With Epstein as its GM, the Red Sox have won the World Series twice. He has 1 year remaining on his contract.

In other baseball news:

* Houston Astros prospect Dustin Kellogg was killed in an automobile accident late Monday night. Kellogg died when the pickup truck he was driving collided with a freight truck in suburban Houston, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. In other Astros news, outfielder Jordan Schafer has been arrested in Florida and charged with felony possession of marijuana.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers have declined 2012 club options on infielder Casey Blake and pitcher Jon Garland, both of whom had season-ending surgeries. Also, the Delaware judge presiding over the Dodgers’ bankruptcy case has formally appointed a mediator, who is charged with trying to get the team and Major League Baseball to settle their differences over a reorganization plan for the team.

* Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore has undergone surgery on his right knee. He is expected to be recovered in 2 months.

* Former big leaguer Timo Perez and three other players have been suspended 50 games for violating the minor league drug program.

 

Tennis * 

Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the second round at the China Open in Beijing.

* Top-seeded Rafael Nadal eased past Go Soeda, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the second round at the Japan Open in Tokyo.

 

Philly File * 

Union forward Sebastien Le Toux was named the MLS Player of the Month for September. Le Toux scored seven goals in six games.

* The Soul, of the Arena Football League, re-signed defensive back Tanner Varner.

 

Sport Stops * 

University of Missouri curators voted to consider leaving the troubled Big 12 for another conference. Speculation has centered on a possible Missouri move to the Southeastern Conference, which recently agreed to accept Texas A&M from the Big 12 starting next year.

* The Chicago Blackhawks gave general manager Stan Bowman a 3-year contract extension.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 28 (UPI) — Nick Hundley and Will Venable homered and combined to drive in seven runs Wednesday, sending the San Diego Padres to a 9-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The Padres and Cubs ended the season tied for the second-worst record in the National League (71-91) — ahead of only the Houston Astros and their 106 losses.

Hundley hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-run third and Venable blasted a grand slam in the sixth.

That made things easy for Wade LeBlanc (5-6), who gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings to get the victory.

Ryan Dempster (10-14) suffered the loss, surrendering all nine runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Shaun Marcum threw eight strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers moved a step closer to the NL Central title with a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
Marcum (13-7) allowed five hits and one run and chipped in at the plate by doubling and scoring during Milwaukee’s four-run third inning.
Rickie Weeks drove in two runs and Nyjer Morgan reached base three times, stole a base and scored two runs to help the Brewers reach 91 wins for the first time since 1992.
Milwaukee needs a combination of three wins or Cardinals losses to clinch the division. The Cardinals played the Mets on Tuesday night.
Chicago’s Randy Wells (7-5) allowed six hits and five runs in five innings.
Rickie Weeks drove in two runs and Nyjer Morgan reached base three times, stole a base and scored two runs for the Brewers.
Marcum threw just 97 pitches, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter during an efficient performance that came on the heels of two poor starts in which he allowed 10 runs in 11 2-3 innings. Marcum has never lost three straight starts.
The only damage against Marcum came on Starlin Castro’s leadoff homer in the sixth. Castro has reached base in 33 straight games, the longest such streak by a Cubs shortstop since Woody English in 1929. Castro has 336 career hits, surpassing Glenn Beckert’s franchise record for hits by a player in his first two seasons (post-1900).
Randy Wells (7-5) was roughed up in his second straight outing, allowing six hits and five runs in five innings.
The Brewers didn’t get a hit off Wells until Marcum’s one-out double in the third ignited Milwaukee’s big inning. Marcum scored on Corey Hart’s double. Morgan singled in Hart, stole second and scored on Ryan Braun’s RBI single. Weeks capped the inning by singling home Braun.
Darwin Barney doubled twice for the Cubs.
NOTES: Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez left the game after the sixth inning because of a mild strain in his right quad and is listed as day to day. … Brewers 1B Prince Fielder walked twice and surpassed the 100-walk mark for the third straight season. … Former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry spent some time on the field before the game chatting with players, coaches and media. Hendry was fired on Aug. 19 after more than 16 years with the organization, including over nine years as the team’s GM. His permanent replacement has not been hired though Randy Bush is filling in on an interim basis. … Cubs special assistant to the general manager Gary Hughes resigned on Tuesday, effective Oct. 31. The scouting guru has been with the organization since 2002 and has spent 44 years in professional baseball, working with a total of nine different franchises. … Matt Garza will start the Cubs’ home finale on Wednesday, his first start since throwing a career-high 124 pitches in a complete-game no decision against Houston on Sept. 16. He’ll face Randy Wolf, who is 1-1 with a 1.37 ERA in three starts against Chicago this season.

CHICAGO, Sept. 17 (UPI) — Rodrigo Lopez didn’t allow an earned run over six innings Saturday and four Cubs relievers combined to wrap up Chicago’s 2-1 win over Houston.

Lopez (6-6) won his second straight start, holding the Astros to one unearned run over six frames, scattering four hits while walking two and striking out seven.

Ramon Ortiz, Jeff Russell and Kerry Wood teamed up for two innings of scoreless relief and Sean Marshall collected his fifth save despite loading the bases in the ninth for the Cubs, who clinched their three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Bryan LaHair’s solo homer in the fourth broke a 1-1 tie and proved to be the game-winner.

Henry Sosa (2-5) absorbed the loss for Houston, yielding a pair of runs on four hits over six innings as the Astros (51-100) lost a 100th game for the first time in franchise history.

CHICAGO, Sept. 16 (UPI) — Marlon Byrd’s infield single drove in Starlin Castro with one out in the 11th inning Friday, giving the Chicago Cubs a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros.

Carlos Lee’s second home run in the game, a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth, erased a 3-1 Chicago lead and forced extra innings.

With Davis Carpenter (0-3) pitching, Castro walked to open the 12th and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. After Aramis Ramirez was intentionally walked, both runners moved up on a wild pitch, leading to an intentional walk to Reed Johnson to load the bases.

Byrd hit a high chopper down the third-base line that third baseman Chris Johnson just touched, allowing Castro to score the winning run.

Jeff Samardzija (7-4) earned the win with an inning of one-hit relief.

Lee had a second-inning home run but it was his ninth-inning shot — his 18th of the year — that ruined a strong outing by Cubs starter Matt Garza, who took a three-hitter into the ninth.

A home run by Geovany Soto tied the score at 1-1 in the third and Chicago went up 3-1 in the sixth when Jeff Baker singled in Aramis Ramirez, who had tripled, and then score on Alfonso Soriano’s base hit.

Written by

The Sports Network

HOUSTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) — Brian Bogusevic and Matt Downs each delivered two-run hits Wednesday in propelling the Houston Astros past the Chicago Cubs 4-3.

Bogusevic doubled in a pair of runs in the third inning and Downs’ two-run single came in the fourth to beat Casey Coleman (2-5).

Coleman was battered for 10 hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Houston starter Bud Norris (6-8) lasted just five innings but got the win despite giving up a two-run home run to Aramis Ramirez in the third inning and a solo shot by Geovany Soto in the fourth.

Ramirez has 23 home runs this year while Soto has hit 13.

Mark Melancon allowed two singles to open the ninth but still earned his 12th save after one runner was thrown out at home.

J.B. Shuck led off the Astros’ third with a single and, after a force out, J.D. Martinez also singled. Coleman got the second out but then walked Jimmy Paredes. Bogusevic followed with a double to right that scored two.

Norris singled with one out in the fourth and Shuck reached on a force out. Jose Altuve singled and Martinez walked, loading the bases. Downs singled to center, making the score 4-3.

Marmol allowed the Astros to load the base before surrendering a grand slam to pinch-hitter Brian Bogusevic for a 6-5 loss that ended the Cubs’ three-game winning streak.

“When you’re not sharp sometimes you get beat,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Marmol’s performance. “His slider wasn’t as good as it usually is, and his fastball command left him.”

“One swing can beat you. It’s one of those things.”

Until the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cubs seemed poised to take the three-game series with a game to spare.

Tyler Colvin hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Aramis Ramirez added a solo shot in the eighth as the Cubs built a 5-2 lead. Colvin, who has spent time in Triple-A this season and is hitting just .135, has homered three times in the last 13 games, including Tuesday’s blast that landed in the second deck in right field.

Houston starter Brett Myers exited after the seventh inning having yielded six hits and four runs in seven innings and hasn’t won since June 17.

The Cubs jumped to an early lead, getting Myers for two runs in the first inning.

Starlin Castro hit a leadoff single followed by a single by Darwin Barney. Ramirez hit the third single of the inning to score Castro and give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Carlos Pena walked before Marlon Byrd grounded into a double play and Barney scored to make it 2-0.

Rookie Jimmy Paredes’ RBI double in the bottom of the first inning got the Astros back in it.

But Houston failed to overcome the one-run deficit despite Myers shutting out the Cubs over the next four innings.

Cubs starter Ryan Dempster was partly to blame. Much like Myers, Dempster settled after giving up an early run. He shut out the Astros the next five innings.

By the time the Astros managed to score again — Humberto Quintero’s sac fly off Dempster brought home J.B. Shuck in the bottom of the seventh — the Astros had dug themselves in what looked like too big of a hole.

The run again cut the Chicago’s lead in half, only this time the score was 4-2 in favor of the Cubs.

Dempster left after the seventh inning having just allowed four hits and two runs, replaced by Kerry Wood, who pitched a scoreless eighth.

“That’s a bummer,” Dempster said. “We had a chance to win the series. It just didn’t work out. The guy came up, swung and missed two fastballs and he hits one out.”

Ramirez’s 22nd homer came off reliever Wilton Lopez in the eighth inning and pushed the lead to 5-2.

Then came Houston’s rally.

Shuck singled with one out in the ninth off Marmol (2-4) before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Clint Barmes singled and Matt Downs drew a walk to load the bases and bring up Bogusevic, who went deep to left center field for first career grand slam.

“Bad day, you know?” said Marmol of his eighth blown save. “I’ve been pitching good. Hopefully that continues tomorrow and (I) forget about today.”

Houston rookie reliever Aneury Rodriguez (1-4) struck out one in 2-3 innings for the win, his first in the majors.

“I was surprised (about Marmol),” Quade said. “We just didn’t get it done. We played well. Obviously you never know how many runs you’re going to need.”

NOTES: Houston OF Jordan Schafer, on the DL since July 20 with an injured left middle finger, was cleared to start a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. If his rehabilitation goes well, he could join Houston on Monday in Colorado. Schafer was acquired from Atlanta in the Michael Bourn trade. … Bud Norris starts for Houston in Wednesday’s finale against Chicago’s Casey Coleman. … Norris didn’t allow a run in seven innings in his last start, but did not factor in the decision. … Coleman was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to replace Carlos Zambrano in the rotation. Coleman is 2-4 with a 7.23 ERA in 11 games this season for Chicago.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

HOUSTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) — Brian Bogusevic cracked a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday, rallying the Houston Astros past the Chicago Cubs 6-5.

The Astros came into the ninth trailing 5-2 but began a comeback off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol (2-4) when J.B. Shuck got a one-out single. Marmol loaded the bases when Clint Barmes singled and pinch-hitter Matt Downs walked.

Bogusevic then worked the count to 2-2 before blasting a pitch over the center field wall for Houston’s first walk-off grand slam since 2002.

Aneury Rodriguez (1-4) was credited with the win after recording the final two outs in the top of the ninth as the Astros broke a seven-game losing streak with the wild comeback.

Ryan Dempster started and went seven innings for the Cubs, yielding a pair of runs on four hits.

Tyler Colvin smacked a two-run homer and Aramis Ramirez drove in two with a solo blast and an RBI single.

“It’s good for us,” Bogusevic said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit. One of the good parts about being young is you’re not going to give up. We’re going to fight all nine innings and it doesn’t matter if we’re down one run or 10 runs, we’re going to keep going.”

J.B. Shuck singled with one out in the ninth off closer Carlos Marmol (2-4) before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Clint Barmes singled and Matt Downs drew a walk to load the bases and bring up Bogusevic.

“When you’re not sharp sometimes you get beat,” Chicago manager Mike Quade said referring to Marmol. “His slider wasn’t as good as it usually is, and his fastball command left him.”

Bogusevic, who called the hit a “thrill,” sped around the bases at first because he wasn’t sure he’d hit it out.

“I was (running fast) because I know that I’m the winning run and if it doesn’t get out, I’ve got to get myself into scoring position somewhere,” he said. “After I saw it land, I kind of slowed down a little bit to maybe soak it in a little bit.”

Houston reliever Aneury Rodriguez (1-4) struck out one in 2-3 innings for his first career win.

Astros’ manager Brad Mills was excited to see two of his young players come through in the victory.

“(Bogusevic) really did a good job,” Mills said. “That was just tremendous and I’m so thrilled for him and thrilled for Aneury Rodriguez to get his first win. Those things are cool.”

Kerry Wood pitched a scoreless eighth before Marmol blew his eighth save, which snapped a streak of nine straight saves for him.

“Bad day, you know,” Marmol said. “I’ve been pitching good. Hopefully that continues tomorrow and (I) forget about today.”

Tyler Colvin hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Aramis Ramirez added a solo shot in the eighth as the Cubs built a 5-2 lead. Colvin, who has spent time in Triple-A this season and is hitting just .135, has homered three times in the last 13 games, including Tuesday’s blast that landed in the second deck in right field.

Houston starter Brett Myers yielded six hits and four runs in seven innings and hasn’t won since June 17.

“First inning I was struggling to get my rhythm,” Myers said. “Sixth inning, just one pitch cost me two runs. But that ninth inning made up for everything. I don’t even feel like I pitched tonight,”

Chicago starter Ryan Dempster allowed four hits and two runs in seven innings before being replaced by Wood.

Jimmy Paredes had two doubles and drove in a run for the Astros.

Ramirez’s 22nd homer came off reliever Wilton Lopez in the eighth inning and pushed the lead to 5-2.

Starlin Castro hit a leadoff single followed by a single by Darwin Barney. Ramirez hit the third single of the inning to score Castro and give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Carlos Pena walked before Marlon Byrd grounded into a double play and Barney scored to make it 2-0.

Jason Bourgeois drew a walk with no outs in the first for Houston before Carlos Lee walked with two outs. The double by Paredes, which landed in the corner of left field, scored Bourgeois, but Lee was out at home to leave it at 2-1.

Ramirez reached on an error by Clint Barmes and Pena walked in the third inning, but Myers didn’t allow another hit after the three first-inning singles until Barney singled with two outs in the fifth inning. Ramirez grounded into a force out to end that inning, before Pena doubled to start the sixth.

Then came Colvin’s two-out homer that scored Pena and pushed Chicago’s lead to 4-1.

Shuck doubled in the seventh inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Humberto Quintero to make it 4-2.

NOTES: Houston OF Jordan Schafer, on the DL since July 20 with an injured left middle finger, was cleared to start a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. If his rehabilitation goes well, he could join Houston on Monday in Colorado. Schafer was acquired from Atlanta in the Michael Bourn trade. … Bud Norris starts for Houston in Wednesday’s finale against Chicago’s Casey Coleman. … Norris didn’t allow a run in seven innings in his last start, but did not factor in the decision. … Coleman was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to replace Carlos Zambrano in the rotation. Coleman is 2-4 with a 7.23 ERA in 11 games this season for Chicago.

___

Kristie Rieken can be reached at http://twitter.com/kristieAP.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ATLANTA — Dan Uggla was quick to acknowledge he never thought he’d have a hitting streak as long as 33 games.

Now the Chicago Cubs are streaking.

The Cubs stopped Uggla’s 33-game hitting streak and rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Sunday for their fourth straight series win.

The Cubs have won 11 of 14.

Uggla’s streak was the longest in the majors in five years. He was 0-for-3 with an RBI.

“That’s more games than I thought I would ever have,” Uggla said.

His best chance to extend the streak came in the fifth. Second baseman Darwin Barney made a diving catch of Uggla’s fly ball in shallow right field. Barney was fully extended when he made the catch in front of right fielder Tyler Colvin.

“I wasn’t even looking at him,” said Uggla of Barney. “I was looking at Colvin and I was like ‘Oh, it’s going to drop in front of him.’ And the next thing you know Barney comes flying through.”

Barney said the catch was more important because of Uggla’s streak.

“Because of the circumstances and all that, I’m pretty happy about it,” Barney said.

“It was a good streak for him. He’s a great player. But I think our pitchers are happy. They take a lot of pride in that, and I’m happy for them.”

Uggla grounded out to shortstop against Jeff Samardzija in the seventh in his final at-bat. He didn’t come up in the ninth, when Carlos Marmol earned his 28th save.

“The streak is one thing. I’m more disappointed in the loss,” Uggla said. “It was a fun run but all things have got to come to an end sometime. I had fun with it. We had a nice, little roll as a team and we’re looking to get back on track tomorrow.”

Uggla’s streak was the longest in the majors since 2006, when Philadelphia’s Chase Utley had a 35-game streak. Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins had a 38-game streak that began in 2005 and carried through the start of 2006.

Uggla was hitting only .173 when he started the streak on July 5. He has raised his average to .231.

Uggla had 15 homers and 32 RBIs in the streak.

Marmol walked Michael Bourn, who had three hits, with two outs in the ninth. Bourn stole second base but Martin Prado popped out to third baseman Aramis Ramirez to end the game. Uggla was on deck.

Uggla’s teammates patted him on the back and hugged him in the dugout after the game.

“For me, it’s impressive,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. “It was a streak where at any given time Chipper (Jones) wasn’t in the lineup and Brian McCann wasn’t in the lineup, and Uggla carried us. That was impressive.”

Uggla streak passed Rico Carty’s 31-game streak in 1970 as the longest in Atlanta Braves history. The franchise record is 37 games by Tommy Holmes for the 1945 Boston Braves.

The Braves led 4-0 through five innings and 5-4 through six before Carlos Pena’s two-run homer in the seventh.

Atlanta took a 5-4 lead in the sixth when Jason Heyward singled off John Grabow (3-0), stole second and scored on Grabow’s wild throw to first on a grounder by Alex Gonzalez.

The Cubs answered in the seventh when Barney singled and scored on Pena’s 23rd homer to right field off Eric O’Flaherty (1-4).

The Cubs, who won two of three from the Braves, have won four straight series for the first time since Sept. 9-21, 2008.

Cubs manager Mike Quade said before the game the team has moved past the controversy of pitcher Carlos Zambrano cleaning out his locker and leaving the team on Friday night and being placed on the disqualified list on Saturday.

“Look, grown-ups make decisions, and he made a decision,” Quade said. “And that’s his deal at this point, it’s not mine.”

Zambrano’s Cubs equipment bag was seen on the truck being loaded outside the clubhouse, but there was no indication he will join the team before the end of his 30-day leave without pay. He cannot be involved in team activities while on the disqualified list.

Bourn singled in the first and moved to third when Matt Garza fielded Prado’s soft grounder and threw high to second for an error. Bourn scored on Uggla’s fly ball to left.

Garza’s six errors lead all pitchers in the majors, according to STATS LLC. He gave up four runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk in five innings.

The Braves added two runs in the second on RBI singles by Bourn and Prado and stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fourth when Jose Constanza walked, stole second and third and scored on Bourn’s broken-bat single to center.

Colvin had a two-run single in Chicago’s four-run sixth. Brandon Beachy, who gave up two runs on six hits in 5 1-3 innings, was lifted after allowing singles by Barney and Ramirez and Pena’s run-scoring fly ball. Scott Linebrink gave up three straight hits, including Colvin’s two-run single.

Arodys Vizcaino’s wild pitch to Blake DeWitt allowed Geovany Soto to score from third.

NOTES: Atlanta pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts. … Quade said RHP Casey Coleman will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to replace Zambrano in the rotation. Coleman is 2-4 with a 7.23 ERA in 11 games, including nine starts, with Chicago this season. … Former Braves two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy threw out the first pitch. … The Braves will open a four-game series against San Francisco on Monday night when Tim Hudson faces the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner. … The Cubs begin a game at Houston when Rodrigo Lopez is schedule to face the Astros’ Henry Sosa. … McCann came off the 15-day disabled list and was 0-for-4. … The Braves placed RHP Tommy Hanson on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis and activated Linebrink. The team optioned RHP Anthony Varvaro to Triple-A Gwinnett. Fredi Gonzalez said RHP Randall Delgado will be recalled from Gwinnett to start Tuesday against San Francisco.

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PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs haven’t had much to celebrate during what has been a miserable season.

They sure had a lot of fun Tuesday night.

Alfonso Soriano hit two of the Cubs’ season-high six home runs and Chicago used a 21-hit attack to beat the fading Pittsburgh Pirates 11-6 Tuesday night.

“It’s like we never really settled down,” Cubs right fielder Tyler Colvin said. “We kept hitting and kept wanting to get hits and get at-bats, and it was pretty exciting to be part of it.”

Garrett Jones homered twice and drove in four runs and Brandon Wood also connected for the Pirates.

Soriano hit solo shots in the third inning off Kevin Correia (12-9) and the fourth off Tony Watson. Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer, Geovany Soto had a two-run drive and Marlon Byrd and Colvin also connected.

“We haven’t seen an outburst like that in a while, it was just great,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “A game like this can help you in a million different ways.”

Colvin’s homer cleared the right-field stands and bounced into the Allegheny River.

“It was one of those pitches I was lucky to stay inside of enough to keep it fair,” Colvin said. “It just felt great to hit a ball like that.”

The Cubs could use the help as they have won three straight games for the just the second time this season. At 45-65, they have the second-worst record in MLB behind Houston (36-74).

The home run barrage sent the Pirates to their fifth straight loss and 10th in 13 games. Pittsburgh fell back to .500 at 54-54. The franchise has had a record 18 consecutive losing seasons.

Ramirez, who snapped an 0-for-20 slump, drove in four runs while Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney and Colvin had three hits each. Ramirez, Byrd, Soto, Soriano and winning pitcher Randy Wells (3-4) each had two.

Ramirez returned to the lineup after sitting out Monday night’s 5-3 victory over the Pirates with a sore quadriceps.

Wells went six innings, allowing two runs and five hits while walking one and striking out seven. Wells had compiled a 7.88 ERA in his other five road starts this season.

“I’ve been pitching inside a lot more and trying to make things happen a lot more, instead of just getting the sign and throwing the ball in there,” Wells said.

Correia was hammered for four home runs in two-plus innings. He gave up eight runs and 10 hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Correia fell to 2-7 at home while failing in his bid for a career-high 13th victory.

Castro, Barney and Ramirez hit consecutive singles to start the game and give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Jones answered with a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the first to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-1.

The Cubs then broke the game open with four runs in the second inning, three in the third and two in the fourth to move in front 10-2.

Colvin’s solo homer in the second tied it and Ramirez then put Chicago ahead with a three-run shot to the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. Soto’s two-run homer and Soriano’s first homer chased Correia in the third. In the fourth, Byrd and Soriano connected off Watson. Castro hit an RBI single in the seventh to push the Cubs’ lead to 11-2.

Pittsburgh scored three times in the eighth off Ramon Ortiz as Jones hit a solo homer and Wood had a two-run blast, the Pirates’ first pinch-hit home run of the season. Jones added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.