>>Cubs Blast Cardinals
Addison Russell hit a three-run double in the first inning as the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-2. Chicago can wrap up the division with a win Tuesday against the Cardinals or a loss by Milwaukee against Cincinnati.
The loss eliminated St. Louis from NL Central contention and dimmed the Cardinals' wild-card hopes. Colorado entered Monday leading Milwaukee by two games and St. Louis by 2 1/2. The Brewers were idle Monday, and Miami played at Colorado.
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was taken out of the game in the seventh inning after he took two foul balls off his catcher's mask. Carson Kelly took over for Molina. St. Louis announced he is in concussion protocol.
Jon Lester (12-8) pitched six innings, allowing five hits and a run for the Cubs. Chicago is 11-2 in its last 13 games and 19-8 in its last 27.
Javier Baez hit a three-run homer in the third inning, but left the game shortly after fouling a pitch off his left leg in the eighth inning. Not until after hitting a single, though.
Kris Bryant hit a homer and added two singles for Chicago.
Weaver gave up eight runs over three innings. Chicago stopped his streak of winning seven consecutive starts, the longest by any Cardinals rookie since Ted Wilks in 1944.
With two outs in the first, Russell hit a double to right, scoring Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist. Jason Heyward followed Russell with a run-scoring double.
Bryant hit his 29th homer of the season in the second with two outs for a 5-0 Cubs lead.
Jedd Gyorko got a run back for the Cardinals in the second with a one-out home run, the first of his three hits, into left field to cut the lead to 5-1.
Baez hit his first homer since Sept. 13 with two outs, driving in Zobrist and Heyward in the third, giving Chicago an 8-1 advantage.
St. Louis rookie Luke Voit hit a pinch-hit home run in the seventh.
The Cubs added two runs in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Jake Arrieta (14-9, 3.43) will make his second start since returning from his right hamstring injury. He is 8-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 16 career starts against the Cardinals.
Carlos Martinez (12-11, 3.63) is 1-1 in four starts this season against the Cubs with a 4.26 ERA.
>>White Sox Double Up Angels
James Shields tossed seven strong innings, Nicky Delmonico drove in a pair of runs and the Chicago White Sox beat Los Angeles 4-2 on Monday night.
With six games remaining, the Angels trail Minnesota by five games for the second AL wild card. They would be eliminated with a loss Tuesday, or a win by the Twins.
Mike Trout hit his 30th homer for Los Angeles. Trout joins Alex Rodriguez, Jimmie Foxx, Jose Canseco and Joe DiMaggio as the only players in AL history to reach 30 homers four times before their age-26 season.
Matt Davidson and Adam Engel each had an RBI for Chicago, which has won four of five.
Shields (5-7) allowed two runs on four hits. The 35-year-old has won three of his last four starts.
Aaron Bummer and Gregory Infante combined for a scoreless eighth, and Juan Minaya got the final three outs for his seventh save in eight chances.
Ricky Nolasco (6-15) allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits in five-plus innings.
Delmonico had a two-run double with two out in the first. Both runs were unearned because of a throwing error by shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
Los Angeles got a run back in the second on Martin Maldonado's RBI single.
The White Sox took a 3-1 lead in third. Avisail Garcia led off with a triple and Davidson followed with a sacrifice fly.
Trout hit a solo shot in the fifth.
Chicago reclaimed a two-run lead in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Engel.
Chris Volstad (1-0, 1.08 ERA) makes his first start with the White Sox - and first in the majors since 2012 - on Tuesday night in the second game of the series. RHP Parker Birdwell (8-3, 3.86) goes for the Angels. He is 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA on the road.
