on Tuesday night.

 

The homers helped the Twins overcome a rough outing from Ervin Santana (9-4), who gave up six runs on 10 hits and struck out six in five innings. Brandon Kintzler pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 21 tries.

 

Jose Abreu went 4 for 5 with a home run and two doubles for the White Sox, and Avisail Garcia had a homer and two RBIs. He leads the American League with a .339 batting average.

 

Derek Holland (5-7) allowed seven runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings for Chicago.

 

Sano got things started for the Twins with a two-run shot in the first inning, and Vargas' drive landed in the second deck in left-center to highlight a five-run third that put Minnesota up 7-4. Only Yankees rookie Aaron Judge (495 feet) and Milwaukee's Keon Broxton (489 feet) have hit longer home runs this season, according to MLB's Statcast.

 

The White Sox pulled to 8-7 on Abreu's solo homer in the sixth, but Garcia made two errors in right field in the eighth to give the Twins a little cushion.

 

The White Sox left 14 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the sixth inning and two in the seventh and eighth.

 

David Holmberg (1-0, 2.63 ERA) pitches the second game of the series. He is 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA in four starts this season.

 

Jose Berrios (6-1, 2.74) gets the ball for Minnesota. The 22-year-old Berrios has gone at least six innings in five of his seven starts and is coming off of a career-high eight innings in a win over Seattle last week.