Cubs keep rolling, smack Pirates
PITTSBURGH — Addison Russell set a career high with four hits, Jason Heyward homered for the third time in four games and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs jumped on the Pittsburgh Pirates early in a 14-3 victory on Monday night.
Ben Zobrist added three RBIs for Chicago as the defending World Series champions won for the fifth time in six games. Anthony Rizzo had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant and Miguel Montero all had two hits apiece for the Cubs.
Chicago scored four runs with two outs in the first inning off Chad Kuhl (1-2) and added five more in the second to give Brett Anderson (2-0) all the breathing room he would need.
Anderson struggled at times with his command, walking six in six innings while striking out three and allowed three runs, one earned.
Rookie Jose Osuna had three of Pittsburgh’s seven hits and drove in a run. Kuhl lasted just 1 innings, giving up nine runs as his ERA ballooned from 2.60 to 6.63 in less than an hour.
The Cubs are starting to get it going after a sluggish start, averaging 8.8 runs during their recent surge to first in the NL Central. It has helped take some of the pressure off a pitching staff that is struggling to get any sort of consistency from its starters.
At cold and wet PNC Park, it didn’t matter.
Adam Jones hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning, Hyun Soo Kim and Jonathan Schoop also went deep, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays on a cold, damp Monday night at Camden Yards. All three home runs were off Chris Archer (2-1), who gave up five runs, six hits and five walks in 6.2 innings. The right-hander didn’t allow a long ball in his previous four starts this season. Baltimore trailed 3-1 before Kim and Schoop connected on successive pitches in the sixth inning. Brian Dozier hit a basesclearing double and the Twins beat Texas, ending the Rangers’ AL-best four-game winning streak. Dozier’s two-out double in the fifth came after Martin Perez (1-3) walked the bases loaded, giving free passes to the three of the bottom four batters in the Twins lineup. Dozier had only three RBIs his first 17 games this season. Matt Davidson had two hits and three RBIs in an eight-run sixth, Chicago’s highest-scoring inning in five years, and the White Sox routed the struggling Royals. Miguel Gonzalez (3-0) lowered his ERA to 2.00, allowing an unearned run and two hits in eight innings. Davidson set a career-high with three hits and tied his best with four RBIs. Melky Cabrera, Todd Frazier and Tyler Saladino drove in two runs each for the White Sox, who out-hit the Royals 15-2. Chicago put together its high-scoring inning since a nine-run fifth against Texas on July 3, 2012.