Cubs back at .500 after testy victory

ST. LOUIS — Yan Gomes drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs got back to .500 with their sixth straight victory, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 after a testy start Thursday night.

In the first inning, Cubs outfielder Ian Happ bloodied St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras when he hit him in the head with a long follow-through on a swing, then was soon hit himself by a pitch from Miles Mikolas.

After a hug from former Chicago teammate Happ, Contreras left because of a cut on the scalp and was day to day to return to the lineup.

Andrew Knizner took over behind the plate, and Mikolas brushed back Happ to run the count to 3-1. With the next pitch, Mikolas hit Happ in the rear, with Mikolas (6-6) and Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol being ejected.

Cody Bellinger, Christopher Morel and Mike Tauchman each had three hits for the Cubs to back lefthander Justin Steele (11-3), who allowed five hits and one run. He had four strikeouts and walked three.

At 51-51, Chicago is at the .500 mark for the first time since sitting at 19-19 following a victory May 12.

Mets, 2 Nationals 1: Mark Canha had a sacrifice fly immediately after a 97-minute rain delay in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting host New York to a win.

The Mets tied the score by stringing together three straight one-out singles against Mason Thompson (3-4). DJ Stewart was then plunked by a pitch to load the bases, and Thompson was removed for Kyle Finnegan moments before umpires motioned the teams off the field.

After play resumed, Canha hit Finnegan’s fifth pitch to deep right field and Pete Alonso beat the throw home.

Guardians 6, White Sox 3: Josh Naylor drove in three runs, rookie Tanner Bibee pitched into the seventh inning and visiting Cleveland beat Chicago.

Manager Terry Francona tied Casey Stengel for 13th place on baseball’s career wins list with his 1,926th victory. And the Guardians handed the White Sox their sixth straight loss even though Jake Burger hit two homers.

Naylor drove in two with a double and scored in a three-run third against Dylan Cease (4-4) that gave the Guardians a 4-0 lead. He also had a strange RBI double in the seventh when reliever Aaron Bummer deflected his soft comebacker. The ball trickled into center field, and Andrés Giménez scored on the play to make it 5-3.