Polanco, Pirates take down Cubs

CHICAGO — Gregory Polanco and the Pittsburgh Pirates wasted no time in bouncing back from a rout to make an early statement in the National League Central.

Polanco homered twice to help back a third straight solid start by Trevor Williams, and Pittsburgh pulled away from the Chicago Cubs 6-1 on Thursday.

Francisco Cervelli lined a three-run shot in the seventh off Cubs reliever Justin Wilson as Pittsburgh scored four times in the inning to break open a tight game.

Adam Frazier also went deep for Pittsburgh, which rebounded from a 13-5 loss on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field to improve to 9-3 on the season.

INDIANS 9, TIGERS 3: Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff homer and drove in three runs, helping host Cleveland beat Detroit for its 11th straight win against the Tigers. The Indians capped a four-game sweep and improved to 31-10 against their AL Central rival since 2016.

ROCKIES 5, NATIONALS 1: DJ LeMahieu hit two home runs and drove in a career-high four runs to lead Colorado to a victory at Washington. Chad Bettis (2-0) allowed one run and three hits over seven innings as Colorado took the opener of a four-game series.

RED SOX 6, YANKEES 3: Rick Porcello pitched seven scoreless innings, Mookie Betts drove in two runs, and host Boston beat New York. Porcello stayed in after a 45-minute rain delay and was working on a no-hitter before Aaron Judge's leadoff double in the seventh.

GIANTS 7, PADRES 0: Chris Stratton tossed seven innings and combined with reliever Derek Law on a one-hitter, and Buster Posey and Hunter Pence each had two RBIs as San Francisco silenced host San Diego.

CARDINALS 13, REDS 4: Jose Martinez drove in six runs, and Yadier Molina homered in his return from a one-game suspension, lifting St. Louis to a win that left host Cincinnati at 2-10, its worst start since 1955.

ANGELS 7, ROYALS 1: Shohei Ohtani hit a bases-loaded triple in a five-run seventh inning to help Los Angeles beat host Kansas City for its fifth straight victory.

TWINS 4, WHITE SOX 0: Joe Mauer reached 2,000 career hits, and Jose Berrios struck out 11 in seven innings as Minnesota blanked visiting Chicago.