Jay and Happ star in Cubs’ thrilling rally
CHICAGO: Jon Jay connected for his third career pinch-hit homer and Ian Happ hit a tie-breaking, two-run single an inning later to help the Chicago Cubs rally to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
The Cubs appeared to be headed for their sixth loss in eight games before Jay drove a 1-2 pitch from Erasmo Ramirez (4-3) over the wall in left-centre for a tying three-run shot with two outs in the sixth. Jay then popped out of the dugout for a curtain call, obliging the crowd of 39,855 on a picturesque day at Wrigley Field.
Happ got his big hit in the seventh, driving in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo with a bouncer up the middle against Tampa Bay’s drawn-in infield.
Pedro Strop (3-2) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Carl Edwards Jr and Koji Uehara worked the eighth, and All-Star Wade Davis got three outs.
Andrew Cashner held a hot Boston lineup hitless into the sixth inning, Rougned Odor hit an early two-run homer and Texas ended the longest winning streak in the majors at six games with a rain-delayed 8-2 victory over the Red Sox.
Alex Wood pitched three-hit ball over seven innings to start the season 10-0 and NL West-leading Los Angeles beat secondplace Arizona 1-0.
In Denver, Jon Gray hit his first career homer an estimated 467 feet — the farthest by any Rockies player this season — and pitched effectively into the sixth inning as Colorado beat Cincinnati 5-3 on a sweltering night.
Dellin Betances forced in the go-ahead run with four walks in the eighth inning, and Toronto beat the New York Yankees 7-6 after wasting a five-run lead.
Matt Garza pitched into the seventh inning and Keon Broxton hit a two-run homer to lift Milwaukee to a three-game sweep of Baltimore, winning the Wednesday’s game 4-0.
In Atlanta, George Springer drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Josh Reddick and Marwin Gonzalez each had three RBIs and streaking Houston beat the Braves 10-4.
In Seattle, Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer in the 10th, Alex Gordon added a two-out RBI single later in the inning and Kansas City completed a three-game sweep with a 9-6 win over the Mariners.
Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings and drove in his first runs of the season with a tie-breaking two-run single to lead Pittsburgh over Philadelphia 5-2.
Also on Wednesday, Sonny Gray pitched six mostly sharp innings for Oakland to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4, and San Diego got another rare road win, beating Cleveland 6-2.
The Giants edged the Tigers 5-4, the Angels clinched a 2-1 victory over the Twins, and the Marlins registered a 9-6 victory over the Cardinals.