Diamondbacks deal with shortage at short vs. Cubs

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(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Shortstop has suddenly become a fluid spot for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rookie Jack Reinheimer became the fourth player at the position in five games after a sequence of injury, tragedy, trade and call-up as Arizona manager Torrey Lovullo sought to stabilize the spot.

Reinheimer was the latest to play there on Wednesday as the Diamondbacks met the Chicago Cubs in the middle game of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Who will get slotted in for Thursday's series finale has yet to be determined.

"You lose two shortstops within 24 hours (and) you're kind of scrambling," Lovullo said. "But I believe in the guys we have here, and we'll get this figured out."

This much is known. The Diamondbacks became short-handed at short after they lost starter Chris Owings to a fractured finger when he was hit by a pitch last Sunday. The likely backup -- Ketel Marte -- abruptly left the team when his mother was killed in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic. He's on the bereavement list.

Arizona made a quick deal with Oakland on Monday, trading for Adam Rosales. He played Tuesday and Reinheimer, called up from Triple-A Reno on Tuesday, stepped in Wednesday.

Another option is veteran utility man Emilio Bonifacio, signed by the Diamondbacks to a minor league deal last weekend.

Another shortstop, Nick Ahmed, has been on the disabled list since late June with a fractured right hand after being hit by a pitch. He's not expected back until late August.

The Diamondbacks will send RHP Zack Greinke (13-4, 2.84 ERA) against Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana (2-1, 2.37 ERA) on Thursday.

Greinke has gone 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last six games, allowing nine earned runs and holding opposing batters to a .129 average.

In 10 August starts since 2015, he's 6-2 with a 4.22 ERA, a .255 average and 59 strikeouts.

In five starts (32 2/3 innings) against the Cubs, Greinke is 2-1 with a 1.76 ERA and has held batters to a .215 average.

Quintana was 6-9 overall (4-8 with a 4.49 ERA in 18 starts with the White Sox) before coming to the Cubs in a trade.

He tossed a quality start in his last start at Milwaukee, July 29, but took the loss in a 2-1 setback.

Quintana is 0-2 with a 9.58 ERA in two career starts against the Diamondbacks. He faced Arizona earlier this season in an interleague series with the White Sox. He gave up eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings on May 24.

Going from a last-place team into the thick of a pennant race is a new experience for Quintana.

"Now starts matter," Cubs left-hander Jon Lester told reporters recently. "When you're used to pitching on a losing team, you have to find ways to get motivated. I've done both. It's different. You're playing for something. You're playing for something greater. You're not playing to get through September and to your offseason plans."

The Cubs remain home for a three-game series against National League East-leading Washington on Friday. Arizona travels to San Francisco for a three-game set.

Employee charged with setting fire at car dealership

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a man with setting fire to a suburban Chicago car dealership where he works.

In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago says 28-year-old Bryant Cameron of Broadview was arrested on a felony count of arson on Thursday.

The release says that on the night of July 24, Cameron poured gasoline in the front office, reception and warehouse areas of Epic Motorsports in Rosemont and set the fire with a lit cigarette. It also says that when Cameron was arrested, authorities found inside his vehicle items that had been reported stolen from the dealership.

The arson charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years.

There is no listed telephone number for Cameron and it wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

Mother of Chicago stabbing victim asks for privacy

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The mother of a Chicago stabbing victim said Thursday that the family does not know the Northwestern University professor or the University of Oxford employee that police are searching for in the slaying, and she asked for privacy as relatives grieve.

Charlotte Cornell, the mother of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, issued a statement to The Associated Press as police said the search for Wyndham Lathem, 42, and Andrew Warren, 56, in the slaying had narrowed. Police have not released a possible motive or said how they linked the suspects to the killing.

Cornell’s statement said: “Our Family is deeply saddened by the death of our son. It is our hope that the person or persons responsible for his death are brought to justice. We are asking that you allow our family to process and grieve this tragedy privately. We are asking all media outlets to not contact our family, friends or associates. When we have had sufficient time to mourn our child’s passing, we will release a more in depth statement if we believe it is appropriate to do so.”

In a brief telephone interview, Cornell said the family in Michigan — where Cornell-Duranleau was born and raised before moving to Chicago — doesn’t know the suspects. She declined to say whether she or other family members had ever heard of them before her son was killed because the two suspects “are at large and there’s an ongoing investigation.”

She said she hoped her written statement would provide some relief for relatives who have been inundated with calls from reporters around the world.

“Maybe this (statement) can calm things down for my kids, our parents,” she said. “We are asking that we have a little space during this time.”

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday that investigators believe they know where Lathem and Warren are or are heading, but he declined to elaborate.

“The search has intensified and has narrowed,” he said.

A judge issued first-degree murder warrants for the two men on Monday, four days after Cornell-Duranleau was found stabbed to death inside an apartment where Lathem lives in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Guglielmi said surveillance video shows the two men leaving the building the night of the slaying.

Diamondbacks' Godley shuts down Cubs

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Zack Godley and Jake Arrieta were so sharp for their respective teams Wednesday, that any outcome would need to come on some kind of a break.

Jake Lamb obliged with a chopper down the right field line in the sixth inning to score David Peralta and A.J. Pollack to break a scoreless tie as the Arizona Diamondbacks went on to a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

It was the lift the Diamondbacks (61-46) were looking for following a 16-4 blowout loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night.

"I was making sure we were focusing on this game today," said Lamb, who was 2-for-4 with two doubles and drove in all three runs. "When you get your butts kicked that bad, (it feels like) it's three or four losses, but it's just one game. We did a great job kind of flushing it."

Godley (5-4) gave up three hits over six innings, walked two and struck out five in 96 pitches.

"I located pretty well and they took some bad swings on a couple of pitches I left over the plate," said Godley, who has thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings over two starts. "I just made quality pitches when I needed to."

Godley, who also tossed seven shutout innings in his previous outing July 27 against the Cardinals, was pulled for a pinch hitter with two outs in the top of the seventh.

The victory evened the series at a game apiece heading into Thursday's finale.

It was the first shutout loss for the Cubs (57-49) since a 5-0 defeat at Cincinnati on June 30.

After managing only one hit through the first five innings, Lamb's one-out hit in the sixth inning gave Arizona its first lead in the series.

Cubs starter Jake Arrieta (10-8) gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked a pair.

"For Jake, that might have been his best all year," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

"It was good," Arrieta said. "I feel like there's some things I can do a little bit better and consistently and have all four pitches at my disposal when I need them. It feels like it's trending in that direction. So that's very positive not only for me but the team as well."

Arizona made it 3-0 in the eighth as Lamb hit an RBI double to left off left-handed reliever Justin Wilson, who was making his Cubs debut.

Diamondbacks relievers Andrew Chafin and Archie Bradley each threw a scoreless inning. Fernando Rodney worked a perfect nine-pitch ninth, striking out two Cubs en route to his 23rd save.

Unlike the Cubs' blowout win Tuesday, hits and runs were hard to come by Wednesday.

The Cubs had Kyle Schwarber at second with one out in the second, but he advanced no further. Ben Zobrist reached scoring position in the third with two outs, but Schwarber struck out to end the inning.

"Jake was outstanding, so was their guy," Maddon said. "Both starters were really, really good."

NOTES: The Diamondbacks faced a right-handed starter for the 14th time in 15 games in Cubs starter Jake Arrieta. Now they will face back-to-back lefties, the Cubs' Jose Quintana (Thursday) and the Giants' Madison Bumgarner (Friday). ... The Diamondbacks send RHP Zack Greinke (13-4, 2.84 ERA) against Quintana (2-1, 2.37) on Thursday. ... C Alex Avila made his first Cubs start Wednesday since arriving in a trade with the Tigers. He spelled regular C Willson Contreras, who entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Contreras has 16 home runs, which is second in the NL among catchers. ... Cubs RF Jason Heyward went 0-for-3 on Wednesday and remains four hits short of 1,000 for his career.

Happ, Donaldson lead Blue Jays past White Sox

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- J.A. Happ looked and felt like his old self again -- the left-handed ace who went 20-4 last season for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Happ struck out a season-high 10 through seven innings to win for the first time in nearly a month, Josh Donaldson homered for the third straight game and the Blue Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon.

"I felt more like myself maybe from last year today in terms of being able to use a lot of pitches for strikes -- and I think that was a big part of it," Happ said. "I felt like we were using everything and throwing everything for strikes.

"The main thing is trying to get back to a point where I'm trying to get deep in games and consistently giving us a chance to win the ballgame."

Happ (4-8) allowed one run, scattered six hits and walked one as he matched his longest outing this season, which came in a 3-1 loss on April 5 at Baltimore. The lefty was 0-3 in his previous four starts, but was sharp on Wednesday.

"(He was) really good today," manager John Gibbons said. "Fastball was explosive. As this game went on, he started hitting his spots and had a good breaking ball."

Steve Pearce added a solo shot for Toronto, which won for the third time in its last four games. Justin Smoak doubled in a run while reaching base three times, and Russell Martin had an RBI single.

Donaldson's 13th homer gave him four in his last six games while Pearce's home run, his 11th, was his third in seven games. His two previous shots -- Sunday and Thursday -- were both grand-slam, walk-off drives.

Roberto Osuna, the fourth Toronto reliever, entered with two men on in the ninth and got the final three outs for his 27th save.

Leury Garcia singled in Chicago's lone run as the rebuilding and injury-depleted White Sox lost for the 19th time in their last 23 games.

White Sox starter Derek Holland (5-11) suffered the loss despite coming through with his best outing since June 25. The left-hander was 1-7 with an 8.54 ERA in his previous 11 starts, but allowed just two runs on five hits in six innings in this one

"Good outing, great outing actually," manager Rick Renteria said. "He went into his last inning down 1-0. Obviously gives up a solo homer to Pearce, but gosh, he did much better today."

Holland was encouraged, too.

"This is definitely a good start to build off of," Holland said. "Probably the only thing I would say is disappointing is four walks. That kills you from going later into the game."

The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the first, but Happ escaped by striking out recent call-up Nicky Delmonico and getting Garcia to tap back to the mound.

Donaldson walked with one out in the third, then scored on Smoak's double to the left-center gap to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

Tim Anderson lined a triple into the right-center gap to lead off the bottom of the inning, but was stranded as Happ got the next three White Sox hitters to ground out.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the fifth with a pair of one-out singles and Smoak's walk with two outs. But Kendrys Morales grounded into a force to end the threat.

Pearce launched a solo shot deep to right-center to lead off the sixth and make it 2-0. Garcia singled in Tyler Saladino from third with two outs in the bottom half to cut it to 2-1.

The Blue Jays tacked on two runs in the eighth off White Sox reliever Jake Petricka, scoring on Martin's RBI single and a wild pitch.

Donaldson homered on the first pitch of the ninth to make it 5-1.

NOTES: White Sox INF Matt Davidson (bruised right wrist) and INF and top prospect Yoan Moncada (bruised right knee) did not play and remain day-to-day. ... Chicago OF Avisail Garcia (right thumb ligament strain) did not play either. He is progressing, but manager Rick Renteria wouldn't provide a timeline for the All Star's return. "We're not going to rush it," Renteria said. "We're in a situation right now where we'd like him to be sound." ... Toronto OF Nori Aoki joined the Blue Jays on Wednesday and was available off the bench. He was acquired Monday a trade that sent LHP Francisco Liriano to Houston. ... Former Cubs C Miguel Montero started behind the plate for Toronto, but suffered a right groin strain and was replaced by Martin in the seventh. It was Montero's first appearance in Chicago since the Cubs designated him for assignment on June 28, then traded him to Toronto after the catcher criticized starter Jake Arrieta... Toronto has Thursday off, its first break in 20 days since the All-Star game, before opening series at Houston.

Blue Jays, White Sox set for rubber game

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(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- The Toronto Blue Jays will try to stay hot at the plate when they wrap up a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon.

Toronto sluggers Justin Smoak and Josh Donaldson have homered in back-to-back games. The Blue Jays have a total of eight home runs in the past three games.

Donaldson will try to take advantage of his final game of the season at Guaranteed Rate Field. He has a .342 batting average in 32 career games against the White Sox.

"He looks good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He was in a tough stretch, but you know it's just a matter of time. He's too good of a hitter. He works hard at it."

Toronto (50-57) needs a win to even the season series at three wins apiece against the White Sox. Chicago has won the season series in each of the previous five seasons, a franchise record.

A win in the rubber match would give Chicago (41-63) its first series victory since taking two out of three against the Texas Rangers from June 30-July 2. The White Sox are 3-14 since the All-Star break.

Emotions could be high one day after the teams emptied their benches amid a war of words between Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman and Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson. Both players stood their ground during their postgame comments Tuesday, blaming the other for the incident.

Anderson said Stroman "cries like he always does" about hitters who step out of the batter's box. Meanwhile, Stroman chided Anderson for chirping on his way back to the dugout after a strikeout.

"I don't regret anything I did," Anderson said. "I stood up like I was supposed to, and it happened."

Toronto left-hander J.A. Happ (3-8, 4.15 ERA) is slated to face the White Sox in his 15th start of the season. The 11-year veteran has lost his past three decisions and is seeking his first victory since July 4.

In four career starts against the White Sox, Happ is 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA. He has walked six and struck out 25 in 25 innings. That includes a nine-strikeout performance on June 18 in which Happ posted a quality start and earned a win over the White Sox. He gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Happ, 34, is no stranger to pitching in the Chicago region. He grew up in the small town of Peru, Ill., which is about 100 miles southwest of where the White Sox play. Happ pitched at Northwestern in the Chicago suburb of Evanston.

For the White Sox, left-hander Derek Holland (5-10, 5.42 ERA) is scheduled to make his 21st start. Holland has not earned a win in his past seven outings, going 0-4 with a 9.09 ERA.

Holland, 30, is 3-3 with a 6.99 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Blue Jays. His last outing against Toronto was May 5, 2016, when he gave up 11 runs on 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Lester part of HR barrage as Cubs rout D-backs 16-4

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- It was a historic but incomplete night for Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester as he hit his first career home run and collected his 2,000th career strikeout.

But he didn't get the victory even as the Cubs rolled to a 16-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Tuesday night's series opener .

The Diamondbacks forced Lester to throw 104 pitches in four-plus innings as he sputtered toward the end and missed the chance for his ninth victory.

"A lot of foul balls, weird game, really weird game," Lester said. "At the end of the day, we won, so who cares about all the other stuff."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Lester pitched well, but the Diamondbacks kept making him work.

"They kept fouling off pitches, that's what got him out of the game," Maddon said. "He really had good stuff and he should have easily pitched a solid six today. But when it got to that point in the game, it looked like his stuff had really dropped off."

The Cubs (57-48) scored early and often as Anthony Rizzo homered twice, and Ian Happ and Javier Baez added one apiece as the Cubs matched a season high for home runs in a game.

Lester hit his first major league homer -- a two-run shot to left field in the third inning.

He also fanned pinch hitter Jack Reinheimer in the fourth inning for the 2,000th strikeout of his career.

"It's awesome, it's great and I'm not downplaying it, but I'd rather take the win," Lester said.

Cubs reliever Hector Rondon (3-1) claimed the victory instead after he stepped in and worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Losing pitcher Patrick Corbin (8-10) lasted only three innings as the Cubs hit him for eight runs (seven earned) and 10 hits.

Corbin said it was evident what went wrong.

"Pretty much everything," he said. "I left some fastballs there, made some mistakes, fell behind on guys. The changeup I felt was pretty good, but I left fastballs over the middle and paid for it."

But there was plenty of blame to share.

"We've played pretty fundamental baseball during the season" Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "Today we made three errors and that was uncharacteristic."

The victory was the Cubs' third straight, sixth in seven games and 14th since the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks (60-46) suffered their third loss in four games.

Rizzo led the Cubs' 17-hit parade, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs. Happ, Willson Contreras, Addison Russell, Lester and Ben Zobrist had two hits apiece.

A.J. Pollock, Adam Rosales and Paul Goldschmidt each had two of the Diamondbacks' eight hits. Rosales was making his Arizona debut.

The Cubs already had a comfortable 8-3 lead after 5 1/2 innings before adding seven more runs in the sixth. The key blows were a two-run double by Contreras and Baez's three-run homer, his 14th home run of the season. Both came off Diamondbacks reliever TJ McFarland, who then departed.

Rizzo's second homer of the night, his 26th of the season, came in the seventh for the 16th run, a Cubs season high.

Rosales singled home Jeff Mathis for the final run in the Arizona ninth off Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery.

NOTES: The Diamondbacks recalled INF Jack Reinheimer from Triple-A Reno and optioned RHP Silvino Bracho to Reno. RHP David Hernandez and INF Adam Rosales, both acquired in trades, reported and were active for the game. ... Arizona also signed veteran OF Emilio Bonifacio to a minor league contract. ... The Diamondbacks send RHP Zack Godley (4-4, 3.06 ERA) against Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (10-7, 4.03) in Wednesday's middle game. ... The Cubs made several moves in the wake of Monday's trade deadline, officially adding LHP Justin Wilson and C Alex Avila to the 25-man roster after they were acquired from the Detroit Tigers. In corresponding roster moves, RHP Justin Grimm and C Victor Caratini were optioned to Triple-A Iowa. ... The Cubs are the first defending World Series champions to be in first place Aug. 1 since the San Francisco Giants topped the National League West in 2011.