Arrieta starts as Cubs begin series against Cardinals

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs will start a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Friday in a chase to get 103 wins in 2016.

The Cubs and Cardinals play 19 games, spanning six series, this season. This is the final regular season meeting between the two clubs. Chicago aims to win a regular season series against St. Louis for the first time since the 2010 campaign (9-6).

Jake Arrieta will make his 30th start of the season for the Cubs today, marking the second time in his career he has made 30 starts (also last season). He has posted a 2.82 ERA (29 ER/92.2 IP) in 15 home starts compared to a 3.11 ERA (32 ER/92.2 IP) in 14 road starts. Despite the higher road ERA, he is second in the majors with 11 wins road this season (11-2). He ranks among N.L. leaders in wins (17, t-3rd), ERA (2.96, 9th), opponent’s average (.185, 1st), OBP (.271, 6th), slugging (.295, 1st) and OPS (.566, 1st).

Arrieta is 5-1 with a 1.09 ERA (6 ER/49.2 IP) in eight-career regular season starts against St. Louis at Wrigley Field ... has posted a 1.69 ERA (2 ER/10.2 IP) in two starts this season at the Friendly Confines.

The Cardinals will start RHP Mike Leake, who is 9-10 with a 4.54 ERA in 2016.

FLYING THE “W” FLAG OFTEN

The Chicago Cubs, 2016 N.L. Central Division champions, tonight begin their final regular season home series of the season with the first of three games against the St. Louis Cardinals ... Chicago on Wednesday completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 9-2 victory to improve to a season-high 42-games over .500 (97-55) for the first time since the end of the 1945 campaign when the club finished 98-46.
• Chicago’s 97 victories match their output from 2015, and are tied for the most single-season victories since winning 98 games in 1945.
• This marks just the 11th time in franchise history the Cubs have reached 97 wins in a season ... the Cubs have recorded at least 97 wins in consecutive campaigns for the first time since a five-season run over 100 years ago from 1906-10.
• The Cubs have 10 games remaining and are on pace for 103 wins this season.

WAY TO GO, JOE!

Joe Maddon has compiled a 194-120 regular season record in his first two campaigns at the helm of the Cubs ... only two managers have reached that many victories with fewer than 120 losses with Chicago: Cap Anson in 1879-82 (194-84) and Frank Chance in 1905-07 (194-73) ... thanks to Ed Hartig.

ON THE SEASON

At 97-55, the Cubs own the best record in MLB, 7.5 games better than the next closest club (Texas, 90-63) ... Washington is next-closest in the N.L. with an 89-63 mark ... the magic number for the Cubs to clinch home field through the N.L. playoffs is two.
• The Cubs have gone 45-20 (.692) in their last 65 games starting July 10, also the best record in all of baseball in that span ... the Cubs have more than doubled their lead in the N.L. Central during this time from 6.5 games to 17.0 games.
• Today is the eighth of a 10-game homestand vs. the Brewers (1-3), the Reds (3-0) and the Cardinals (3 games).

ONE-TWO PUNCH

Kyle Hendricks leads the majors with a 2.06 ERA while Jon Lester is second with a 2.36 ERA ... the Giants Madison Bumgarner is third at 2.57 ... the last time pitchers from the same team finished with the top two ERAs in the majors was in 2005, when the Astros Roger Clemens (1.87) and Andy Pettitte (2.39) turned the trick.
• Hendricks has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last 21 starts dating to May 22 (1.65 ERA), the longest streak by any big league pitcher this season ... he is the fourth Cubs starting pitcher in the last 30 years to allow three earned runs or fewer in 21-straight starts, joining Jake Arrieta (29, 2015-16), Mike Morgan (27, 1992) and Frank Castillo (23, 1994-95).
• Lester’s 18 wins are tied for the N.L. lead and are the most by a Cubs lefty in a single season in 53 years since Dick Ellsworth had 22 victories in 1963.
• Lester has allowed two or fewer runs and two or fewer walks in each of his last 10 starts ... according to Elias, just two other Cubs pitchers since 1893 – the year the pitching mound was set to 60’6” – had such a streak ... Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown had an 11-game streak in 1906 and Jake Arrieta had a 10-game streak spanning 2015-16.

40 x 30

Anthony Rizzo on Monday recorded his 40th double of the season to go along with his 30 homers ... he’s the first left-handed hitter in Cubs history to record 40 doubles and 30 homers in a season, and just the fourth overall ... he joins Rogers Hornsby in 1929, Derrek Lee in 2005 and Alfonso Soriano in 2007.
• Rizzo is just the second left-handed hitter to record multiple 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in franchise history ... Rizzo, who last season had 31 homers and 101 RBI, joins Billy Williams, who turned the trick three times (1965, 1970 & 1972).
• Rizzo enters today’s contest tied for fifth in the N.L. with 31 home runs(one shy of his career-high 32 in 2014) while his career-high 104 RBI are tied for second in the Senior Circuit with Atlanta’s Matt Kemp and Washington’s Daniel Murphy.

WHAT’S IN AN AGE?

With 21 homers and 93 RBI on the season, Addison Russell is just the second Cub to reach the 20-homer mark in his age 22 season or younger – joining Ron Santo (23 homers in age 21 campaign in 1961).
• Russell is the first shortstop to reach 93 RBI in his age 22 or younger season since Troy Tulowitzki did so at age 22 in 2007 with Colorado (99 RBI).
• Russell’s 93 RBI are tied with Houston’s Carlos Correa for the most by any shortstop this season.
• Russell is the first Cubs shortstop to reach 93 RBI since Ernie Banks logged 117 RBI in 1960 (156 games at shortstop that season).

N.L. CENTRAL CHAMPIONS

Chicago, which appeared in the 2015 postseason as the N.L. Wild Card, will advance to consecutive postseasons for just the fifth time in franchise history ... the club first turned the trick way back in both 1880-82 and 1885-86, and did so again from both 1906-08 and 2007-08.
• The Cubs clinched the division in 146 games, the fewest number of games Chicago has clinched its division in the divisional era (since 1969), as well as the earliest the Cubs have clinched a playoff spot all-time (thanks STATS, Inc.).
• The previous team to clinch a division with 16 or more games remaining in a season was the 2008 Angels ... they clinched the A.L. West with 17 games remaining.

COMFORTS OF HOME

This marks just the fourth season since moving to Wrigley Field in 1916 that Chicago has won at least 55 games at home ... the Cubs won 56 games at Wrigley Field in both 1933 and 1935 and 55 home games in 2008.
• At 55-23 (.705), the Cubs have the best home record in the majors, (Texas and Cleveland are second, both at.667) ... Chicago is 29-9 in its last 38 home games, 22-6 in its last 28 and is 14-4 in its last 18.

CROSSING THE PLATE AT A RAPID RATE

Kris Bryant’s 117 runs scored are tied for the major league lead with Boston’s Mookie Betts ... that’s six ahead of the next-closest N.L. player, Colorado’s Nolan Arenado (111) ... Bryant’s 116 runs scored are the most for any Cub since Derrek Lee scored 120 runs in the 2005 campaign.
• Bryant leads the N.L. and is second in the majors with an 8.1 WAR (Mike Trout leads with an 8.7 mark).
• Bryant’s 38 homers this season are second-most in the N.L. and are tied for the most by a Cub since Aramis Ramirez hit 38 in 2006 ... the last Cub with at least 39 homers in a season is Derrek Lee, who belted 46 in 2005.

LEADING THINGS OFF

Dexter Fowler on September 13 hit his seventh lead-off homer of the season, the most by a Cub in a single campaign since Alfonso Soriano hit a franchise record 12 lead-off blasts in 2007.
• Fowler is hitting .383 (36-for-94) with 13 walks and three HBP in 110 plate appearances (.473OBP) leading off a game this season.

CLOSE IT OUT

Since joining the Cubs on July 26, Aroldis Chapman’s 15 saves are tied for fourth-most in the majors, two behind the Dodgers Kenley Jansen (16) ... the Cubs now have two pitchers with at least 15 saves apiece (Hector Rondon, 18) for the first time since 2009 when Kevin Gregg had 23 saves and Carlos Marmol recorded 15.

Phillies beat White Sox 8-3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tommy Joseph homered, doubled and drove in three runs and Jerad Eickhoff outpitched Chris Sale in Philadelphia's victory over Chicago.

Joseph has 21 home runs, third most among rookies in the majors. The Phillies teed off on Sale (16-9), tagging the ace for six runs and seven hits in four innings.

Eickhoff (11-13) pitched seven innings and gave up six hits, including solo home runs by Adam Eaton, Todd Frazier and Alex Avila homered, and struck out six.

Phillies outfielder Tyler Goeddel left in the sixth after being hit in the head by a pitch from Chris Beck. Goeddel was the fourth Philadelphia player to be hit in the game, tying a franchise record.

Cubs beat Reds 9-2

CHICAGO (AP) — John Lackey pitched seven solid innings for his first win in six weeks, Miguel Montero drove in three runs, and Chicago swept Cincinnati.

Kris Bryant hit his 38th homer and Dexter Fowler also connected to help major league-leading Chicago move a season-high 42 games over .500. The Cubs (97-55) also matched their win total from a year ago and lowered their magic number for clinching home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs to two over Washington.

Lackey (10-8) allowed two runs and five hits in his first win since he beat the Angels on Aug. 9. The right-hander, who retired his last 14 batters, went 0-1 with a 2.55 ERA in his previous four starts.

The last-place Reds lost for the seventh time in eight games. They managed just five runs and 19 hits in the three-game series against the NL Central champions.

Robert Stephenson (2-2) was pulled with two out in the fourth inning.

1 dead, 1 wounded in Englewood shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two men were shot, one fatally, on Chicago's South Side Thursday morning.

Police responded to a report of two people wounded in a shooting in the 5500-block of South Perry Avenue in the city's Englewood neighborhood just after 4:55 a.m.

Officers found a 48-year-old man who had been shot in the mouth. He died at the scene. Authorities have not released his identity.

They also found a 35-year-old man who had been shot in the shoulder. He was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.

Police said a preliminary investigation shows the men may have been the victims of a robbery, but that has not been confirmed.

Area Central detectives are investigating the shooting. No one is in custody.

via ABC 7 Chicago.

White Sox beat Royals 7-4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Chris Sale pitched his American League-leading sixth complete-game to pick up his 16th win, Carlos Sanchez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Chicago beat Kansas City.

Sanchez had struck out in his first three at-bats before hitting a pitch frm Kelvin Herrera out to right with J.D. Shuck and Avisail Garcia aboard. It was Sanchez's first home run since last Sept. 21 at Detroit.

Todd Frazier doubled with one out and scored on Alex Avila's single for the first run of the inning.

Sale (16-8), 1-6 in his previous 11 starts, limited the Royals to four runs, three earned, while striking out 10 and walking one.

Herrera (2-5) blew his third save in 14 chances as Kansas City lost its fifth straight.

Cubs beat Brewers 5-4 in 10 innings

CHICAGO (AP) - Miguel Montero homered in the 10th inning and Chicago celebrated its NL Central title with a dramatic victory over Milwaukee.

The Cubs became the first major league team to clinch its division when St. Louis lost at San Francisco late Thursday night. A day later, they put together quite a party.

Chicago (94-53) pushed across two runs in the ninth and Montero connected for a leadoff drive in the 10th against Blaine Boyer (2-4). The Cubs poured out of the dugout to mob Montero at home plate, then pulled on postseason hats and shirts as the crowd of 40,823 cheered wildly.

Chris Coghlan had three hits for the Cubs, including an RBI single during the ninth-inning rally. Albert Almora Jr. hit a two-run homer, and Aroldis Chapman (4-1) struck out the side in the 10th for his first win with the Cubs.

Ryan Braun, Orlando Arcia and Scooter Gennett homered for Milwaukee.

Cubs left fielder Jorge Soler left with tightness on his right side.

Brewers center fielder Keon Broxton slammed into the outfield wall while tracking a long drive and broke his right wrist.

Loop cell phone story burglarized

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are investigating a burglary at a cell phone store and an attempted break-in at a jewelry store in the Loop Saturday morning.

An AT&T store in the first block of West Madison Street was burglarized at about 5:23 a.m., police said. It is the second At&T store targeted in the last week, with a store at State and Randolph streets burglarized.

Police said a suspect made off with an unknown amount of merchandise. A witness said that he spotted a man armed with a handgun and carrying stolen merchandise.

"He was running down to the 'L' station with tablets and a handgun on his back pocket. After a while, he took out the gun and started playing with the gun. His hands were bloody, like if he broke car glass or something," said the witness, who did not want to be identified.

Police are also investigating an attempted break-in at a jewelry store in the first block of North Wabash at about 2 a.m. Saturday. When police arrived, they found damaged glass to the front of the store, but there was no evidence an entry was made, and no merchandise was stolen.

No one is in custody in either incident. Police have not said if the two incidents are related and have not released a description of the suspect or suspects.

via ABC7 Chicago.

Investigation underway on fire at East Garfield Park strip mall

CHICAGO -- Firefighters put out a fire Tuesday morning at the scene of a strip mall fire on Chicago's West Side that destroyed several businesses Monday night.

Due to the intensity of the fire, more than 150 firefighters were called to the scene. They tried to get inside, but were forced back out.

The fire was struck out by around 10 p.m. Two firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. They are expected to be okay.

"When they realized it was lightweight construction and the fire is aggressively gaining momentum, they back out. Lightweight construction will fail very quickly," said Michael Carbone, Assistant Fire Chief, Chicago Fire Department.

Investigators are looking into how the fire started.

Cubs beat Cardinals 4-1

ST. LOUIS (AP) Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker's leadoff homer, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Monday night to close in on the NL Central crown.

Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th home run. Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman.

Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the division title. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the NL Central with a three-game sweep in St. Louis.

The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the league's second wild card.

Soon after Hazelbaker's shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks - leading to an argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West.

Maddon was ejected, and Chapman entered to finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees.

Hendricks, who threw 96 pitches, struck out seven and walked two.

It was the fourth no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning this season. Cubs teammate Jake Arrieta tossed the lone no-hitter in the majors this year, winning 16-0 at Cincinnati on April 21.

Mike Leake (9-10) pitched six innings and allowed four runs (three earned).

White Sox beat Indians 11-4

CHICAGO (AP) - Avisail Garcia matched a career high with four hits, including a tiebreaking solo homer, and Chicago routed the AL Central leaders.

Todd Frazier hit his career-best 36th homer and Adam Eaton also went deep for theWhite Sox.

The Indians' division lead was trimmed to six games over Detroit.

Carlos Carrasco (11-8) lasted just 3 2/3 innings, hours after the Indians announced Danny Salazar could miss the rest of the season with a forearm injury.

Miguel Gonzalez (4-6) got the win.

Royals beat White Sox 6-5

CHICAGO (AP) — Whit Merrifield hit a two-run double in Kansas City's three-run seventh inning, and the Royals held on for the road win.

Royals closer Wade Davis gave up a single to Tyler Saladino and a double to Adam Eaton to lead off the ninth before Melky Cabrera's infield single cut the deficit to one.

With the tying run on third and one out, Davis struck out Jose Abreu and Justin Morneau for his 23rd save. The Royals remained four games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.

Chicago's Chris Beck (2-2) recorded just one out and was charged with three runs. Kevin McCarthy (1-0) got the last out of the sixth for the win.

Astros beat Cubs 2-1

HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Alex Bregman homered and Collin McHugh pitched five effective innings, leading Houston to the victory.

Bregman put the Astros ahead with an opposite-field home run to right-center against John Lackey (9-8) in a two-run third. After starting 1 for 34 following his July 25 promotion, Bregman has eight home runs — all since Aug. 16. He went 2 for 4 and raised his average to .274 with 31 RBIs.

McHugh (10-10) won his third straight decision, allowing one run and two hits. Chris Devenski, Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles combined for hitless relief. Giles survived a shaky ninth to earn his 10th save.

Lackey gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

Possible camera found in North Side school faculty bathroom

Chicago police are investigating a plastic device resembling a camera found in the faculty bathroom of a school on the city's Near North Side.

Police said a staff member of the Ogden International School's East Campus discovered the device Wednesday.

In a letter sent home to parents, the school's principal Michael Beyer said police removed the device which "is not designed to send information, so we are confident that no images were transmitted by the device." Beyer also said school security also conducted a full sweep of both buildings and found no other devices.

Info from this article via ABC 7 Chicago

$1,000 reward for suspect(s) of shooting of man watering lawn in Marquette Park

CHICAGO -- A $1,000 reward is being offered as police search for two men who robbed and shot a 71-year-old man who was watering his lawn in Chicago's Marquette Park neighborhood Tuesday.

"Don't be afraid. Stand up. We need our Chicago back, ok? We need Chicago back," said Pete Keller of United Legion One Nation.

Surveillance video captured the attack on Frederico Laguardia by two men who rode up to him on bicycles. The robbers took his wallet and shot him in the stomach before riding away. Laguardia was listed in fair condition at Mount Sinai Hospital.

White Sox beat Tigers 7-4

CHICAGO (AP) — Avisail Garcia hit a go-ahead single against his former team in a four-run eighth inning and Chicago beat Detroit to keep the Tigers a game out of the final AL wild-card spot.

The Tigers wasted a chance to move into a tie with Baltimore for the second wild card. The teams begin a three-game series Friday in Detroit.

Jose Abreu led off the eighth with a single for his third hit and scored on Justin Morneau's double off Shane Greene (3-4). After Todd Frazier grounded out, Garcia singled to right-center. Tyler Saladino and Adam Eaton added RBI singles.

Chris Beck (2-1) got four outs, and David Robertson worked the ninth for his 35th save.

Brewers beat Cubs 2-1

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jonathan Villar hit two home runs and Keon Broxton robbed Anthony Rizzo of a homer in the ninth inning to help Milwaukee beat Chicago.

Milwaukee got its first hit when Villar homered leading off the fourth. Villar homered again off Joe Smith (1-1), the sixth Chicago pitcher, leading off the eighth.

Corey Knebel (1-2) pitched a scoreless inning, and Tyler Thornburg finished for his ninth save.

With one out in the ninth, Rizzo hit a drive to deep center. Broxton jumped above the wall to make the catch. Chicago starter Mike Montgomery faced the minimum number of batters through three innings. He lasted five innings, allowing one run and two hits with two walks and six strikeouts

Milwaukee starter Matt Garza gave up one run and three hits in six innings.

Man arrested could be suspect in armed robbery of off-duty officer

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An arrest after a traffic stop in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood could be a big break in the investigation of a serious crime against a Chicago police officer.

A source told ABC7 Eyewitness News he is a suspect in the robbery of an off-duty cop.

Police took the man into custody near the New City Shopping Center near North Halsted Street and West Eastman Court around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers found a weapon in his car, but authorities did not officially say he is the suspect. Investigators said it's still too early in the investigation.

But a source said he is the focus of a weekend robbery where an off-duty police officer and someone he was with were held up by three armed men in the 3100-block of North Ravenswood Avenue. They took their wallets and the officer's handgun and dropped the officer's star nearby, police said.

Police may have one of the three robbers in custody. Investigators are still sorting out all of the details.

via ABC 7 Chicago.

Brewers defeat Cubs 12-5

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jonathan Villar homered to start a five-run first inning against Jason Hammel, and Milwaukee cooled off Chicago.

The NL Central-leading Cubs had won seven of eight and were 41 games over .500 after winning Monday's series opener.

But Milwaukee rallied from a 1-0 deficit as its first seven batters reached against Hammel (14-8). Villar homered on Hammel's second pitch, Ryan Braun had an RBI single, Domingo Santana singled in two runs and Martin Maldonado added a sacrifice fly.

Wily Peralta (6-9) gave up four runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings, leaving after Anthony Rizzo's second home run of the game, a two-run drive.

White Sox beat Tigers 2-0

CHICAGO (AP) — Jose Abreu hit his fifth homer in seven games, Miguel Gonzalez came off the disabled list to throw 6 1/3 innings of six-hit ball and Chicago cooled off Detroit.

Abreu connected off Matt Boyd (5-3) in the second for his 23rd homer as Chicago got its third win in nine games.

Gonzalez (3-6) struck out four in his first start since Aug. 11 following a groin injury.

10 hurt, including children, in accident on Dan Ryan

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Ten people were injured, including children, in a multi-vehicle accident on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Tuesday morning.

Three cars were involved in the crash that occurred in the inbound lanes of I-90/94 near 95th Street at about 12:35 a.m., according to Illinois State Police.

Six people were taken to hospitals in serious-to-critical condition, while three more people were hospitalized in fair-to-serious condition, fire officials said. Police said a tenth person drove on their own to the hospital. Their ages and genders were not known.
Police said two children, a male and a female, were among the victims.

An eyewitness said happened when a driver tried to drive in reverse to exit the expressway.

"He tried to back up and come back, backing up on the expressway on the outskirt, which is a dumb move, he backed up and the guy coming down the expressway really fast and the impact happened," the witness said.

The inbound lanes of the expressway were temporarily closed, re-opening at about 4:30 a.m., police said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2016.)

via ABC 7 Chicago.

Cubs defeat Brewers 7-2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks threw six strong innings and the Cubs pulled away for the victory.

Pinch hitter Chris Coghlan delivered a go-ahead single in a two-run seventh. He stayed in the game and got a two-run single in a four-run eighth for the NL Central leaders.

Hendricks (14-7) gave up one run — on Chris Carter's 33rd homer — and five hits in six innings, and left with a 2.07 ERA. He is 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA over his last seven starts.

Ryan Braun hit his 25th homer in the ninth for Milwaukee. Zach Davies (10-7) was charged with three runs, two earned, and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

White Sox lose to Tigers 5-3

CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Upton hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning to lift Detroit over Chicago for its 11th win in 14 games.

Miguel Cabrera homered twice and had four hits off Chris Sale, and Justin Verlander struck out 11 in seven innings as the Tigers stayed tied with Baltimore for the second AL wild card.

Chris Beck (1-1) issued consecutive two-out walks to Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez before Upton crushed a 1-2 fastball to right for his 21st home run. It was his second game-winning homer in two days after connecting in the eighth inning Sunday against Kansas City.

Cabrera became the fourth player to reach 300 homers with the Tigers with a liner to right in the first.

Alex Wilson (2-0) gave up one hit in the 10th and Francisco Rodriguez gave up a run in the 11th before securing his 39th save.

80-year-old man shot to death in South Shore

CHICAGO – An 80-year-old is dead after police found him with a gunshot wound to the face Monday morning, Chicago police said.

Police found the man unresponsive in his home at about 6:21 a.m. in the 2800-block of East 77th Place. He was found with a gunshot wound to the face and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

His death is being investigated as a homicide, police said.

6 dead, 30 wounded in Labor Day weekend shootings

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least six people have been killed in shootings over the holiday weekend in Chicago and at least 30 others have been wounded.

An 80-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to his face in his home in the 2800 block of East 77th Place in the South Shore neighborhood Monday morning. He was pronounced dead and his death is being investigated as a homicide.

via ABC Chicago.

White Sox beat Twins 13-11 in 12 innings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Abreu hit two three-run homers and drove in a career-best seven runs, and Chicago used Tim Anderson's two-run double in the 12th inning to get a wild win over Minnesota.

Abreu, Anderson and Melky Cabrera had three hits apiece, helping the White Sox overcome four homers by the Twins. The teams combined for 18 home runs while splitting the four-game series.

Juan Minaya (1-0) earned his first major league win. He pitched a scoreless 11th but walked the first two batters in the 12th. Tommy Kahnle came in and earned his third career save, retiring Eddie Rosario with the bases loaded for the final out.

Byron Buxton hit his first grand slam for Minnesota. Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and John Ryan Murphy also went deep. Pat Dean (1-6) took the loss.

Cubs beat Giants 3-2 in 12 innings

CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Heyward hit a tying single in the ninth inning and a game-winning single in the 13th as Chicago took three of four from San Francisco in a possible playoff preview.

Anthony Rizzo singled leading off the 13th against Matt Reynolds (0-1) and went to second on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice. Addison Russell, who had three hits, was walked intentionally before Heyward drove in his third run of the game.

Trevor Cahill (4-4) worked a perfect inning in a series in which all four games were decided by one run.

The Cubs were staring at a second straight loss when Russell led off the ninth with a double against Santiago Casilla. Russell went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Heyward's single to hand Casilla his seventh blown save.

White Sox recall RHP Juan Minaya and catcher Kevan Smith from Class AAA

The White Sox recalled two players on Thursday as of
the early afternoon, including catcher Kevan Smith.

Prior to tonight's series opener at Minnesota, the Chicago White Sox recalled right-handed pitcher Juan Minaya and catcher Kevan Smith from Class AAA Charlotte. The White Sox also sent right-hander Miguel Gonzalez on an injury rehabilitation assignment at Class AAA Charlotte.

Minaya, 25, went 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA (10 ER/26.2 IP), one save, 28 strikeouts and a .225 opponents average (23-102) over 17 relief appearances with Charlotte. He limited right-handers to a .159 average (10-63) with the Knights. Minaya was claimed off waivers from Houston on June 22 after being designated for assignment on June 20. He has no major-league experience and will wear uniform No. 67.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Minaya, a native of Maimon, Dominican Republic, was added to Houston's 40-man roster on November 20, 2015. He is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA (10 ER/26.2 IP), 28 strikeouts and 12 saves in 211 career appearances (55 starts) over eight seasons in the Houston (2009-16) and Chicago (2016) organizations. Minaya originally was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent on September 3, 2008.

Smith, 26, hit .219 (40-183) with nine doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI and 18 runs scored over 49 games with Charlotte in 2016. Smith, who also played in two games with the Arizona League White Sox, threw out 39.5 percent (15-38) of attempted basestealers with the Knights. He has no major-league experience and will wear uniform No. 61.

Smith was recalled by the White Sox on April 24 and scheduled to make his major-league debut on April 26 at Toronto but was scratched from the lineup prior to the game. He was on the disabled list from April 26-May 22 with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Smith is a career .282 hitter (536-1,900) with 121 doubles, 56 homers, 314 RBI and a .359 on-base percentage in 519 games over six seasons (2011-16) in the Sox system.

Gonzalez, 32, has been on the disabled list since August 12 with a strained right groin. He is 2-6 with a 4.05 ERA (46 ER/102.1 IP) in 19 appearances (18 starts) this season, his first with Chicago.

White Sox lose to Tigers 3-2

DETROIT (AP) — JaCoby Jones doubled twice in his second major league game, then dashed home for the winning run on Tyler Collins' sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to lift Detroit past Chicago.

After a day after doubling, singling and driving in two runs in his debut, Jones scored twice to help the Tigers complete a three-game sweep.

Jones hit a leadoff double in the ninth against David Robertson (4-3) and advanced to third on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's deep flyball. Collins came up as a pinch-hitter and was able to lift the ball to left-center. Avisail Garcia made the catch, but his throw bounced before it even reached the mound.

Francisco Rodriguez (2-3) pitched the ninth.

Jose Abreu and Alex Avila homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth for the White Sox.

Cubs beat Pirates 6-5, sweep series

CHICAGO (AP) — Kris Bryant hit his 36th homer and made three solid plays at third base, helping Jason Hammel and Chicago top Pittsburgh for a three-game series sweep.

Addison Russell had two RBIs and an outstanding sliding catch as Chicago equaled the best August in franchise history with a 22-6 record, also accomplished in 1932. It was the Cubs' first time with 22 wins in a month since it went 22-10 in September 1945.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Cubs (85-47) are rapidly closing in on their first division title since 2008. They begin September with the majors' best record at a season-high 38 games over .500 and a whopping 15-game lead over second-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

Hammel (14-7) allowed three hits and struck out six after dropping his previous two starts.

Ryan Vogelsong Vogelsong was the loser.