Heyward’s single, Rizzo’s walk lift Cubs over Nats
CHICAGO— Anthony Rizzo walked the Cubs to awild victory.
Rizzo walked with the bases loaded in the seventh inning after Jason Heyward broke up a no-hitter with a two-run single in the sixth, and Chicago beat theWashingtonNationals 3-2 on Friday.
In the first meeting between the teams since they beat Washington in the NL Division Series, the Cubs won even though they didn't get a hit against Nationals starter JeremyHellickson.
Heyward finally broke through against Sammy Solis (1-2) with two outs in the sixth. But just as big was Rizzo walking three times. He sparked the tying rally with one in a 13-pitch at-bat before forcing in the go-ahead run with another in the seventh.
Manager Joe Maddon got ejected, but the Cubs pulled out the victory.
“The second one obviouslywas a big one for us,” Rizzo said. “(Hellickson) was cruising, really hitting his spots.”
Hellickson retired 17 in a row after issuing a leadoff walk to Rizzo in the first. But things took a wild turn with two out in the sixth.
He walked Rizzo on 13 pitches and both Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist on four to load the bases.
Heywardtooktwo balls fromSolis before lining a tying two-run single past second basemanDanielMurphy. NATIONALS @ CUBS
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“I think I tried everything,” Hellickson said. “That's why (Rizzo is) one of the best hitters in our game.”
Chicago grabbed a 3-2 lead in the seventh after Maddon got tossed for arguing an interference call againstWillson Contreras on the bases. The Cubs thought they had runners on second and third after Kyle Schwarber led off with a single and third baseman Anthony Rendon's throw sailed down the right-field line.
Instead, he got called for interference, leading to Maddon's second ejection this season. He argued with plate umpire Bill Miller and went to first to demonstrate his point that first baseman Ryan Zimmerman could not have caught the throw, anyway.
Maddon called it “obviously a horrific call” that rewards defenses and penalizes offenses and said the umpires should be allowed to “exercise judgment.”
But Miller insisted: “In this situation, (Contreras) interfered with the first baseman's ability to catch the ball. Because he was running inside fair territory — he was not running in the lane.”
Hellickson gave uptwo runs, walked four and struck out three. Murphy had three hits and a run, but the Nationals came up short after a 7-3 homestand.
Bryce Harper was back in the lineup after being scratched from Thursday's game against Atlanta because of a sore right knee. Martinez said Stephen Strasburg (cervical nerve impingement) is scheduled for about a 60-pitch bullpen session Saturday and will pitch in a simulated game on Wednesday. Martinez said he thinks Strasburg will need to go on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the rotation.
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