The Clinton Lady Maroons fell to Cerro Gordo in three sets, 25-27, 25-21, and 21-25 Monday night in high school girls volleyball action at Cerro Gordo High School.

Chloe Griffin led the Lady Maroons with a team-high 8 eight kills and 13 digs. Conley Schick led the Lady Maroons with 14 digs, Katie Wherry had four aces and Marlee Fatheree added 12 digs and three aces.

The Lady Maroons drop to 0-3 overall and travel to El Paso-Gridley this afternoon.

Jon Lester allowed one hit while pitching into the seventh inning, Paul Goldschmidt homered and the St. Louis Cardinals inched closer to the slumping Cincinnati Reds in the NL wild-card race with a 3-1 win Monday night.

The Cardinals closed within 2 1/2 games of Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot. San Diego is in between them.

Lester (5-6), in his sixth start for St. Louis since being acquired from Washington on July 30, retired 16 consecutive batters after giving up his only hit, Farmer's second-inning leadoff homer.

The veteran left-hander walked two and struck out five in 6 1/3 innings, earning his fourth straight win after losing his first two starts with the Cardinals.

T.J. McFarland allowed a hit in 1 1/3 innings and Luis Garcia got the last out of the eighth before Giovanny Gallegos pitched the ninth for his third save.

The Cardinals needed just two batters to grab a 2-0 lead. Luis Castillo (7-14) walked Tommy Edman, the reigning NL Player of the Week, to lead off the game. Goldschmidt followed with an opposite-field homer to right, his 22nd of the season and 11th in 41 career games at Great American Ball Park.

St. Louis added a run in the sixth when Carlson doubled and later scored on Tyler O'Neill's dribbler up the third baseline.

Farmer's homer was his 12th of the season, adding to his single-season career-high. He snapped a 0-for-14 slump.

Castillo lasted six innings, giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. He has lost four of his last five starts after three straight wins.

Miles Mikolas (0-1) is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season and second since returning from his second stint on the injured list (right forearm).

Sonny Gray (6-6) has strung together a season-high 13 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two starts.

Luis Robert homered twice, Dylan Cease tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts and the Chicago White Sox pounded the Chicago Cubs 13-1 on Sunday.

Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal and Brian Goodwin also connected for the White Sox, who went 5-1 against the Cubs this year. Robert, Jimenez and Goodwin each drove in three runs.

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu hit a two-run double in a seven-run fifth to get to 101 RBIs with 29 games left. The reigning AL MVP drove in a career-high 123 runs in 2019.

Jimenez and Cease, who were acquired from the Cubs as part of a five-player trade for left-hander Jose Quintana on July 13, 2017, continued to haunt their former organization.

After Abreu's two-out double over the head of Rafael Ortega in center field, Jimenez chased Kyle Hendricks (14-6) with a three-run homer to right that lifted the White Sox to an 8-1 lead.

Jimenez is batting .372 (16 for 43) with six homers and 14 RBIs in 13 games against the Cubs.

Cease (11-6) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. The right-hander posted a 4-0 record and a 2.68 ERA in six starts in August.

Cease is 2-0 with 21 strikeouts in his last two starts against the Cubs.

Hendricks allowed a career-high nine runs against Milwaukee on Aug. 12.

Frank Schwindel homered for the Cubs in the fourth. He has hit safely in 21 of 26 games since joining the team on July 30.

Cubs first baseman Alfonso Rivas made his major league debut, hitting a single and double in his first two at-bats.

Robert is batting .382 with five homers in 15 games since returning from the injured list Aug. 9.

Goodwin hit an opposite-field drive to left for a two-run homer in the second. Grandal went deep in the fifth, connecting for his third homer in as many games since returning from the IL Friday.

The Sox scored 30 runs in the three-game series despite getting blanked Saturday by Alec Mills and Codi Heuer.

Zach Davies (6-10, 5.00 ERA) starts Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game series at Minnesota.

White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (9-9, 3.68 ERA) starts Tuesday night at home against Pittsburgh. Giolito threw a no-hitter against the Pirates on Aug. 25, 2020.

Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a three-run homer off Alex Reyes in the ninth inning, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Bryan Reynolds started the game-ending rally with a leadoff walk. After Colin Moran struck out swinging, Jacob Stallings walked and Tsutsugo drove Reyes' next pitch deep to right.

Reyes (5-7) has allowed at least one run in four of his last six appearances.

Chris Stratton (5-0) got the win, striking out the side in the top half of the inning.

Stratton and fellow relievers Chad Kuhl and David Bednar combined to allow one hit over four innings.

Pittsburgh earned a split of the four-game series, bouncing back from a 13-0 loss Saturday.

St. Louis remains 3 1/2 games back of Cincinnati for the second NL wild card. The Reds lost 2-1 to the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

The game was tied at 1 before Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer for St. Louis in the fifth, sending a 418-foot drive into the seats in right-center. Edman's ninth homer of the season gave him nine RBIs in his past four games.

Edman also doubled and scored on Tyler O'Neill's first major league triple in the third.

The Pirates opened the fourth with three consecutive singles, and Tsutsugo got his team on the board with a sacrifice fly.

Pittsburgh right-hander Wil Crowe, who allowed five hits in five innings, had left for the clubhouse by the time Tsutsugo homered.

Kwang Hyun Kim pitched four innings of one-run ball for St. Louis in his return to the rotation. Kim, who made his last appearance out of the bullpen, got the start after Jack Flaherty was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.

Jon Lester (4-6, 5.27 ERA) will take the mound Monday for the first of a three-game series at Cincinnati. After allowing 11 runs in his first two starts for St. Louis, the 37-year-old has surrendered six runs in three starts since.

Kurt Busch has a multi-year deal with 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by basketball great Michael Jordan and fellow driver Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin released more details Saturday about the new partnership and said he is in the final stages of securing a charter for Busch’s No. 45 Toyota in 2022. Charters guarantee teams 36 spots in each week’s 40-car field. Without one, Busch would have to qualify for every race.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, partnered with Jordan this year to build a team around Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black driver. It was an easy startup because Wallace brings millions in sponsorship. Monster Energy, which sponsors Busch’s No. 1 Chevrolet at Chip Ganassi Racing, will move with Busch to 23XI next year.

Jordan wore No. 45 when he returned to the NBA in 1995 following his first retirement. Wallace drives the No. 23, which is most associated with Jordan’s career.

In NASCAR, the No. 45 has long been associated with the Petty family. It was piloted by both Kyle Petty and his son, Adam, who was killed at age 19 in a 2000 crash. 23XI reached out to Kyle Petty for his approval to get the car number back on track.

Busch will become just the second to drive for each of NASCAR’s last four manufacturers: Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota. Kasey Kahne also accomplished the journeyman feat.

>>Blaney Outlasts Chaos to Win at Daytona

Ryan Blaney won for the second consecutive week when the race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway ended under caution in overtime with a typical fiery finish.

Tyler Reddick took the 16th and final spot in the playoffs with a seventh-place finish. Reddick needed only to beat Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon and hope for a repeat winner to earn his first playoff berth.

Reddick and Dillon were both in contention to make a desperate last gasp push for the win in the two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. But Blaney, who was second on the restart, cleared traffic with a push from Corey LaJoie and was well ahead of the pack when a crash ended the race.

With the putter in his hand and ice in his veins, Patrick Cantlay delivered one clutch putt after another to survive the final three holes of regulation and six tense holes of a sudden-death playoff, finally winning with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.

He closed out his 6-under 66 with an 8-foot par putt on the 16th, an 8-foot bogey putt on the 17th after a tee shot into the water, and a 20-foot birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. Twice on the 18th in the playoff, where Bryson DeChambeau had a 30-yard advantage off the tee, Cantlay made par putts from 6 feet and 7 feet.

DeChambeau, who also closed with a 66, can pick just as many that cost him. His week featured a missed 6-footer on the 18th for a chance at 59 on Friday. And in the final round, he missed a 12-foot birdie to win in regulation, three more birdie putts in the playoff, and then his final putt to send the great theater into another amazing scene.

Cantlay received two trophies — one from the the BMW Championship, the other from the century-old Western Golf Association — and plenty of other perks for his PGA Tour-leading third victory of the season and fifth overall.

He moved to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup, news he met by saying, “I know.” That means Cantlay goes to the Tour Championship next week with a two-shot lead over Tony Finau in the FedEx Cup finale with $15 million to the winner.

And he clinched the sixth and final automatic spot for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Steve Stricker has six captain’s picks, and there was no way he was going to leave “Patty Ice” off the team regardless of the outcome.

As heard on WHOW, Michael Thomas turned his second interception Saturday into a 75-yard touchdown and Indiana State opened the season with a 26-21 victory over Eastern Illinois.

Thomas, who also had a team-leading 10 tackles, grabbed a deflected pass and raced down the left sideline early in the fourth quarter for a 24-14 lead.

Otto Kuhns’ scored on a fourth-and-1 sneak with 2:56 remaining to cut the Sycamores’ lead to three. The Panthers got the ball back at their 7 after a 49-yard punt but an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone resulted in a safety at game’s end.

Backup Sycamores quarterback Michael Haubert extended a 10-7 halftime lead when he weaved his way 44 yards in the third quarter. EIU answered on its next possession on Tyler Hamilton’s 4-yard score, set up after Kuhns connected with Demetrius Garrett for a 61-yard pass to the 11.

Indiana State got off to a fast start in its first game since the end of the 2019 season, scoring on Peterson Kerlegrand’s 3-yard run on the Sycamores’ opening drive. Dante Hendrix led off the drive with a reception, his 22nd consecutive game with a catch to set a school record, passing Robert Tonyan’s previous mark (2015-16).

Alan Selzer kicked a 48-yard field goal before the Panthers closed to 10-7 on Harrison Bey-Buie’s 2-yard score on a drive spurred by Arron Foulkes’ 26-yard diving reception and a pass interference call in the end zone.

EIU, which played six games in the spring, outgained Indiana State 378-245 and had eight more first downs. But the Sycamores had Thomas’ two picks plus a fumble recovery along with five sacks.

Tune in Saturday, September 4, as Eastern Illinois travels to South Carolina. Kickoff is set for 6pm Central with the pregame starting at 5:30. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW mobile app, and on Amazon Alexa.

Under a new coach, with fans packed into the stands for the first time since 2019 and its backup quarterback at the helm, Illinois beat Nebraska 30-22 on Saturday to kick off the 2021 college football season.

The Big Ten conference win didn’t come without a price for the Illini.

Illinois starting quarterback Brandon Peters left the game holding his left (non-throwing) shoulder after being sacked hard near the end of the first quarter. He was 3-of-4 passing for 35 yards. He did not return and was replaced by Artur Sitkowski, a sophomore transfer from Rutgers.

Peters’ status wasn’t clear following Saturday’s game.

Sitkowski engineered several long-scoring drives using a balanced attack under Bielema’s new system, which he worked to perfection during a successful tenure at Wisconsin.

Sitkowski was 12 of 15 passing for 124 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The Monticello Sages used big plays to score 43 straight points and overcome a slow start to beat St. Joseph-Ogden 43-8 in Illini Prairie Conference high school football Friday night in the season opener of the high school football season.

Senior quarterback Joey Sprinkle started slow, throwing two interceptions in his first seven pass attempts but a swing pass to Jacob Tackett turned into an 82-yard score by the standout sprinter and Monticello rolled from there.

Sprinkle connected with senior wideout Tristan Foran for 44 yards on the next possession right before halftime to put the Sages up 15-8.

A shovel pass that Tackett broke for a 71-yard run started the Monticello second half scoring and then Sprinkle connected again with Foran to end the third quarter on a 64-yard strike. 

Tackett wasn’t done, and broke off a 58-yard run on a draw. 

Junior quarterback Drew Shephard scored late on a keeper to conclude the scoring for the Sages.

Springle finished 8-for-16 for 307 yards, four touchdowns and two picks. Tackett totalled 227 total yards, 64 on the ground and 173 receiving for three total touchdowns. Tackett was the Piatt/DeWitt ServPro Player of the Game.

Foran finished with 149 yards receiving and two touchdowns on five receptions. 

At 1-0, the Sages host IVC next Friday night. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Illini Prairie:

Prairie Central 41, Tolono Unity 28, F

Monticello 43, St. Joseph-Ogden 8, F

Paxton-Buckley-Loda 28, Illinois Valley Central 8, F

Pontiac 20, Bloomington Central Catholic 46, F

Rantoul 26, Olympia 28,F, OT

Big Twelve:

Champaign Centennial 65, Urbana 0, F

Champaign Central 7, Danville 49, F

Normal Community 35, Bloomington 0, F

Peoria 62, Peoria Richwoods 27, F

Central State Eight:

Decatur Eisenhower 14, Springfield Southeast 19, F

Normal U-High 9, Decatur MacArthur 50, F

Rochester 56, Jacksonville 21, F

Springfield 39, Chatham-Glenwood 36, F

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 61, Springfield Lanphier 7, F

Sangamo:

Auburn 58, Maroa-Forsyth 10, F

Non-Conference:

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 0, Tri-Valley 43, F

Limestone 13, Mt. Zion 44, F

West Central 44, Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 42, F

Cerro Gordo-Bement 6, Harrisburg 34, F

East Peoria 12, Streator 14, F

Effingham 7, Decatur St. Teresa 42, F

El Paso-Gridley 7, Meridian 16, F

Dee-Mack 20, Ridgeview 12, F

Central A&M 41, LeRoy 0, F

Mt. Vernon 0, Taylorville 13, F

Oakland Tri-County 26, Heyworth 18, F, OT

O'Fallon 34, Normal West 7, F

Pekin 21, Rock Island 0, F

Peoria Manual 20, Peotone 24, F

Peoria Notre Dame 15, Metamora 28, F

Shelbyville 27, Toledo-Cumberland 51, F

Tremont 48, Sangamon Valley 6, F

Tuscola 20, Arcola 7, F

Warrensburg-Latham 65, Argenta-Oreana 0, F

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to the Lincoln Railsplitters by a score of 58-6 on Friday night in non-conference action. The Maroons were led by Serv-Pro Player of the Game Aiden Schlesinger who had 4 catches for 49 yards. Tristin Potts had 15 carries for 47 yards.

Lincoln was led by Kion Carson who had 5 carries for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns.

With the loss, the Maroons fall to 0-1 on the season. Lincoln improves to 1-0.

Tune in next Friday night, September 3, as the Maroons host the Argenta-Oreana Bombers to start CIC conference action. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW mobile app, and on Amazon Alexa.

Monticello leads 38-0 after the third quarter.

Clinton High School football opens a new era tonight when the Maroons travel to Lincoln for non-conference week 1 high school football action.

Coach Ron Bass begins his tenure as the Maroons headman and is excited to get things kicked off. He says the culture of the program is coming around is pleased with the buy-in he's getting from the student-athletes.

Coach Bass says anticipate his team to do a little bit of everything. He says they will do some power-run as well as spread offense. Coming from Tri-Valley as the defensive coordinator for several years, he will be calling the defense. 

As it relates to Lincoln, Coach Bass calls the Railsplitters of Lincoln a big and athletic team that will do a lot of power runs.

Tonight's game from Lincoln kicks off at 7 pm and can be heard on all of WHOW's platforms, on the radio dial at 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM, as well as at dewittdailynews.com, the WHOW mobile app and at Amazon Alexa.

The third-ranked Monticello Sages football team will open the 2021 campaign on the road taking on St. Joe-Ogden in week 1 Illini Prairie Conference High School football action.

Monticello will be once again driven by a high powered offense with playmakers back from last year's pandemic shortened spring season where the development of junior quarterback Joey Sprinkle was nothing short of impressive. Coach Cully Welter gives his seniors high marks for his leadership this summer and looks forward to what he'll be able to accomplish this year.

Last year's defense made the Sages the surprise of the spring season, leading to upsets over state-ranked opponents like Prairie Central, Bloomington Central Catholic and Olympia. Coach Welter says they're going to be relying on an almost entirely new cast and crew.

Tonight's game will be an emotional one for the Spartans as they lost one of the most successful coaches in the history of high school football in Illinois, Coach Dick Duvall. Coach Welter indicates it was always a pleasure to Coach against Duvall but when he came to Monticello to teach after his retirement, he got to know the legendary coach even better.

Tonight's matchup from St. Joe-Ogden kicks at 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

>>High School Football Week 1 Matchups

Illini Prairie

Prairie Central at Tolono Unity

Monticello at St. Joseph-Ogden

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Illinois Valley Central

Pontiac at Bloomington Central Catholic

Rantoul at Olympia

8-Man Football 

Decatur LSA at South Fork (Sat.)

Milford at Champaign St. Thomas More (Sat.)

Big Twelve

Champaign Centennial at Urbana

Champaign Central at Danville

Normal Community at Bloomington 

Peoria at Peoria Richwoods

Central State Eight

Decatur Eisenhower at Springfield Southeast

Normal U-High at Decatur MacArthur

Rochester at Jacksonville

Springfield at Chatham-Glenwood

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Springfield Lanphier

Sangamo

Auburn at Maroa-Forsyth

Non-Conference action tonight:

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Tri-Valley

Limestone at Mt. Zion

West Central vs. Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland

Carlinville at G.C.M.S. (Sat.)

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Harrisburg

Dunlap at Galesburg

East Peoria at Streator

Effingham at Decatur St. Teresa

El Paso-Gridley at Meridian

Blue Ridge at Kirkland-Hiawatha

LaSalle-Peru at Morton

Dee-Mack vs. Ridgeview

Central A & M at LeRoy

Mt. Vernon at Taylorville

Oakland Tri-County at Heyworth

O'Fallon at Normal West

Pekin at Rock Island

Peoria Manual at Peotone

Peoria Notre Dame at Metamora

Shelbyville at Toledo-Cumberland

Tremont at Sangamon Valley

Tuscola at Arcola

Warrensburg-Latham at Argenta-Oreana

Eastern Illinois gets an early start to the 2021 season as the Panthers travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday night to face Indiana State in a Week Zero contest.   

The game is one of two FCS Week Zero contests and one of seven total overall Week Zero games.   

For Indiana State it will be the Sycamores first game in 644 days as they opted out of the 2020-21 season.  For EIU it will continue a span of 17 games in nine months as EIU played six games in the spring of 2021.  

Jason Johnson was named a preseason first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection after earning first-team All-OVC honors last season at linebacker.  The third-year player led the OVC in tackles per game last season finishing the year with 66 tackles.  His 11 tackles per game ranked ninth in the FCS.  Johnson ended the season with a streak of four straight games with double-figure tackles including 15 against Tennessee Tech.

Matt Judd was named a preseason first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection at kick returner.  Last season he earned second-team honors at the position leading the OVC in kick return average at 24.8 yards per return.   Judd had a long return on the season of 53 yards at UT Martin. Judd also sees time at wide receiver hauling in eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in six games last season. 

The August 28 kickoff date marks the earliest calendar date EIU has ever opened a football season.

Hear Saturday's action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW with pregame at 4:30 pm and kick-off at 5 pm. 

For an opener matching teams that have mostly finished at or near the bottom of the Big Ten West in recent years, Saturday’s game between Nebraska and Illinois has major implications for both programs.

In Illinois’ case, it marks Bret Bielema’s return to the college ranks and the Big Ten. For Nebraska, it could be a watershed game as pressure mounts on fourth-year coach Scott Frost.

Bielema won two Big Ten titles and a share of a third in seven years at Wisconsin, then had a much less successful five-year run at Arkansas. He worked in the NFL three seasons before Illinois hired him in December to replace the fired Lovie Smith.

Frost is 12-20 in three seasons since his celebrated return to his home state and alma mater, which he quarterbacked to a national championship in 1997. The Cornhuskers have finished no higher than fifth in the West under Frost, and they enter this season under the cloud of an NCAA investigation into alleged improper on-field coaching by a staff member who had been hired as an analyst.

Frost said his team is “laser-focused” for the Illini, who beat the Huskers 41-23 in Lincoln last year. Nebraska committed five turnovers in that game.

Brandon Peters remains the Illinois starter at quarterback and will be backed up by Rutgers transfer Artur Sitkowski.

Peters has thrown for 21 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 16 games over two seasons since he transferred from Michigan. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Peters also has broken six runs of at least 20 yards.

Illinois returns 82% of its total starts on offense and 86% on defense, and the roster includes 42 seniors. Among them are a Power Five-high 22 super seniors, players who came back to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of COVID-19.

The game marks the return of fans to Big Ten stadiums. No fans were allowed during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Illinois hasn’t sold out 60,670-seat Memorial Stadium since the Sept. 10, 2016 game against North Carolina.

Monticello sports fans will be excited to hear they can get a repeat broadcast of Sages sports on Saturday mornings starting August 28 on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

The broadcasts will be replayed starting a noon every Saturday, starting this Saturday. During the football season, hear the previous Friday's football broadcast on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com. During the basketball and baseball/softball seasons, WEZC will replay a "best of" broadcast from that week's games.

The repeat broadcasts will also be aired at dewittdailynews.com by clicking the "WEZC Listen Live" icon. 

Be sure to tune in all year for live coverage of Monticello sports on 95.9 FM WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com. The high school football season kicks off this Friday night when the Sages travel to St. Joseph-Ogden for Illini Prairie action. 

Clinton sports fans have enjoyed a replay of Friday night football games as well as "best of" basketball and baseball/softball broadcasts throughout the year on Saturdays on WHOW and at dewittdailynews.com. Regional Radio is excited to bring this same offering to the Monticello community and fans of Sages sports.

Again, repeat broadcasts of Monticello sports begin this Saturday, August 28 at noon and can be heard every Saturday during the calendar year.

The Monticello Sages start the season ranked third in the state in the Class 3A IHSA High School football rankings.

Tolono Unity checks in tied for fifth with Farmington in 3A. Wilmington and Williamsville are one and two respectively. The Illini Prairie Conference was also represented in the rankings as PBL and Prairie Central received votes but did not crack the top-10.

Decatur St. Teresa is the top team in the 2A rankings. Maroa-Forsyth checks in at No. 4 while Tri-Valley is ranked ninth.

In Class 1A, Central A&M is the top-ranked team with GCMS coming in third to start the season and Arcola is fifth. Tuscola received votes in 1A but did not crack the top-10.

In 4A, Springfield Sacred-Heart Griffin is No.2, Peoria Notre Dame is ninth and Mt. Zion and Effingham tied for tenth in the 4A preseason rankings. 

In 5A, East St. Louis is No. 1, followed by Rochester and Peoria at 2-3, respectively. Decatur MacArthur starts the season in the top-10 tied at No. 7 with Marion, who received a first-place vote. 

Washington begins the season No. 3 in 6A and Springfield High is No. 10. Cary-Grove is the unanimous No. 1 in 6A.

Chicago St. Rita is No. 1 in 7A and Gurnee Warren is No. 1 in 8A.

As heard on WHOW, Alejandro Kirk broke a tie with an RBI single in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 Wednesday night.

After Blue Jays starter Robbie Ray matched his career-high by striking out 14 over seven innings, Tim Mayza (4-1) worked a perfect eighth and Jordan Romano finished for his 13th save in 14 chances.

AL Central-leading Chicago lost for the fourth time in five games.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson went 0 for 4 in his return after missing four games because of tightness in both hamstrings.

Chicago opened the scoring in the third when Leury Garcia led off with a single, stole second and third, and scored on a two-out hit by Moncada.

The Blue Jays tied it in the fourth on Corey Dickerson's two-out RBI triple.

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Giolito has struck out 175 this season, fourth-most in the AL.

Blue Jays LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (12-6, 3.54) starts against Rodon on Thursday. 

Patrick Wisdom cracked a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Wisdom launched a 1-1 slider from Austin Gomber over the left-field bleachers and onto Waveland Avenue for his 21st home run. He entered the year with four homers in 48 games over three seasons with the Cardinals, Rangers and Cubs.

David Bote and Austin Romine also homered for Chicago, which won its second straight at Wrigley Field after a team-record 13-game home losing streak.

Overall, Chicago is 4-3 following a 12-game skid.

C.J. Cron hit his team-leading 22nd homer for the Rockies, who have lost three straight following a five-game winning streak.

Davies allowed two runs on three hits and struck out six in 4 2/3 innings. The wiry right-hander went 0-4 with an 8.25 ERA in his previous five starts.

Codi Heuer (5-2) got the next four outs for his first win as a Cub. Adam Morgan pitched a perfect seventh for his first save and second of his career.

Gomber (9-8) allowed five runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. The lefty struck out eight and walked one.

Ryan McMahon lofted a two-run homer in the 10th inning, Brendan Rodgers followed with a two-run double that gave him five RBIs for the game and the Colorado Rockies rallied to beat the Chicago Cubs 13-10 on Wednesday night and split a doubleheader that featured almost as many innings as a pre-pandemic twinbill.

The Cubs won the opener 5-2 in a tidy 2 hours, 9 minutes, thanks to Patrick Wisdom's tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning.

The nightcap lasted exactly twice as long - 4:18 - as the teams combined to play 17 innings. Major League Baseball shortened doubleheader games to seven innings last year to help teams get through COVID-19-related postponements and kept the rule in place this season.

Connor Joe hit his first career grand slam in the fourth inning to put Colorado ahead 6-5. The Rockies led 8-5 after six innings before the Cubs rallied.

Ian Happ's three-run homer off closer Daniel Bard in the seventh tied the second game at 8. Bard blew his eighth save in 28 chances.

Pinch-hitter Dom Nunez singled in automatic runner Garrett Hampson in the eighth, giving Colorado a 9-8 lead.

But shortstop Trevor Story threw Matt Duffy's grounder over first base with two outs in the eighth, allowing Wisdom to score and tie it at 9. Neither team could push across the automatic runner in the ninth before Colorado exploded in the 10th.

Rockies Starter German Marquez allowed five runs on seven hits in three innings. The All-Star righty has a 10.13 ERA over 13 1/3 innings in his last three starts.

Cubs starter Justin Steele yielded four runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings in his third start since being recalled from the minors on Aug. 10.

Keegan Thompson (3-3, 2.42) takes the mound when the Cubs travel across town to start a three-game series with the White Sox on Friday.

Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and scored the game-ending run on Lars Nootbaar's single in the 10th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Wednesday.

Goldschmidt was intentionally walked to open the 10th and executed a one-out double steal with automatic runner Tommy Edman. Nolan Arenado was intentionally walked.

After a fielder's choice for the second out, Nootbaar lined a single to right field off Michael Fulmer (5-6) and St. Louis improved to 11-5 in extra innings.

It was the first walk-off hit in Nootbaar's big league career.

The Cardinals led 2-1 entering the ninth. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-out pinch double to right field off St. Louis closer Alex Reyes. Harold Castro, the third Tigers pinch hitter of the inning, drove in Cabrera with a soft single to center, giving Reyes his third blown save in 31 chances.

Cardinals starter Jon Lester allowed one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

T.J. McFarland (3-0) pitched a scoreless 10th and has not allowed a run in 18 2/3 innings over 12 August appearances.

Tarik Skubal gave up Goldschmidt's homers in the first and third innings but held the Cardinals to one additional hit and had 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Miles Mikolas (1-0, 1.00) will make his third start of the season Thursday night at Pittsburgh to open a seven-game trip. The Pirates counter with Mitch Keller (4-10, 6.35), who is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in his career against St. Louis.

The Tri-Valley Lady Vikings swept the Clinton Lady Maroons in two sets, 25-15 and 25-22 Tuesday night in high school girl's volleyball from Downs. 

Chloe Griffin led the Lady Maroons with eight assists and two aces. 

The Lady Maroons drop to 0-1 on the season and travel to Flanagan-Cornell Thursday.

Miguel Cabrera and Robbie Grossman hit back-to-back home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 interleague victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Two days after hitting his 500th homer, Cabrera connected on No. 501. He crushed a 79-mph slider by starter Jack Flaherty into Big Mac Land, which is the name of the upper left field deck, in the third inning. At 423 feet, it was his second-longest home run this season.

The Cardinals immediately removed Flaherty (9-2) with what the team said was right shoulder tightness. In two innings, Flaherty allowed four runs on four hits with three walks on 46 pitches. He velocity dropped dramatically after the first inning.

Casey Mize (7-6) pitched five scoreless innings. He checked the Cardinals on three hits.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the eighth off Erasmo Ramirez. Harrison Bader, who led off with a triple, scored on a ground out. Nolan Arenado hit a two-run, two-out double off Fulmer, who then struck out Yadier Molina to end the inning.

Tarik Skubal (8-11, 4.02) went 6 2/3 innings in his last start, giving up six hits, zero walks and two earned runs while striking in a loss in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels.

Jon Lester (4-6, 6.02 ) will make his 14th career start against the Tigers and first with the Cardinals. He pitched 4 1/3 innings in his last start, allowing six hits and three walks for four earned runs in a no decision against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Dylan Cease pitched seven effective innings, Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer and the Chicago White Sox stopped a three-game slide by topping the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Cease (10-6) retired his first 11 batters, fanning six, before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined a single to right in the fourth. Cease allowed one run and four hits, matching his season high in innings.

Cease has 177 strikeouts, third-most in the AL.

Corey Dickerson spoiled Cease's shutout bid with a one-out homer in the seventh, his fifth.

Michael Kopech replaced Cease, but quickly departed after surrendering consecutive singles with one out in the eighth. Liam Hendriks walked Marcus Semien to load the bases, then got Guerrero to ground into a double play.

Hendriks gave up an RBI single in the ninth, but he struck out Josh Palacios and got Santiago Espinal to bounce out for his 29th save in 35 chances.

Abreu went 3 for 5 with four RBIs, raising his major league-leading total to 96.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson rested for the fourth straight game because of lingering tightness in both hamstrings, but felt good after running before the game. Anderson could be back in the lineup Wednesday, Manager Tony La Russa said.

Blue Jays LHP Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.79 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (9-9, 3.77 ERA) on Wednesday night. Ray ranked second in the AL with 178 strikeouts entering play Tuesday, while Giolito was fourth with 169.

As heard on WHOW, pinch-runner Breyvic Valera scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Monday night.

Valera ran for Reese McGuire after the Blue Jays catcher singled off Craig Kimbrel (2-4) to begin the inning. Valera took second on a wild third strike to Bo Bichette, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored when Kimbrel uncorked another wild pitch, this time to Teoscar Hernandez.

Tim Mayza (3-1) pitched a perfect eighth inning to earn the win, and Jordan Romano finished for his 12th save in 13 chances.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson sat for the third straight game because of soreness in his legs. Anderson could return Tuesday, manager Tony LaRussa said.

Toronto spoiled a strong outing by Chicago's Lance Lynn and handed the White Sox their fourth loss in five games.

Lynn was left frustrated after giving up a game-tying hit to Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 3-0 pitch with two outs and a runner at second in the sixth, right after the White Sox had opened the scoring.

Lynn allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, but didn't figure in the decision for the fifth consecutive start. The right-hander has not won since a road victory at Milwaukee on July 25.

Lynn lowered his ERA to 2.20 and reached the innings threshold he needed to qualify as the AL leader in that category.

The White Sox opened the scoring with three straight singles off Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah in the sixth, including an RBI hit by outfielder Andrew Vaughn.

Manoah allowed one run and five hits in six innings.

Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios (8-6, 3.52) faces White Sox RHP Dylan Cease (9-6, 4.06) on Tuesday night. Berrios is 0-1 with a 5.28 ERA in his last three starts. He went 0-2 in three 2021 starts against the White Sox while with Minnesota.

Rafael Ortega hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Chicago Cubs ended their longest home losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Pinch-hitter Jason Heyward started the ninth with a single, and Ortega came up an out later and hit the game's only homer to right as the Cubs scored five runs in the final two innings to snap a 13-game losing streak at Wrigley Field, the longest in franchise history.

Sam Hilliard singled home a pair to cap a three-run first for the Rockies, who later got a sacrifice fly from Connor Joe. C.J. Cron had three hits for Colorado, which dropped its second straight after a five-game winning streak.

Manuel Rodriguez (2-2) earned the victory after pitching the ninth for Chicago.

The Cubs also loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but Antonio Senzatela gave up just a run after getting David Bote to ground into a double play. Hermosillo's pop-up ended the inning.

Kyle Hendricks, seeking an MLB-best 15th win, gave up the first four Colorado runs on nine hits while striking out six with no walks.

Senzatela is still looking for his first victory since June 2 after allowing five hits and an earned run while striking out six in the first six innings.

Colorado righthander German Marquez (11-9, 3.80) faces lefty Justin Steele (3-2, 3.22) on Tuesday night.

As heard on WHOW, backup catcher Francisco Mejia had a three-run double, five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a seven-hitter, and the Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 9-0 on Sunday in a matchup of AL division leaders.

Austin Meadows had three RBIs for Tampa Bay, which took the final two games of the series after the White Sox won the opener 7-5 in 11 innings. The Rays outscored Chicago 17-4 in the two wins.

The Rays loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth against Garrett Crochet. Jose Ruiz entered and gave up Mejia's hit that made it 6-0.

Chicago was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position Sunday and 3-for-27 in the series.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson sat out his second consecutive game with leg fatigue and soreness. He could start in Monday night's game at Toronto.

Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.26 ERA) will go against Toronto RHP Alek Manoah (5-2, 3.34) on Monday night.

Andrew Benintendi drove in three runs, and the Kansas City Royals beat the sliding Chicago Cubs 9-1 on Sunday for a sweep of their weekend series.

It was Chicago's franchise-record 13th consecutive loss at Wrigley Field.

Benintendi and Carlos Santana each had three hits in Kansas City's sixth win in seven games. Hunter Dozier doubled and drove in two runs.

Royals right-hander Carlos Hernandez (4-1) struck out a career-high eight in seven innings, also a career best. He allowed one run and four hits.

Frank Schwindel had two hits for the Cubs, who have dropped 18 of 22 since trading away stars Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Craig Kimbrel.

Kyle Hendricks (14-5, 4.04 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday's series opener against Colorado and RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-9, 4.58 ERA). Hendricks leads the majors with 14 wins.

Adam Wainwright allowed two hits in eight masterful innings and Paul Goldschmidt homered to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 on Sunday.

The Cardinals snapped a two-game skid and kept the Pirates from earning their first series sweep of the season. They remain the only team in the majors without one.

Wainwright (12-7) threw 106 pitches and retired his final 11 hitters. He hasn't permitted a run in his past 19 innings against the Pirates and has won his last seven decisions against them.

The 39-year-old right-hander struck out nine and did not walk a batter in improving to 20-7 lifetime against Pittsburgh.

Goldschmidt hit his 19th homer in the fifth to make it 2-0. He had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Alex Reyes got his 28th save in 30 chances. Right fielder Lars Nootbaar hauled in a long drive by Colin Moran with two on-to-end it.

Pittsburgh won five of its previous six games in St. Louis.

Jack Flaherty (9-1, 2.68 ERA) will face Detroit RHP Casey Mize (6-6, 3.69) in the opener of a two-game series Tuesday in St. Louis. Flaherty has allowed two runs in 12 innings over two starts since returning Aug. 13 from a long stint on the injured list due to a left oblique strain.

With Kyle Busch’s help, Ryan Blaney took the lead on the final restart, then bobbed and weaved his way around Michigan International Speedway to beat William Byron by 0.077 seconds. It was the narrowest victory margin in a Cup race at this track since electronic scoring began.

Blaney won for the second time this season and sixth overall, capping a big weekend for Team Penske, which won Saturday’s IndyCar race in suburban St. Louis and then this victory, not far from Roger Penske’s Detroit roots. Ford also has won seven straight at Michigan.

Chase Elliott lost track position after stalling in the pits and two late yellows bunched the field together, suddenly putting Blaney in the top five.

When the top three cars took the outside lane on the final restart, Blaney chose the inside lane next to Byron and in front of Busch.

Kyle Larson and Byron took turns over the final seven laps trying to give one another a shot to pass Blaney. Nothing worked.

Austin Dillon heads into the regular-season finale in 17th place after finishing third in the first stage but his day ended with a nasty crash as the second stage ended.

Dillon was trying to move up from below the white line when the No. 3 Chevrolet appeared to make contact with Brad Kesewlowski, sending Dillon hard into the outside wall and briefly airborne in the front straightaway.

Keselowski apologized immediately on the radio.

Denny Hamlin hasn’t won yet this season but has clinched a playoff spot.

The regular-season ends Saturday night at Daytona.

The final round of The Northern Trust has been pushed back to Monday because of Hurricane Henri along the northeastern shores.

The PGA Tour decided to shut down Liberty National on Sunday about an hour before the leaders began Saturday’s third round, which proceeded as scheduled.

Henri became a hurricane late Saturday morning, and the New Jersey coast across from Manhattan avoided the brunt of the wind, but not the rain.

Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith finished the third round Saturday tied for the lead at 16-under 197, one shot ahead of Erik van Rooyen.

Matt Olson slugged a go-ahead two-run homer, Matt Chapman added a solo shot and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Thursday.

Sean Murphy also homered as the A's avoided a sweep in their four-game series with AL Central-leading Chicago. Oakland ended a four-game skid and maintained its grip on the second AL wild-card spot.

Olson's blast in the seventh off reliever Michael Kopech (3-2), his 31st this season, gave Oakland a 5-3 lead.

Cole Irvin (9-11) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. Yusmeiro Petit and Andrew Chafin pitched a scoreless inning apiece, and Lou Trivino allowed an unearned run in the ninth for his 20th save in 22 opportunities.

Eloy Jimenez put the White Sox ahead with an RBI double in the first. Murphy's homer tied it in the third, and Tony Kemp drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to put the A's back on top.

Andrew Vaughn put Chicago ahead again with a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth. Chapman tied it with his fifth home run in six games and 19th on the year.

Chicago starter Dylan Cease went six innings, giving up three runs on four hits. He exceeded 100 pitches for the third time in his last four starts.

Zack Collins scored for the White Sox in the ninth when shortstop Elvis Andrus collided with Starling Marte while trying to field a popup to center field. Andrus was charged with the error.

The White Sox open a three-game series at AL East-leading Tampa Bay on Friday night, with RHP Lucas Giolito (9-9, 3.83 ERA) pitching against Rays RHP Michael Wacha (2-4, 5.91 ERA). Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

After back-to-back weekends on a road course, the traditional oval of the NASCAR Cup Series and XFinity series heads to Michigan while the Gander Mountain Truck Series goes south to Madison, Illinois.

Kevin Harvick won both races on back-to-back days in early August last year. Kyle Larson tops the standings, 22 points ahead of Denny Hamlin. Larson’s finish at Indy was his 13th top-five run in 24 races. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch is third in points, but a distant 157 behind. William Byron is fourth, 163 back, and defending series champion Chase Elliott is 179 behind. Hamlin did clinch a berth in the playoffs because race winner Allmendinger is not eligible for the playoffs.

A.J. Allmendinger grabbed a late lead and won on the Indianapolis road course after a wild, chaotic finish last week at the Brickyard road course. 

The XFinity series races Saturday afternoon at Michigan. Austin Cindric led 29 of 62 laps and won on the road course at Indianapolis for his series-best fifth victory of the season.

Cindric, who drives for Team Penske, was greeted in victory lane by his father, Tim, the president of Team Penske. Team owner Roger Penske owns the track at Indianapolis. Riley Herbst finished eighth to move into the 12th and final playoff spot with five races remaining to set the field. AJ Allmendinger finished second and is second in points, 82 behind Cindric. Daniel Hemric is third, 159 back.

Meanwhile, the truck series returns after nearly a month-long hiatus and marks the start of the 10-driver playoffs. 

Series regulars have won 11 of the 15 races so far this season, led by points leader John Hunter Nemechek with five wins. Nemechek leads Hill by 28 points, Ben Rhodes by 30, Todd Gilliland by 34 and Creed by 38. Those five are the only series regulars with victories. The playoff contenders are separated by just 48 points as the points were reset for the postseason.

The trucks race tonight at 8 pm local time. 

Tyler O'Neill and Lars Nootbaar hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Thursday night.

Nolan Arenado also drove in a pair of runs as St. Louis erased a three-run deficit to avoid a three-game sweep. The Cardinals sit 3 1/2 games behind San Diego for the second National League wild-card spot.

Arenado started the two-out, fifth-inning rally with a run-scoring single to left off Brandon Woodruff (7-7) that plated Andrew Knizner, cutting the St. Louis deficit to 4-2.

O'Neill followed with a 450-foot, three-run homer to left field to put St. Louis ahead 5-4.

Two pitches later, Nootbaar hit his third home run of the season to right field for the Cardinals' seventh set of back-to-back homers this season.

Jon Lester allowed four runs on six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. He was knocked to his knees in the first inning when Christian Yelich lined a ball off his right calf, but he was able to remain in the game.

Junior Fernandez (1-0), Luis Garcia, Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos, and T.J. McFarland combined to pitch 4 2/3 innings of perfect relief. Fernandez needed two pitches to get Lorenzo Cain to ground into a double play in the fifth inning to earn his first major league win.

Woodruff allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk in five innings as the Brewers lost for just the second time on a season-high, 10-game road trip.

Milwaukee scored all four of its runs in the top of the fourth inning. Manny Pina doubled to left field to score Avisail Garcia and tie the game at 1. Kolten Wong later hit a two-run single and Willy Adames drove in Wong with a double to left field to expand the Milwaukee lead to 4-1.

Miles Mikolas (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will be activated off the injured list to make his second start of the season at home to open a three-game series against Pittsburgh on Friday night. The Pirates will start RHP Mitch Keller (3-10, 6.86 ERA).

Corbin Burnes took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Kolten Wong had three hits and was hit by a pitch against his former team as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 Tuesday night.

Burnes (8-4) allowed two hits and two walks and had three strikeouts in six innings of work. He is 6-0 in his last 13 starts and has not lost since May 25, against San Diego.

Brad Boxberger and Devin Williams each pitched an inning of relief before Josh Hader pitched the ninth inning to earn his 24th save in 25 chances.

Milwaukee is 41-20 on the road this season and 16-2 in its last 18 games away from American Family Field.

Adam Wainwright (11-7) allowed just two runs in six innings despite surrendering nine hits and two walks.

The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for the Cardinals and a four-start winning streak for Wainwright. This game marked the first of 13 over the season's last seven weeks between the Brewers and Cardinals, who sit 11 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central, but four behind San Diego for the second wild card spot.

Milwaukee left 13 runners on base and lost another when Wong was thrown out at the plate driving to score from second base on Eduardo Escobar's first inning to single to left field.

Wong put Milwaukee up 1-0 with a two out bloop double to left field that fell between Tyler O'Neill, Nolan Arenado, and Edmundo Sosa, scoring Rowdy Telez in the top of the second inning.

Omar Narvaez drove in Christian Yelich with a double down the right field line to push the lead to 2-0.

Tommy Edman broke up Burnes' no-hit bid with a single to left field in the fifth inning. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a single to center field moving Edman to third. Burnes then got Nolan Arenado and Tyler O'Neill to pop out in foul territory to end the threat and the inning.

The Cardinals placed OF Dylan Carlson (right wrist sprain) on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 14. He was originally in the starting lineup but was scratched after experiencing soreness from taking swings on Monday's off day.

Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (9-3, 2.26 ERA) has a 1.85 ERA over his last 15 starts. He will oppose Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty (9-1, 2.65 ERA) who is 3-6 with a 5.21 ERA in 13 career starts against Milwaukee.

MLB's inaugural Field of Dreams game between the Yankees and White Sox was a huge success both in terms of television ratings and fan-driven discussion, so it comes as no surprise that another regular-season game will be played in Dyersville, Iowa, next season, too. According to Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago, it's the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds who will meet in the 2022 Field of Dreams game. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic has confirmed Wittenmyer's report.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had previously confirmed that another edition of the game would take place in 2022, but until Monday night the teams selected to participate in the second Field of Dreams game had not been reported. 

According to Wittenmyer's sources, the Cubs and Reds will meet in Dyersville on Thursday, Aug. 11 of next year. The two NL Central rivals will then have an off day on that Friday and conclude their series on Saturday and Sunday. The Cubs' involvement in the game isn't especially surprising, given that manager David Ross appeared to inadvertently leak just that last week. 

The Cubs are in the early stages of a deep rebuild, and it's entirely possible they won't be a competitive team in 2022. However, they boast a national following, and their participation in the game is sure to be a draw. As for the Reds, they're fighting for a second straight postseason appearance this year and project to be at least fringe contenders again in 2022. 

The Field of Dreams game is a living tribute to the iconic 1989 film "Field of Dreams" that starred Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan and Ray Liotta and was in part an exploration of baseball nostalgia.

As heard on WHOW, Craig Kimbrel worked out of a jam in the eighth inning and Liam Hendriks got the save against his former team, leading the White Sox to a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

Eloy Jimenez hit a tiebreaking RBI single and Seby Zavala drove in two runs as Chicago improved to an AL-best 40-22 at home. It was the first meeting between the teams since the A's eliminated the White Sox in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Luis Robert homered, and Dallas Keuchel (8-6) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his first win since July 9.

Oakland dropped to 4-3 on a 10-game trip after it lost two of three at last-place Texas over the weekend. It also fell to second in the AL wild-card standings, a half-game back of idle Boston and 1 1/2 games ahead of the New York Yankees.

Matt Chapman homered for the third straight day for the A's, and Mark Canha had an RBI single. Frankie Montas (9-9) was charged with three runs and eight hits in five innings.

After Michael Kopech threw two hitless innings, Kimbrel powered his way out of trouble while striking out the side in the eighth. With one out and runners on second and third after Jed Lowrie's ground-rule double, Kimbrel fanned Chapman and Josh Harrison to reach 1,001 Ks for his career.

Hendriks then struck out the side in order for his 27th save in 33 opportunities. The right-hander agreed to a $54 million, three-year contract with Chicago in January after spending the last five seasons in Oakland.

Right-handers Chris Bassitt (12-3, 3.06 ERA) and Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 1.35 ERA) pitch on Tuesday night. Bassitt, who broke into the majors with the White Sox in 2014, is 2-0 with a sparkling 0.45 ERA in his last three starts for Oakland. Lopez has permitted one earned run in 12 innings over his last six appearances for Chicago.

Jonathan India homered and drove in five runs, Wade Miley threw seven shutout innings and the Cincinnati Reds beat Chicago 14-5 on Monday night, handing the free-falling Cubs their 12th straight loss.

Joey Votto, the 37-year-old Cincinnati first baseman who has been on a tear since the All-Star break, got the 2,000th hit of his career, a solid single in the seventh. Votto came up again later in the inning and drove in a run with another base hit during an eight-run Reds outburst.

Miley (10-4) allowed four hits and struck out seven as the Reds won for the ninth time in 13 games and moved within 1 1/2 games of San Diego for the second NL wild card.

Following a huge selloff at the trade deadline last month, the Cubs have lost 12 in a row for the first time since 2012.

India's two-out drive into the upper deck in the fourth scored Miley and gave the Reds a 2-0 lead. Aristides Aquino and Tucker Barnhart also slammed two-run homers.

Cincinnati's outburst in the seventh was highlighted by India's bases-loaded double, his third hit of the night.

Cubs right-hander Justin Steele (2-2), making his second major league start, allowed five hits and two runs over four innings.

Chicago scored five runs off two Reds relievers in the eighth, but Jeff Hoffman retired the side in order in the ninth.

Kyle Hendricks (13-5, 4.15 ERA) starts for the Cubs against Reds RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (8-3, 3.95). Hendricks had a rough outing Thursday in Chicago's loss to the Brewers, giving up nine runs and 11 hits in four-plus innings. Gutierrez has pitched at least six innings in his last four starts, winning them all.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jesus Aguilar homered, and the Miami Marlins handed the Chicago Cubs their 11th straight loss with a 4-1 victory Sunday.

The game was tied at 1 before Chisholm connected against Alec Mills (5-5) in the sixth inning. Chisholm also singled and scored on Aguilar's 22nd homer in the seventh.

Chisholm's 12th homer landed in the second deck in right field.

Chicago matched its longest slide of the season. It also dropped 11 straight from June 25 to July 6.

Frank Schwindel homered for the Cubs, and Mills pitched 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

Miami outfielder Lewis Brinson went 2 for 4 for his sixth multihit game this month. The South Florida native has 19 hits in his last 13 games.

Justin Steele (2-1, 2.95 ERA) starts for the Cubs in their series opener at Cincinnati on Monday night.

Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game, Tyler O'Neill hit one right after him and the St. Louis Cardinals completed an in-state sweep of the Kansas City Royals 7-2 on Sunday.

In the second inning, Arenado and O'Neill hit back-to-back homers for the second time in three games.

Arenado's was a two-run blast for his 25th and O'Neill powered his 432 feet over the center field wall for his 20th and a seven-run lead.

St. Louis batted around in the first inning and scored three times. Arenado had an RBI single and Jose Rondon hit a two-run double to lead 3-0.

J.A. Happ (7-6) faced the Royals for the fourth time this season. This start was his best of them all.

He went 5 2/3 innings and allowed no runs, five hits, two walks and struck out two. It was the second time this season he didn't allow a run in a start. Cardinals starting pitchers gave up just one earned run over 17 1/3 innings in the series.

Salvador Perez hit his 30th homer of the season in the eighth inning to put the Royals on the scoreboard. He hit it 450 feet into the left-field fountains, which also marked his 400th career extra-base hit.

The Cardinals have a day off before returning home against Milwaukee while Kansas City continues their homestand tomorrow night against Houston.

Kevin Kisner stuck his approach to 3 feet on the second extra hole and made the putt to win a record-tying six-man playoff on Sunday breaking his playoff drought to win the Wyndham Championship.

In the playoff, he bested Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim and Branden Grace after all made pars on the first additional hole.

39-year-old AJ Allmendinger beat Ryan Blaney across the yard of bricks by 0.929 seconds to pick up his second career Cup win in his fourth start of the season. It also was the first win for Kaulig Racing in the team’s seventh start.

Allmendinger screamed in elation after winning Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Just about everyone else left the world-famous speedway frustrated, angry or bewildered by a bizarre Brickyard 200 finish that involved 16 wrecked cars, two red flags, a spin out of the race leader and a penalty all in the final five laps to help Allmendinger reach victory lane.

Indianapolis’ 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course certainly proved to be a challenge for everyone on this wild crossover weekend. After watching one IndyCar and two NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers go airborne in the sixth turn Saturday, track officials removed the “turtle” there.

Indianapolis’ 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course certainly proved to be a challenge for everyone on this wild crossover weekend. After watching one IndyCar and two NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers go airborne in the sixth turn Saturday, track officials removed the “turtle” there.

With Denny Hamlin in the lead on the final restart, Chase Briscoe’s second-place car went skittering through the grass between the first two turns and back onto the track. The two raced side-by-side briefly before Hamlin pulled slightly ahead heading into the 10th turn.

That’s when Briscoe spun out Hamlin, apparently unaware he had been assessed a penalty. Hamlin finished 23rd but dropped to second place in the points because after Larson finished third, Briscoe wound up 26th.

After back-to-back road races, the Cup circuit returns to an oval next Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning into the cornfield to end the Field of Dreams game in cinematic fashion, as the Chicago White Sox outslugged the New York Yankees 9-8 Thursday night in the first Major League Baseball game in Iowa.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton each hit two-run homers for the Yankees in the top of the ninth off All-Star closer Liam Hendriks (7-2), as the movie-themed throwback event became a home run hitting contest into the cornfield.

They played next to the filming site of the beloved 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta and James Earl Jones, and even the Yankees fans who made the trek could hardly have headed home anything but happy with the experience.

Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney, who was tagged for seven runs in five innings in another struggle with his new team, was having a hard time reflecting on the memories in the aftermath.

Jose Abreu hit the first drive into the sea of green stalks, and teammates Eloy Jimenez and Seby Zavala followed him with homers for the White Sox on this vintage summer night in farm country with the teams in 1919-style uniforms to match.

League ERA leader Lance Lynn sidestepped a three-run homer by Judge and a solo shot from Brett Gardner to finish five innings for the White Sox, remaining unbeaten in his last eight starts.

After an off day on Friday that was built into the schedule as a contingency for rain, the Yankees and White Sox travel east to Chicago to finish the three-game series.

Jameson Taillon (7-4, 3.82 ERA) pitches for the Yankees on Saturday night, with RHP Dylan Cease (9-6, 3.99 ERA) taking the mound for the White Sox.

Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Thursday, completing a three-game sweep.

The Cardinals bullpen was pressed into duty after starter Wade LeBlanc exited with left elbow pain. He gave up three runs on three hits in two innings.

A pair of homers turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead for St. Louis in the fourth. DeJong sent a first-pitch curveball from JT Brubaker (4-12) into the left-field bleachers for his 16th homer to tie the game, and pinch-hitter Nootbaar's first major league homer made it 5-3.

St. Louis has won five of six overall and 10 straight games at Pittsburgh. The Cardinals' last loss at PNC Park came on Sept. 17, 2020.

Colin Moran homered twice for the Pirates, who have been outscored 50-18 during an eight-game losing streak.

T.J. McFarland (2-0) relieved LeBlanc in the third, giving up a leadoff walk before forcing Ke'Bryan Hayes to fly out and Jacob Stallings to ground into a double play.

St. Louis closer Alex Reyes gave up a two-run homer to Bryan Reynolds with one out in the ninth following an error by right fielder Tommy Edman. Reyes struck out the next two batters for his 27th save.

Jack Flaherty (8-1, 2.90 ERA) will return from the 60-day injured list Friday to start the opener of a three-game series at Kansas City. Flaherty has been out since May 31 with an oblique injury.

Luis Urias tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Pina drove in six runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 17-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

Urias homered in the seventh and ninth innings. He also hit three doubles, drove in five runs and scored five. He became the 16th player with five extra-base hits in a game, and the first since San Francisco's Alex Dickerson last year.

Pina had a grand slam and a two-run homer. Jace Peterson added five hits, including a home run, as the NL Central leaders completed a four-game sweep even though All-Star starter Brandon Woodruff made an early exit.

A day after routing Chicago 10-0, the Brewers surpassed their previous high of 15 runs this year set against the Cubs on June 30. They established another season-best with 22 hits in their most lopsided win this year.

The Cubs have lost eight in a row and 14 of 16.

Kyle Hendricks was tagged for a career-worst nine runs and matched a season-high with 11 hits. The right-hander was 11-0 in 16 starts since a loss to Pittsburgh on May 9.

The Cubs placed C Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list because of sprained right knee that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said is not serious. 

Chicago opens a three-game series at Miami, with RHP Adbert Alzolay (4-12, 4.71) pitching for the Cubs and LHP Jesus Luzardo (3-5, 7.36) getting the ball for the Marlins.

NASCAR will shares the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course over the weekend with IndyCar, which races on Saturday.

The IndyCar Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix races Saturday afternoon at 12:45 pm local time. Practice is this afternoon at 3 pm with qualifying at 7 pm local time, all broadcast on NBCSports Network. 

Marcus Ericcson won the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, outrunning teammate Scott Dixon by nearly 1.6 seconds.

Two-time winner Alex Palou leads six-time series champion Dixon by 42 points in the standings with Pato O’Ward just six points back. Palou, O’Ward and Ericcson all have two victories through 11 races. 

The XFinity Series Penzoil 150 at the Brickyard is Saturday at 4 pm. Practice is tonight at 5:30 pm and qualifying 10 am Saturday morning. 

There are six races left in the battle for the 12 playoff spots in the series, and only seven drivers who primarily race in the series have solidified their spots with victories. Series rookie Ty Gibbs beat A.J. Allmendinger for his third victory of the year last week at Watkins Glen. 

Gibbs’ three victories have come in only 10 starts and he’s finished in the top-five in five of the others. Defending champion Austin Cindric leads Allmendinger by 80 points and Daniel Hemric by 141.

The 62 laps will be 151.2 miles on NBCSports Network. 

The Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard races Sunday afternoon at 1 pm with practice tomorrow (Saturday) at 11:05 am local time, with qualifying at 9 am Sunday. 

Kyle Larson held off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott at Watkins Glen to earn his series-best fifth victory of the season. Larson’s victory pulled him even with winless Denny Hamlin in the points race. Both have 12 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s and they are 131 points ahead of third-place William Byron. Hamlin, winless Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick are in line for the remaining three playoff spots. Reddick is 12th in points and leads Austin Dillon by 25 points with three races remaining before the 16-driver field is set.

The 82 laps will total 200 miles and can be watched on NBC.

The Gander Mountain Truck Series is off this week, they'll resume next Friday in Madison, Illinois. 

The Formula One series is off this week. They'll resume Aug. 29 in Belgium.

Willians Astudillo hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Dallas Keuchel, and the Twins held on for a 4-3 victory to stop a four-game winning streak for the White Sox on Tuesday night.

Keuchel was out of whack at the start with three walks in a two-run first inning.

The pitch that truly hurt the Chicago left-hander was the one he wanted to keep way out of the strike zone against Astudillo, but Minnesota's energy man made him pay.

Rookie starter Griffin Jax (3-1) gave the Twins a career-high six innings, after falling behind 3-2 on consecutive homers by Adam Engel and Jose Abreu in the third.

Keuchel (7-6) was left with a decidedly different feeling, after falling to 1-4 with a 5.72 ERA and 10 homers allowed in his last seven turns. He walked four in six innings, and three of those runners scored, including Miguel Sano before Astudillo's big hit.

The White Sox (67-47) whiffed on their opportunity to move a season-high 22 games above .500, a mark they haven't reached since Sept. 13, 2006, but there's not much for them to worry about with a lead on Cleveland that was at 10 1/2 games at the beginning of the day. Now that they're nearly fully healthy again, their biggest challenge will be to stay sharp for the next two months in lieu of a pennant race in this division full of renovation projects.

Luis Robert reported no trouble after his return from a torn hip flexor on Monday following an 85-game absence. He's slated for a day off on Wednesday.

Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.04), the major league ERA leader, takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon. He's 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts against the Twins this season.

Twins RHP Bailey Ober (1-1, 4.99) pitches in the series finale. The rookie is 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA in four turns against the White Sox this year.

J.A. Happ combined with a trio of relievers on a one-hitter, Tommy Edman and Paul DeJong homered early and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the skidding Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Happ (6-6) retired the first nine batters, then gave up rookie Hoy Park's first career home run to lead off the fourth inning.

Making his second start for the Cardinals since being acquired from the Twins in a July 30 trade, Happ struck out five and walked two.

Relievers Ryan Helsley, Genesis Cabrera and Alex Reyes teamed for three hitless innings. Reyes pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save in 27 chances.

The Cardinals (56-56) reached .500 for the 22nd time this season. The Pirates' losing streak was extended to six games and they have dropped 16 of 21.

Edman led off the game with a drive into the left-field bleachers off Steven Brault, the second leadoff homer of his career. DeJong's solo shot in the second increased the Cardinals' lead to 2-0.

The Cardinals entered the night 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race and 8 1/2 games out of the second wild card.

Rookie Dylan Carlson had three of the Cardinals' eight hits and scored on shortstop Kevin Newman's fielding error during a two-run sixth inning that pushed the lead to 4-1. Harrison Bader followed the miscue with an RBI single.

Adam Wainwright (10-6, 3.48) starts for the Cardinals on Wednesday night against RHP Wil Crowe (3-6, 5.47).

Freddy Peralta pitched effectively into the sixth inning, Avisail Garcia smacked a go-ahead two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Willy Adames and Lorenzo Cain also went deep for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who are a major league-best 35-19 on the road.

Peralta (9-3) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. The All-Star right-hander struck out eight and walked two on a sweltering afternoon.

Devin Williams got the final three outs for his second save after loading the bases with one out in the seventh. Williams struck out Patrick Wisdom and Greg Deichmann to end it.

Frank Schwindel had an RBI double and Rafael Ortega added three hits for Chicago, which has dropped five straight.

Cubs rookie Justin Steele (2-1) allowed three runs on five hits in five innings during his first career start. The left-hander was 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Chicago earlier in the season. Following a stint on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, the 26-year-old was sent to Triple-A Iowa to stretch out as a starter. He was recalled before the game.

Luis Urias had two hits during a six-run, fifth-inning rally as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 Tuesday night to complete a doubleheader sweep.

The nightcap was delayed for an hour, 29 minutes because of rain with one out in the top of the third, which limited starter Aaron Ashby to two scoreless innings.

The Brewers then used six pitchers to complete the final five innings. Miguel Sanchez (1-0) threw one pitch to get the final out in the fourth inning for his first win in the majors. Brent Suter got the final four outs for his first career save.

The NL Central leaders are a major league-best 36-19 on the road.

Patrick Wisdom homered for Chicago, which has dropped six straight.

Jake Arrieta (5-10, 6.35 ERA) looks to snap out of a prolonged funk Wednesday night in the third game of the series. RHP Corbin Burnes (6-4, 2.39 ERA) pitches for the Brewers. Arrieta is 0-4 with a 9.62 ERA in his last seven starts.

The Chicago White Sox already were enjoying quite a season despite missing two key players. Now with Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert back in the lineup, the AL Central leaders are looking even more formidable.

Jimenez hit two homers with five RBIs for the second straight game, Robert came off the 60-day injured list to deliver an RBI double and single, and the White Sox cruised past the Minnesota Twins 11-1 Monday night.

Tim Anderson led off the game with a home run for the second day in a row and Lucas Giolito pitched two-hit ball for eight innings as the White Sox won their fourth in a row.

Jimenez became the first White Sox player with consecutive games of at least two homers and five RBIs, and the first in the majors since Bryce Harper for Washington in 2015.

Jimenez has five homers and 14 RBIs in 10 games since his return from the injured list after missing all of the season with a ruptured pectoral tendon sustained in spring training.

Giolito (9-8) faced the minimum over the first seven innings. The first hit he allowed came on a hard grounder from Luis Arraez to start the fifth inning that glanced off Giolito's leg.

Miguel Sano homered off Giolito.

Dallas Keuchel (7-5, 4.44 ERA) will start for Chicago on Tuesday in the middle game of the series. Minnesota counters with RHP Griffin Jax (2-1, 5.63). Keuchel has made three starts against the Twins this season with 11 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. Jax has allowed just one run in each of his last three starts, spanning 14 1/3 innings.

The game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday night was postponed because of rain.

The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday as part of a split doubleheader. The first game will start at 1:20 p.m., followed by the second game at 7:05 p.m.

The game was called one hour, 38 minutes after the scheduled start.

Cubs RHP Rowan Wick, who has missed all of this season because of a left oblique strain, could be activated from the 60-day injured list later this week. Wick was examined by the team's medical staff before Monday's game. ... LHP Brad Wieck will undergo atrial fibrillation surgery on Aug. 31, he announced on his Twitter account.

Freddy Peralta (8-3, 2.21) will start the first game, followed by LHP Aaron Ashby (0-0, 54.00) in the second game. The Cubs will counter with LHP Justin Steele (2-0, 2.03) in the first game, followed by RHP Alec Mills in the nightcap.

It took five wins by Kyle Larson to catch the most consistent driver in NASCAR’s Cup Series this season, but he finally did it.

Now, it’s a sprint to finish first in the driver points standings with three races left in the regular season. Larson and Denny Hamlin are tied with 917 points.

Hamlin gained the points lead after the second race of the season at the Daytona road course and his consistency allowed him to extend it before Larson got hot in the spring and began pecking away.

After 23 races, both drivers have 16 top 10s and 12 top 5s, and Larson also has a series-best 12 stage wins to five for Hamlin. The 29-year-old Larson had a six-race stretch starting at Darlington in early May that included three wins and three runner-up finishes in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, which has won 11 races this season. He closed the gap to two points after the second race at Pocono in late June.

Hamlin then rallied to build his lead back to 13 points heading to Watkins Glen, and Larson’s victory there finally erased all of it.

Last year Hamlin won seven races in his No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. This year, he’s yet to taste victory.

The next stop on the schedule is Sunday on the road course at Indianapolis, then Michigan and the Daytona oval to end the regular season. Hamlin, a solid road racer, has a win at Watkins Glen and one second-place finish at Sonoma six years ago that was nearly a victory until Tony Stewart bumped him into the wall on the last turn of the race.

Larson also won at Sonoma in June, and in both of his road course wins he held off teammate Chase Elliott, who has seven road wins, third all-time.

Indy will be a mystery for most. NASCAR switched from the famed 2.5-mile oval to a 14-turn, 2.439-mile layout that’s flat as a pancake. The Xfinity Series first raced there last year, but this will be the Cup debut.

Eloy Jimenez drove in five runs with two homers and a double, and the Chicago White Sox beat the crosstown Cubs 9-3 on Sunday night for their first sweep of a three-game series at Wrigley Field since May 2012.

Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn hit two-run shots after Tim Anderson led off the game with a solo drive as the White Sox hit Zach Davies hard in a five-run first inning. The outburst put the AL Central leaders ahead early on a warm night with the wind blowing out at the iconic ballpark.

Anderson also finished with three hits as the White Sox won their fourth straight and moved 10 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland. The Cubs have dropped four straight and 10 of 12.

Jimenez's homers were his second and third in nine games since returning from a torn pectoral tendon that kept him out since spring training.

Dylan Cease (9-6) labored, but got through five innings and won for the first time in three starts against his former team. The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out 10, although he admitted he wasn't his sharpest.

The scoring outburst was boost - and a statement as the White Sox start to get injured stars back. Center fielder Luis Robert is set to rejoin the team on Monday.

Frank Schwindel had two RBIs and Rafael Ortega had two hits for the Cubs.

Davies (6-9) gave up seven runs on seven hits and lasted just two innings in his third straight loss. The righty has allowed 18 runs in his last 12 innings.

White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (8-8, 3.98) is slated to start Monday afternoon at Minnesota. The Twins hadn't named a starter.

Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (8-3, 2.21) will start the opener of a four-game series in Chicago on Monday. RHP Alex Mills (5-4, 4.41) is the likely starter for the Cubs.

Nicky Lopez hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning after a long rain delay and the Kansas City Royals averted a three-game sweep, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Sunday.

Dylan Carlson homered for St. Louis, which has lost four of six.

It was 5-all when Hanser Alberto began the Royals ninth with a single off closer Alex Reyes (5-5). Jarrod Dyson put down a bunt that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt threw wildly trying for a forceout, leaving runners at second and third before play was stopped for 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Scott Barlow (4-3) got two outs for the win. Richard Lovelady recorded his first save with a perfect ninth.

St. Louis made it 5-all with a three-run rally in the eighth. Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado capped the comeback with RBI singles.

Jon Lester, in his second start for the Cardinals since coming over in a trade with Washington, gave up five runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered five runs in the first inning of his initial start against Atlanta on Tuesday.

J.A. Happ (5-6, 6.62) will take on Pittsburgh LHP Steven Brault (0-0, 2.25) in the first of a three-game set on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Kyle Larson gained the lead from Martin Truex Jr. during green flag pit stops in the final stage Sunday, built a big lead and kept his hard-charging Hendrick Motorsports teammate at bay over the final laps to win at Watkins Glen International.

Larson took another step toward a regular-season NASCAR Cup title. 

Chase Elliott was relegated to the back of the field before the race when his No. 9 Chevrolet failed inspection twice and crew chief Alan Gustafson was ejected. But just as he did at Road America a month earlier when he won from 34th on the starting grid, Elliott made a gallant charge but couldn’t overcome Larson’s big lead and crossed the finish line 2.45 seconds behind.

Elliott was seeking his eighth road course victory and third in a row at The Glen, which would have tied Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin for the Cup record at the historic road course in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes.

Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Larson leaves Watkins Glen tied with Denny Hamlin with 917 points for the series lead.

The Cup series heads to the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday.

Daniel Lynch and four relievers held the Chicago White Sox in check, and Emmanuel Rivera's line drive was misplayed into an early two-run double Thursday night that helped the Kansas City Royals hang on for a 3-2 victory.

Kansas City won its second consecutive game, while the AL Central-leading White Sox lost for the ninth time in their last 14.

Chicago has scored two runs or fewer in three of its past four games.

White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez hit a two-out RBI double that snapped an 0-for-13 slump, but reliever Scott Barlow ranged quickly to his right to field a grounder by Andrew Vaughn for the final out of the eighth.

Jake Brentz worked a hitless ninth for his first major league save.

White Sox left-hander Dallas Keuchel (7-5) gave up a two-run double to Rivera with two outs in the first. Center fielder Adam Engel stepped to his left, only to see Rivera's line drive sail behind him.

Chicago slugger Jose Abreu hit his second home run in two games, a solo shot off Lynch in the first. It marked the seventh time Abreu has reached 20 homers in a season, tying Harold Baines for third on the franchise list behind Paul Konerko (13) and Frank Thomas (11).

Abreu's 218th homer moved him within three of Baines for fourth place in club history. Last year's AL MVP has at least one RBI in each of his last six games.

Edward Olivares hit his third homer in four games for the Royals, a solo shot off reliever Reynaldo Lopez that barely eluded Engel's glove in right-center.

Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.07 ERA) takes the mound Friday against the crosstown-rival Cubs in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Austin Riley homered and Ehire Adrianza drove in the go-ahead run with the first of four straight bases-loaded walks as the Atlanta Braves scored six times in the eighth inning to complete a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with an 8-4 victory Thursday night.

Atlanta's rally came against a Cardinals bullpen that couldn't hold a lead for the second straight night. The third-place Braves (55-54) moved above .500 mark for the first time this season and sit just 1 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.

Riley's two-out, two-run homer off Giovanny Gallegos in the eighth tied the game at 4 and denied Cardinals starter Wade LeBlanc his first win in more than a year. The homer came one night after Gallegos gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning while taking the loss.

Gallegos (5-5) was pulled for Alex Reyes after giving up a double to Dansby Swanson. Reyes hit the first batter he faced with a pitch and then walked four straight, including Adrianza, Stephen Vogt and Ozzie Albies with the bases loaded to stretch the lead. Justin Miller took over, only to walk Jorge Soler and force in another run.

Andrew Knizner's leadoff homer and Nolan Arenado's RBI single gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the third.

Adam Wainwright (9-6, 3.53 ERA) gets the start as St. Louis hosts LHP Mike Minor (8-9, 5.31) and the Kansas City Royals in the first of three on Friday night. The 39-year-old Wainwright went seven innings for a third straight start and earned his first career win over Minnesota on Sunday.

Trevor Story hit two home runs, including a go-ahead two-run drive in the fifth inning, and the Colorado Rockies hung on to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Thursday.

Sam Hilliard and Connor Joe also homered and Brendan Rodgers extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two singles for the Rockies, who took two of three from the Cubs.

Willson Contreras hit a two-run double in Chicago's four-run fifth. The Cubs concluded their six-game trip with a 2-4 mark after a series of trade deadline deals that saw the departure of stalwarts Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez.

Rodgers started the fifth with a single off Jake Jewell (0-1) and Story - who was the subject of trade rumors leading up to the deadline - followed with his second homer of the day and 15th this season to put the Rockies ahead 6-4. The opposite-field shot gave him his second multi-homer game this season and 17th of his career.

Chicago starter Jake Arrieta allowed four runs in four innings, his fourth consecutive start in which he has thrown four innings or fewer. He gave up three home runs, all solo shots, among the nine hits he allowed.

The Cubs return home to open a three-game set Friday night against the crosstown White Sox with RHP Kyle Hendricks (13-4, 3.71 ERA) scheduled to start against RHP Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.07).

Patrick Wisdom hit a three-run double to back a solid outing from Alec Mills and lead the Chicago Cubs past the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Mills (5-4) overcame a rocky start to pitch six innings for his first win since July 7. Wisdom finished with three hits.

Manuel Rodriguez gave up a two-out single in the ninth but got Sam Hilliard on a comebacker to earn his first career save.

Raimel Tapia had two doubles and nearly made a run-saving catch for Colorado.

Rockies starter Jon Gray (7-7) walked one batter over six innings and it came back to hurt him. After getting the first two outs of the fifth he gave up consecutive singles to Rafael Ortega and Willson Contreras and then walked Ian Happ, a .177 hitter, to load the bases.

Wisdom hit a ball to the wall in left field that Tapia had in his glove, but it fell out when he hit the fence, allowing all three runners to score.

Brendan Rodgers finished with three hits.

Jake Arrieta (5-10, 6.20 ERA) will make his second start since returning from the 10-day injured list. Colorado is expected to activate RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-8, 4.58) after a stint on the IL due to COVID-19 protocols.

As heard on WHOW, Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals went deep four times to beat the Chicago White Sox 9-1 on Wednesday night.

Kansas City ended a four-game losing streak, while the AL Central-leading White Sox lost for the eighth time in 13 games.

Royals starter Carlos Hernandez (3-1) yielded only two hits over five innings in beating the White Sox for the second time in seven days. Hernandez has allowed six hits while striking out 10 in his last 11 innings against Chicago.

Perez launched his 27th homer in the third, tying a career-high previously accomplished in 2017 and 2018.

Edward Olivares hit his second homer in three games, a solo shot in the second off Chicago starter Lucas Giolito. Michael A. Taylor led off the fourth with a homer against Giolito (8-8) and made a diving catch in center field to rob Cesar Hernandez of a hit in the sixth.

Taylor snapped an 0-for-14 slump with a drive that struck the left-field foul pole.

The Royals had managed only two runs on 12 hits in their previous three games before scoring in each of the first four innings.

Giolito gave up three home runs in four innings and lost for only the second time in his last seven home starts. The three homers allowed tied a season high and were one short of his career-worst, against Minnesota on July 25, 2019.

It marked the third time this season Giolito permitted at least six runs. He was tagged for a season-high eight runs (seven earned) in one inning at Boston on April 19.

The Royals will send LHP Daniel Lynch (1-3, 6.95 ERA) to the mound Thursday, while the White Sox counter with LHP Dallas Keuchel (7-4, 4.32).

Adam Duvall and Jorge Soler homered, and Stephen Vogt drove in the eventual game-winning run with a sacrifice fly as the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Wednesday night.

Dansby Swanson went 4 for 4 with three runs scored for the Braves, who moved to .500 at 54-54.

Will Smith, the sixth Braves pitcher, picked up his 22nd save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The win helped Atlanta post its first two-game winning streak since the All-Star break. The Braves have won eight of their last nine games at Busch Stadium.

Giovanny Gallegos (5-4) allowed three runs in the eighth inning as the Cardinals lost for the sixth time in 10 games. St. Louis dropped a game below .500 at 53-54.

Nolan Arenado, who also doubled, hit a three-run homer in the first inning. His 21st home run of the season off starter Drew Smyly scored Dylan Carlson and Goldschmidt, who singled ahead of Arenado.

Wade LeBlanc (0-2, 4.17) will be making his 13th career appearance and fifth start against the Braves. He threw a season-high 85 pitches and matched his season-high with 5 2/3 innings pitched in taking a no decision in the Cardinals 5-1 win in his last start.

Dylan Cease allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, matching a season-high with 11 strikeouts, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 on Tuesday night.

Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn homered for AL Central-leading Chicago, which had dropped three of four at fourth-place Kansas City last week.

Cease (8-6) walked two and threw 103 pitches, allowing only Edward Olivares' leadoff single in the third inning, to nab his first win since June 30.

Michael Kopech, Garrett Crochet and Ryan Tepera pitched an inning apiece to complete the three-hitter. Kopech allowed the only Kansas City run on Ryan O'Hearn's sacrifice fly in the seventh, just the second run in three games for the Royals.

Vaughn sent a changeup from Kris Bubic (3-5) into the center field bleachers in the second, and Anderson bounced a two-run homer off the top of the right-field wall in the third.

Anderson added an RBI single in Chicago's four-run seventh, his third hit of the night, and Jose Abreu had a two-run single in the frame.

Bubic went six innings, allowing three runs on three hits.

Carlos Hernandez (2-1, 4.98 ERA) starts for the Royals against Chicago's Lucas Giolito (8-7, 3.67) on Wednesday night.

Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves hammered Jon Lester in his first start for the St. Louis Cardinals, scoring five runs in the first inning and cruising to a 6-1 victory Tuesday night.

The 37-year-old Lester (3-6), acquired from Washington last week, allowed the first seven hitters to reach and did not record an out until his 27th pitch.

Jorge Soler, picked up from the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Kasey Kalich last week, hit a two-run homer to start the scoring. It was his first homer for the Braves and his 14th of the season.

Freeman and Austin Riley followed with singles before Dansby Swanson and Joc Pederson added run-scoring hits.

Freeman drilled his 24th homer in the second off Lester, who gave up nine hits and six runs over five innings.

Max Fried tossed six shutout innings for the Braves, who have won seven of their last eight games in St. Louis. Fried (8-7) gave up just four hits over six innings and did not allow a runner past second base. He struck out seven and walked one.

St. Louis has lost five of nine and dropped back to .500 (53-53).

J.A. Happ (5-6, 6.77 ERA) will face LHP Drew Smyly (7-3, 4.40) in the second game of the three-game set. Happ will be making his first start for St. Louis. He was acquired from Minnesota in exchange for RHP John Gant and LHP Evan Sisk at the trade deadline on Friday. Smyly tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Cardinals on June 20.

Elias Diaz hit a grand slam, Kyle Freeland got his first win in more than a month and the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 13-6 on Tuesday night.

Freeland (2-6) pitched five innings and earned his first win since June 28 before being removed with a left foot contusion. He was hit by a line drive with one out in the fifth, finished the inning and was replaced after throwing warmup pitches in the sixth. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out five.

X-rays on the foot were negative.

Sam Hilliard also homered and C.J. Cron had three hits and three RBIs for the Rockies.

Ian Happ homered for the Cubs, who played most of the game without manager David Ross, who was ejected in the second inning by home plate umpire Adam Hamari.

Hamari had issued a warning to Ross when Patrick Wisdom was batting, and then Ross started yelling after a strike call on the first pitch to Happ.

Hamari tossed him and Ross came out to argue with Hamari before heading to the Cubs clubhouse.

Chicago starter Zach Davies (6-8) allowed seven runs on six hits in four innings. The Cubs have lost six of their last seven -- three of their last four since the trade deadline.

Chicago RHP Alec Mills (4-4, 4.55) will make his first start and appearance against the Rockies on Wednesday. Colorado RHP Jon Gray (7-6, 3.62) is facing the Cubs for the third time in his career and first time since 2018.

Adam Wainwright tossed seven effective innings and rookie Edmundo Sosa homered to help the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Wainwright (9-6) allowed three runs and six hits in an 85-pitch stint. He struck out five and walked one in his 176th career victory.

Sosa went 3 for 3, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Dylan Carlson, who also had three hits, and Tommy Edman each doubled twice for St. Louis, which has won four of six.

Jorge Polanco homered for the Twins, who have lost four of five.

Alex Reyes picked up his 25th save in 26 opportunities with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Yadier Molina moved to fourth on the Cardinals all-time hit list with a pair of singles. He now has 2,075 hits and passed Albert Pujols, who had 2,073.

Jon Lester (3-5, 5.02) will make his Cardinals debut in the first game of a three-game set against Atlanta LHP Max Fried (7-7, 4.32) on Tuesday. Lester was acquired from Washington in a trade for OF Lane Thomas at the deadline. Lester has pitched at least five innings in all 13 career starts against the Braves.

Brian Goodwin homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

Goodwin hit a 3-1 pitch from Nick Wittgren (2-4) over the wall in right for his sixth home run of the season.

Liam Hendriks (5-2) allowed just one hit in the ninth to complete a scoreless six-inning stint by the Chicago bullpen. Reynaldo Lopez allowed one hit in three innings followed by Aaron Bummer and Craig Kimbrel, who each worked a hitless inning.

Chicago won two of three in the series to extend its AL Central lead to nine games.

Myles Straw, who was acquired just before Friday's trade deadline, homered for the Indians.

Cal Quantrill gave up one unearned run on three hits and four walks over six innings. He struck out six.

Dylan Cease (7-6, 4.14 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against Kansas City on Tuesday night. LHP Kris Bubic (3-4, 4.58) pitches for the Royals.

Yadiel Hernandez's solo shot in the ninth inning - his second homer of the day - gave the Washington Nationals a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Hernandez's four-hit day helped the Nationals overcome three home runs by Rafael Ortega of the Cubs. Washington took two of three in this series against Chicago following trade deadline selloffs that scattered many of the players who helped both teams win the World Series recently.

Ortega tied a franchise record for homers in a game, leading off with a shot to right-center before adding two-run blasts in the sixth and eighth. He was the first Cub with a three-homer game since Kris Bryant on May 17, 2019, also against the Nationals.

Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo were among those traded by Chicago. The Nationals dealt away Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and others as part of their roster teardown. Those departures mean expanded looks for players like Hernandez, a 33-year-old Cuban who only made his major league debut last year and was largely a reserve this season.

Ortega, batting leadoff, had four hits and drove in all five runs for the Cubs, who have lost five of six. Ortega hit four home runs in the final two games of the series after belting just five in his previous 191 career games.

Chicago is off Monday. Its road trip continues Tuesday in Colorado when RHP Zach Davies (6-7, 4.39 ERA) starts against the Rockies to begin a three-game series.