Arenado powers Rockies to victory over the Cubs
Syndergaard, Mets get past the Giants
DENVER — A late-night session in the batting cage and a spirited discussion helped Nolan Arenado get his swing back.
Arenado broke out of a slump in a big way, hitting two homers and driving in six runs Sunday to boost the Colorado Rockies past the Chicago Cubs, 11-4.
The All-Star third baseman was 1 of 16 during the Rockies’ homestand before getting four hits. He passed Cubs slugger Kris Bryant for the NL homer lead.
“I’ve been grinding, I haven’t really felt like myself, so to be up there, it’s a good feeling,” Arenado said.
Arenado credited Sunday’s results to his work with batting practice pitcher Garrett Carson late Saturday night. He said the two stayed after the loss to the Cubs to watch video and work in the cage.
“We almost got into an argument,” Arenado said. “He would be like, ‘I feel like there’s not much off’ and I’d be like, ‘No, there is something off.’”
The two concluded Arenado was overstriding, and he went into Sunday’s game with renewed confidence.
“After (Saturday) night I was able to sleep better after what I worked on,” Arenado said. “I applied it today and it worked out.”
Arenado hit a three-run homer during a seven-run burst in the first inning that included three Cubs errors, then added another three-run drive in the fourth.
Arenado leads the majors with 104 RBIs — he had a big league-high 130 last year — and tops the NL with 32 home runs.
Jorge De La Rosa (8-7) tossed eight innings, giving up two home runs to Addison Russell.
METS 2, GIANTS 0: In San Francisco, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia combined on a three-hitter and Yoenis Cespedes homered off Jeff Samardzija, leading New York past San Francisco.
Cespedes homered for the third time in two days to help
split the four-game series. It also was the 900th victory of manager Terry Collins’ career, making him the 10th active manager to reach the milestone.
DODGERS 4, REDS 0: In Cincinnati, Chase Utley homered on the fourth pitch of the game, 20-year-old Julio Urias won his third straight decision and the Dodgers stopped a three-game losing streak. PADRES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 1: In San Diego, Luis Perdomo ended a three-start losing streak, Travis Jankowski and Alex Dickerson homered, and the Padres defeated Arizona for a four-game split. MARLINS 3, PIRATES 2: In Pittsburgh, Christian Yelich homered in the first inning, Miami added a pair of unearned runs and the
Marlins rallied to complete a three-game sweep. CARDINALS 9, PHILLIES 0: In Philadelphia, Mike Leake pitched seven strong innings and hit a two-run single and St. Louis homered four times to beat the Phillies. BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 6 (10): In Atlanta, Jace Peterson hit a tiebreaking homer in the 10th inning off Shawn Kelley, giving the Braves a victory. Rain delayed the game 1 hour, 4 minutes in the bottom of the eighth.
ASTROS 5, ORIOLES 3: In Baltimore, Dallas Keuchel was solid through eight innings, Yulieski Gurriel got a hit in his major league debut and Houston beat the Orioles in a rain-delayed victory.
The Astros won the last three games in the four-game series, outscoring Baltimore 32-13 over that stretch. The slumping Orioles have lost four of five and are 9-16 over their past 25 games. INDIANS 3, BLUE JAYS 2: In Cleveland, Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Brett Cecil in the eighth inning and the Indians rallied to win the series between teams that began the game as AL division leaders.
The Indians took two of three, with each game decided by one run.
ROYALS 2, TWINS 1: In Kansas City, Mo., Danny Duffy won his 10th straight decision, Eric Hosmer doubled in the goahead run and the Royals beat Minnesota for their eighth
consecutive win.
The Royals swept a fourgame series from the Twins for the first time since 1999 and have their longest winning streak since an eightgame run Aug. 3-11, 2014. TIGERS 10, RED SOX 5: In Detroit, Justin Upton hit a pair of three-run homers and the struggling Tigers finished their homestand with a win over Boston.
The Tigers won for just the fourth time in 14 games, and went 2-5 on their stay at Comerica Park. Boston has lost just two of its last 10. WHITE SOX 4, ATHLETICS 2: In Chicago, Jose Quintana pitched into the eighth innings to earn a career-best 10th win and Jose Abreu homered for the second straight game to lead the White Sox.
RAYS 8, RANGERS 4: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Logan Forsythe homered after missing four games due to back spasms, and Tampa Bay took two of three from AL Westleading Texas.
ANGELS 2, YANKEES 0: In Anaheim, Calif., Albert Pujols had three hits and scored twice on singles by Andrelton Simmons, leading the Angels over the Yankees. BREWERS 7, MARINERS 6: In Seattle, Keon Broxton and Chris Carter homered and Scooter Gennett had an RBI single during a four-run ninth inning, as Milwaukee ended a six-game losing streak.