Murphy powers Nationals over Cubs
CHICAGO — Daniel Murphy hit two home runs to back Tanner Roark, and the Washington Nationals won the opener of a series between division leaders by beating the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on a chilly Friday afternoon.
With the game-time temperature at 63, Murphy hit a two-run homer in the first and connected off Kyle Hendricks leading off the sixth for a 3-0 lead.
Roark (9-7) didn’t allow a run until Javier Baez chased him with a two-run homer with one out in the seventh. Roark allowed five hits while improving to 3-1 in his past four starts.
Hendricks (4-4) gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings. Chicago has lost three straight after winning 14 of 17 following the All-Star break. R.A. Dickey won for the first time in seven starts, Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer and the Atlanta Braves overcame Giancarlo Stanton’s two home runs to beat the Miami Marlins. Stanton hit his 34th and 35th homers, tying Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for most in the majors, to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead in the sixth.
Brandon Woodruff allowed seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of his major league debut and Orlando Arcia homered and scored both runs Friday night in the Milwaukee Brewers’ victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Yu Darvish fit right in with the steamrolling Dodgers, striking out 10 over seven innings of three-hit ball during his Los Angeles debut to pitch the top team in the majors past the New York Mets.