Rivas delivers as Cubs defeat Padres
Chicago Cubs first baseman Alfonso Rivas had quite the homecoming.
Playing against his hometown San Diego Padres for the first time, Rivas hit a tie-breaking two-run single in the eighth inning to lift the Cubs to a 7-5 victory Wednesday.
Willson Contreras homered for the Cubs, who took two of three from the Padres after arriving in town with a seasonhigh, five-game losing streak. Frank Schwindel hit a two-run double in Chicago’s four-run fourth.
Rivas, who grew up in Tijuana and Chula Vista (San Diego County), came up with the bases loaded and singled up the middle off Luis Garcia (0-2). Rivas hit a two-run homer in Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss that bounced out of the glove of rookie center fielder Jose Azocar and went over the fence.
“We’re going through some tough patches as a team, so coming here and taking the series from a pretty good club, it’s awesome,” Rivas said. “It feels good. I think we’ve turned the page, giving us confidence for the next series.”
Before the game, the Padres announced that manager Bob Melvin had prostate surgery.
Melvin, 60, said Tuesday that he hoped to miss only the first six games of the Padres’ forthcoming nine-game trip.
Reds 14, Brewers 11: Christian Yelich hit for a recordtying third cycle — all against Cincinnati — in visiting Milwaukee’s loss.
Tyler Stephenson drove in four runs and Colin Moran hit a three-run homer for the Reds.
Pirates 5, Dodgers 3: Daniel Vogelbach hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh as host Pittsburgh won to take a series from Los Angeles for the first time in nearly five years.
Marlins 11, Diamondbacks 3: Jacob Stallings hit a go-ahead single and Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a three-run homer as part of an eight-run ninth as visiting Miami avoided a three-game sweep and won for just the second time in its past 11 games.
Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3: Gleyber Torres drove hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth and added a two-run single as host New York won the 15th time in 17 games.
Phillies 4, Mariners 2: Rhys Hoskins homered for the third straight game, this one the second grand slam of his career, for visiting Philadelphia.
Hoskins’ blast came off Logan Gilbert (4-1), who entered the game ranked second in the AL with a 1.36 ERA.
Nationals 8, Mets 3: Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz homered for host Washington.
Rays 4, Angels 2: Vidal Brujan hit an RBI double in the 10th to snap a tie as visiting Tampa Bay halted a three-game slide.
Braves 5, Red Sox 3: Orlando Arcia hit a game-ending tworun homer for Atlanta, which overcame an early three-run deficit.
Astros vs. Twins, suspended: The game in Minneapolis was suspended because of severe weather with Houston leading 5-1 in the fourth. It is scheduled to resume Thursday.
Briefly: Atlanta catcher Manny Piña will have season-ending surgery after tests revealed ligament and cartilage damage in his left wrist . ... Former A’s reliever Danny Coulombe went on the 15-day injured list because of a left hip impingement. ... Pirates outfielder Jake Marisnick will have surgery for a left thumb injury suffered Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.