Cause for celebration: multiple runs by Cubs
Chicago bats end five-game futility streak
DETROIT — When David Bote’s two-run homer cleared the fence in the fifth inning, it felt almost like a milestone for the Chicago Cubs — the first time in six games they’d scored more than one run.
“Whatever it was, was broken at that point,” manager Joe Maddon said. “That was broken. It was good to move it forward from there.”
Bote’s drive was the first of three homers by the Cubs in an 8-2 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday. Chicago had scored exactly one run in each of its previous five games, but even so, the victory gave the Cubs a 3-3 mark on the road trip they were wrapping up.
Jon Lester (14-5) allowed a run and seven hits in 5⅔ innings. Five Chicago relievers finished. Pedro Strop came in with the bases loaded in the eighth and walked in a run, but he retired James Mccann on a grounder to end that threat with the Cubs still up 4-2.
Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo hit consecutive homers in the ninth for Chicago to break the game open. Baez’s drive, a three-run shot, was his 26th of the year.
“They put some balls in the seats. You knew they could do that,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That’s a very talented group who can do a lot of things.”
Francisco Liriano (3-9) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5⅓ innings.
Daniel Murphy singled home a run in the fifth in his first game with the Cubs after being acquired in a trade from Washington on Tuesday.
Lester, who pitched six innings in a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh last Thursday, was sharp again in Detroit. He allowed an RBI single to Ronny Rodriguez in the second, but that was all the scoring against him for the Tigers.
“Lester can move that cutter around, and that makes him tough,” Detroit infielder Niko Goodrum said. “He can make it move in on you or use it as a backdoor pitch. We had chances, but we didn’t take advantage.”
Liriano didn’t get out of the second inning in his previous start, but he blanked Chicago for the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth.
The first six Chicago hitters of that inning reached base, and Bote’s drive put the Cubs up 2-1, snapping an 0-for-16 drought for the Chicago third baseman.