Lackey uses wind to his advantage

Asked about the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, John Lackey smiled. It was one of those seen-it-all grins that arrive after years in the majors.

“If it’s blowing in here, yeah, you use it,” he said.

He used it quite well on Friday. Lackey pitched seven crisp innings, Javier Baez’s daring baserunning paid off again and the Chicago Cubs beat Atlanta, 2-0, for their fifth straight win.

Lackey (11-10) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked none while improving to 6-1 with a 3.83 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break. The 38-yearold right-hander retired his last 16 batters.

“We were locating the ball pretty good,” Lackey said. “Tried to play the elements a little bit. Had the wind blowing in, which was

nice. Doesn’t happen all the time around here, so it was a good day to pitch.” ORIOLES 1, BLUE JAYS 0 (13 INNINGS) >> Jonathan Schoop doubled in Manny Machado for the game’s only run in the 13th inning, and Baltimore beat Toronto. It was the eighth win in nine games for the Orioles, a surge that’s put them just 21/2 games behind the Yankees for the top AL wild card.

NOTES >> Justin Verlander will make his debut for the Astros on Tuesday at Seattle. Houston orchestrated a last-minute deal with Detroit on Thursday to acquire the right-hander and bolster its rotation as it eyes a deep playoff run. GM Jeff Luhnow said they’d been trying to get Verlander to Houston since late July . ... Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer will miss at least two starts with recurring numbness in his pitching hand.