Late runs lift Reds past Cubs

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Billy Hamilton stepped to the plate in the ninth inning on Tuesday night having struck out in two of his three at-bats.

However, with the Cincinnati Reds clinging to a one-run lead and Hamilton facing a two-strike count, the leadoff hitter found a way to come through.

Hamilton delivered a key RBI single, and Luis Castillo threw six shutout innings as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Tuesday night.

The Reds, who lost the series opener 15-5 on Monday night, snapped a three-game losing streak.

"I stuck in there and had the confidence to hit with two strikes in that situation. I ended up putting that ball in play, which is what I wanted to do," Hamilton said. "It was a big-time run for us."

Scooter Gennett's eighth-inning sacrifice fly off Cubs reliever Pedro Strop broke a scoreless tie, driving in Joey Votto. In the ninth, Votto walked, reached third on an Adam Duvall single and scored on Hamilton's hit, making it 2-0.

It proved to be the hit that mattered.

The Cubs got within a run in the ninth when Ben Zobrist singled in Kyle Schwarber, who led off the inning with a single. However, with the tying run on third base, Reds reliever Raisel Iglesias struck out Ian Happ to end the game and pick up his 21st save.

"Tonight was a pitcher's duel," said Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward, who was stranded on third when Happ struck out in the ninth. "It's one of those games -- playoff-like game -- we competed, we didn't give either way.

"It is what it is -- I wish it would have been 2-1 our side."

The Reds' offense came through after Castillo kept the Cubs in check. The rookie right-hander struck out seven and allowed just two hits and two walks.

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks also tossed six-plus shutout innings, allowing five hits and four walks while fanning six.

Michael Lorenzen (7-2) earned the win by throwing a scoreless seventh inning. Wandy Peralta got one out in the eighth, and Iglesias recorded the final five outs.

"(Those were) big pitches," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "(The Cubs) just don't give up ... they make a push.

"They don't run a lot of guys up there that aren't reputable players that don't make you nervous when they're at the plate. They created an opportunity, but we were able to withstand it."

The Cubs loaded the bases in the eighth inning with two outs. After Zobrist and Jon Jay walked to lead off the inning, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch with two outs. Iglesias struck out Victor Caratini to preserve the one-run lead.

The Reds threatened in the seventh inning when they put runners on second and third with two outs. After a walk to Gennett and a Eugenio Suarez single chased Hendricks, Carl Edwards Jr. struck out the side to keep the game scoreless.

The Cubs appeared on the verge of breaking the scoreless tie in the seventh when Caratini singled and reached third on a single by Albert Almora Jr., who was thrown out trying to reach second on the base hit. But Lorenzen got Heyward to line out to second and Javier Baez to ground out.

"I hit it hard," Heyward said. "I hit it hard."

After the Reds finally broke the ice with Gennett's sacrifice fly, they did just enough to hold off the defending World Series champions.

"Whenever you can win a ballgame at Wrigley Field, it's nice," Gennett said. "It's great energy, a great atmosphere to play in, and overall, it was just a really fun baseball game."

NOTES: Reds C Devin Mesoraco was placed on the disabled list on Tuesday with a fractured left foot after he was hit by a pitch on Monday. Mesoraco returned to Cincinnati to meet with team doctors, and manager Bryan Price said the catcher could be out three to six weeks. OF Phillip Ervin was called up from Triple-A Louisville to fill the roster spot. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto extended his club record of reaching safely at least twice in a game to 20 consecutive games with three walks. ... Cubs SS Addison Russell (foot) ran in the outfield prior to the game as he continues to rehab. Russell said Tuesday he believes he is "moving in the right direction" but does not have a definite timeline to return. ... Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight day with neck stiffness, but he pinch-hit in the eighth inning and stayed in the game.

Dodgers use five-run eighth to beat Whie Sox

(TSX / STATS) -- LOS ANGELES -- Joc Pederson is in a hitting slump, but he won Tuesday's game for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the batter's box in a more unconventional way.

With the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game against the Chicago White Sox, Pederson got hit by a pitch in the leg courtesy of reliever Jake Petricka to knock in the go-ahead run.

That led the Dodgers to a 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Los Angeles used a five-run eighth inning to turn a tight game into a rout. After Pederson was plunked with the bases loaded, pinch hitter Austin Barnes delivered a two-run single, as did Corey Seager.

After the game, closer Kenley Jansen jokingly said to Pederson in the clubhouse: "Hey, Joc, that was really big. Way to finally come through."

The Dodgers, a major-league-best 84-34, moved to 50 games above .500 for the first time since 1953. This was their 37th comeback victory.

"When you look at the win-loss, it's remarkable," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "We're going to celebrate tonight, like we do after we win, but we will refocus and it will be fun having Yu (Darvish) on the mound (Wednesday) making his home debut.

"Fifty games over .500 is kind of unchartered territory. We're playing good baseball."

The White Sox's season is completely opposite, and the bullpen woes continued for Chicago (45-71).

"The hit-by-pitch obviously didn't do us any favors," Petricka said. "Dug a little hole myself, and they just found some holes ... It's just next batter. I felt like I kept good focus. It was one pitch yanked a little too much and caught his hip."

Chicago's Tim Anderson continued his hot hitting, belting a home run to left field on the first pitch of the game. It was the fourth career leadoff home run for Anderson, who has four home runs and eight RBIs in his past seven games.

Dodgers starter Alex Wood gave up the solo shot, then was masterful. In the sixth, with a runner on third and two outs, Wood got pinch hitter Alen Hanson out on a called third strike. The lefty threw a big fist-pump after keeping the game tied at 1.

Wood allowed one run on six hits and no walks in seven innings while striking out six. His lone mistake was Anderson's home run, the first of his 79 pitches. He did not get a decision, though, failing in a bid to improve to 15-1.

"He just jumped on it," Wood said of Anderson's home run. "First pitch of the game, heater. Maybe left it up a little bit. It was out over. He was definitely looking heater. It surprised me a little bit how he turned and burned on that to start the game. After that, we settled down and made some quality pitches."

Brandon Morrow (5-0) got the win with one scoreless inning.

White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez pitched well and made a quality start, allowing just one run on five hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked three in an emotional game as it was his first time pitching in Dodger Stadium.

Gonzalez was born in Mexico, but his family moved to San Fernando -- a city outside Los Angeles -- when he was 4. He graduated from San Fernando High and then attended Los Angeles Mission College. He went to plenty of Dodgers games sitting in the upper-deck seats.

"There were a lot of emotions," Gonzalez said. "I had my family here. My friends. When I was stretching in the outfield right before I started warming up, everyone was there supporting. They were pretty pumped about it.

"It just got me going right off the get-go. There's a lot of memories here growing up. It was fun."

His parents and many other family members and friends were in attendance. His wife, Lucia, who just gave birth to their second child a few days ago, was back in Chicago.

Juan Minaya (1-1), who allowed one hit and one run in one-plus inning, took the loss.

In the sixth inning, the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger used his speed to reach via an infield single. Yasmani Grandal singled and Yasiel Puig drew a walk to load the bases. A Logan Forsythe sacrifice fly scored Bellinger from third to tie the game at 1.

Puig was moved up to sixth in the batting order on Tuesday because of his consistency in at-bats, according to Roberts. He went 0-for-2 with two walks.

Forsythe and Pederson, who have been struggling as of late, were dropped to seventh and eighth in the order, respectively. Still, Pederson found a way to help the Dodgers clinch yet another comeback win.

NOTES: The Dodgers traded RHP Chris Hatcher to Oakland for international bonus pool money. The reliever was not going to get much work in the stacked Los Angeles bullpen, according to manager Dave Roberts .... Dodgers OF Rob Segedin (toe strain, wrist surgery) was activated from the 60-day disabled list ... The White Sox reinstated RHP Dylan Covey (left oblique strain) from the disabled list. ... White Sox C Geovany Soto (right elbow surgery) is expected to miss the rest of the season .... 1B Adrian Gonzalez (back) will make the Dodgers' next road trip, which starts Friday in Detroit. Gonzalez last played in a game on June 11. ... White Sox INF Matt Davidson (right wrist bruise) had a rehab setback caused by irritation. There was no structural damage, but his return date is unknown.

Jay, Rizzo lead Cubs in 15-5 rout of Reds

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- On a night of high humidity and pitch counts, Jose Quintana was grateful for big offensive productions by his Chicago Cubs teammates on Monday.

The Cubs right-hander (3-2) was stretched through his five-inning outing but picked up his first win since July 23 as the Cubs rolled to a 15-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

"It was really good and it was early," said Quintana, who yielded two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks while striking out four. "I started slow and that was really impressive to me."

Jon Jay went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three runs, and Anthony Rizzo was 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs to lead the Cubs.

"We scored first and just kept pouring it on," said Rizzo.

Tommy La Stella also had three hits and scored twice, and Kris Bryant and Javier Baez each had a pair of hits -- including a home run -- and scored twice for Chicago.

Jason Heyward went 2-for-4 with three runs as part of a 17-hit Cub attack, including 10 off Reds starter Asher Wojciechowski (3-2).

"They had a lot more hard contact through the course of the game, which led to more runs," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "But both teams had a lot of scoring opportunities and pitching wasn't sharp probably for either side."

The victory was the third in four games for Chicago (62-55), while the Reds (49-70) dropped their third straight.

Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto went 3-for-5 to extend his franchise record of consecutive games reaching base two times or more to 19.

Wojciechowski gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery doubled in two runs with one out in a six-run seventh off Reds reliever Drew Storen. Montgomery's second hit of the season and first double drove in Kyle Schwarber and Heyward for a 9-2 lead.

La Stella's sacrifice fly to right resulted in an error by Patrick Kivlehan and brought home Baez and Montgomery. Rizzo's third hit of the night -- a single up the middle -- scored Jay, who had been intentionally walked. Schwarber capped the big inning with a single to bring in La Stella.

Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett was 2-for-5 and clubbed a two-run homer with no outs in the eighth off Montgomery, his 20th of the season.

Gennett also pitched the bottom of the eighth, allowing Baez's two-run homer, the shortstop's 18th of the season.

The Cubs claimed a 2-0 first-inning lead when Rizzo bounced a base hit to left to bring home Jay and Bryant. Jay had singled to open the inning while Bryant's one-out double to left put runners on second and third.

The Reds loaded the bases with one gone in the second and pushed across a run on Kivlehan's dribbler to the mound. Quintana's toss to catcher Alex Avila went awry, allowing Eugenio Suarez to score.

Billy Hamilton then singled to left to drive in Gennett for a 2-2 tie, but pinch runner Tucker Barnhart was thrown out at the plate.

Chicago loaded the bases with two outs in the third and failed to score, then rocked Wojciechowski for five runs in the fourth, all after two outs.

The Cubs plated two as Jay's triple to the right-field corner drove in Heyward for a 3-2 lead. Jay came home on La Stella's single to center to make it 4-2.

Bryant followed with his 22nd homer of the season and second in two days to score La Stella and extend the lead to 6-2.

Rizzo then made it back-to-back home runs with his 27th of the season, making it a 7-2 lead. It also chased Wojciechowski.

"They exploited their opportunities to score with multiple baserunners on, a couple of big innings that created some problems for us," said Price.

Reds starting catcher Devin Mesoraco was hit by a pitch in the second inning and departed in favor of Barnhart, who then worked the rest of the game behind the plate.

Price said an X-ray revealed a possible left foot fracture and that Mesoraco would return to Cincinnati on Tuesday for a MRI.

NOTES: Reds OF Scott Schebler is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. He has been on the disabled list since Aug. 1 with a left shoulder strain. ... The Reds' rotation features three rookies: RHP Asher Wojciechowski (Monday's starter), RHP Luis Castillo (Tuesday's starter) and RHP Sal Romano. ... Castillo (2-5, 3.73 ERA) makes his 11th major league appearance and start on Tuesday as he faces the Cubs for the first time. Chicago will start RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.70 ERA). ... The Cubs have a stretch of 13 straight games against teams in last place in their division and 24 against teams with below .500 records. ... Chicago is 32-29 away from Wrigley Field, the only NL Central team with a winning road mark.

Cubs claim series win with 7-2 victory over Diamondbacks

(TSX / STATS) -- PHOENIX -- Javier Baez broke up the game on a breaking ball Sunday.

Baez's three-run homer to start a four-run eighth inning helped the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday at Chase Field, where the house seemed equally divided.

"In this series, they threw me probably three fastballs," Baez said. "I was looking for a breaking ball the last 'AB' and he finally threw it over the plate."

Victor Caratini singled and went to second on a groundout before Jason Heyward was intentionally walked to bring up Baez, who was 5-for-12 in the series. Baez's 17th homer of the season, off Jake Barrett, was measured at 463 feet.

Ian Happ hit a pinch-hit homer after Baez's shot and Kris Bryant homered in the ninth inning to help the Cubs (61-55) regain first place in the tight NL Central by one game over St. Louis (61-57), which lost to Atlanta.

"We're starting to get some big knocks," Cuba manager Joe Maddon said. "Javy again. There are times when he can be frustrating and other times he hits three-run homers in the upper tank. The last time I saw that was Troy Glaus versus Randy Johnson" in 2006.

Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta (12-8) gave up three hits and one run in six innings He struck out six and walked three in his sixth consecutive quality start since the All-Star break. His ERA is 1.94 since the break.

Baez, whose throwing error cost the Cubs in a 6-2 loss Saturday, said the intentional walk was not motivating.

"Just try to do my job and stick with my plan," he said.

"Traditionally Baez doesn't have tremendous amount of success when you are comparing left, right splits," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "I just liked the matchup. All indications were pointing to Jake's stuff having a better conclusion than it did."

Third baseman Jake Lamb had three of Arizona's four hits and Paul Goldschmidt homered in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks (65-52), who have lost four of five.

Bryant had three hits and scored from second on a wild pitch and Baez had two hits for the Cubs, who had lost three of four to fall into a first-place tie with St. Louis.

The Cardinals (61-57) lost to Atlanta on Sunday and Milwaukee (61-59) beat Cincinnati on Sunday.

"It is going to be a real interesting finish to the Central this year," Maddon said.

Arizona right-hander Zack Godley (5-5) gave up four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight, walked four and threw three wild pitches.

Bryant's aggressive baserunning led to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Bryant singled with one out and Anthony Rizzo walked before Caratini struck out on a pitch that bounced to the screen.

Bryant, running on a 3-2 count, scored all the way from second, just beating the play at the plate after Godley had fallen down on the mound following his delivery. Godley recovered in time to cover the plate, but Bryant slid in just ahead of the tag.

"I saw him fall down and I made my mind up really early that I was going," Bryant said. "It was one of those plays, being aggressive and knowing he has some pretty good stuff on the mound. I thought it would be tough to score runs today. It's important to get on the ball early.

Baez singled with one out in the second, was sacrificed to second and scored on Jon Jay's double for a 2-0 lead.

Ketel Marte and Gregor Blanco walked to open the fifth inning before a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly by David Peralta made it 2-1.

NOTES: Arizona LHP Robbie Ray reported no ill effects from a 50-pitch simulated game Saturday, but there remains no timetable for his return to the rotation. "I think a (rehab) game where he can feel out how he is doing would be needed," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. ... Cubs SS Addison Russell (foot) was eligible to return from the disabled list Saturday, but it is unclear if he will return during Cubs' upcoming seven-game homestand. "I'd be surprised," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ... The Cubs will have "American Legion" week this week, when players are encouraged to report late to the clubhouse for the entire seven-game homestand. The concept is curtailing work on the field and while tapping into a player's younger days. "I want them to come out and play just like when they were kids," manager Joe Maddon said. "Don't overthink it. Don't overwork it. Don't over-video it. Don't over-data it. Just go play some baseball." Beer sausages will be served. ... The teams drew 123,110 for the three-game series. The Cubs spend spring training in suburban Mesa and chants of "Javy, Javy" were heard after his homer.

Merrifield helps Royals trounce White Sox

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Whit Merrifield and Jorge Bonifacio homered to lead the Kansas City Royals in a 14-6 rout of the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Merrifield drove in five runs and No. 9 batter Drew Butera had a career-high four hits for the Royals, who won two straight to take the three-game series against Chicago following a five-game losing streak.

The White Sox had won four of their last five games. They were trying to win back-to-back series for the first time since mid-June.

Royals left-hander Jason Vargas (14-6) allowed three runs, struck out seven and walked two in six innings to match his career high for victories in a season. He also won 14 games in 2012 with Seattle. Vargas was 1-3 with a 6.94 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break.

White Sox starter Derek Holland (6-12) made his shortest start of the season, allowing seven runs in two innings and snapping Chicago's streak of four consecutive quality starts. He gave up seven hits, a home run and three walks.

The Royals, who were a game back in the American League wild-card race pending late afternoon play, scored four runs in the second, third and sixth innings. Butera singled to load the bases in the second inning before left fielder Leury Garcia committed a throwing error to bring in the first run. Lorenzo Cain's single drove in two runs before he advanced on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on Melky Cabrera's single.

Bonifacio led off the third with his 15th home run, and Merrifield added his 14th, a three-run shot in the third inning.

Tim Anderson hit a two-run home run, his 13th, and Jose Abreu had an RBI single to cut Kansas City's lead to 8-3 in the fifth. Center fielder Cain made a running catch near the wall to end the inning with two on.

Bonifacio's RBI single, Cheslor Cuthbert's sacrifice fly and Merrifield's two-run triple scored four more runs for the Royals in the sixth.

The White Sox put up a three-run spot in the seventh. After an error, Avisail Garcia had a two-run double and Nicky Delmonico added an RBI double. Delmonico has reached base safely in 12 straight games to start his career, extending the team record. He stretched his hitting streak to 10 games.

Kansas City also had an impressive defensive play in the second. With two on, shortstop Alcides Escobar ended the inning with a running, underhanded catch in center field.

The Royals took a 7-6 lead in the teams' season series.

NOTES: Royals RHP Jake Junis (4-2, 4.70 ERA) is expected to start Monday against Oakland. He is 3-5 with a 2.92 ERA with Triple-A Omaha. Junis will be filling in for RHP Trevor Cahill (right shoulder impingement), who went on the 10-day disabled list Thursday. ... White Sox 3B Matt Davidson (right wrist contusion) said he is still having issues swinging a bat and will be reevaluated in the next couple of days. He went on the 10-day disabled list Aug. 8, retroactive to Aug. 4. He will join the team on its trip to Los Angeles but not play. ... 1B Jose Abreu is the first player in White Sox history to start his major league career with four straight 20-home run seasons, according to STATS LLC. He hit his 20th home run Saturday. ... The Royals rallied to beat the White Sox 5-4 Saturday for their 34th comeback victory of the season, tying them for third-most in the majors with the Diamondbacks and one fewer than the Angels and Dodgers. Kansas City is one comeback victory short of last season's total.

Drury, Corbin pace Diamondbacks past Cubs

(TSX / STATS) -- PHOENIX -- Patrick Corbin and Brandon Drury experienced plenty of down moments as the Arizona Diamondbacks went into a significant slump. But they combined to give Arizona a huge lift -- and a big win -- against a team they might see again in October.

Drury's two-run double keyed a four-run sixth inning that broke up Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester's pitching duel with Corbin, and the Diamondbacks ended a three-game losing streak with a much-needed 6-2 win on Saturday night.

Arizona had dropped five of six before Saturday's victory.

"It was a good win -- we needed it," Corbin said.

Corbin (9-11) was coming off two successive rough starts that included a 16-4 loss to Chicago on Aug. 1 in which he allowed eight runs in three innings. On Saturday, he consistently shut down Cubs threats while allowing five hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings.

"I've been thinking about it because I knew I was going to face them again," Corbin said. "I just wanted to go out there and have a good outing. I've been thinking about it a lot."

Archie Bradley followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, but closer Fernando Rodney gave up Kris Bryant's two-run single in the ninth to end the shutout. David Hernandez came on to strike out Ben Zobrist looking with two runners on for his second save of the season and first with Arizona.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was upset with home plate umpire Mark Wegner's called third strike to end the game, saying Wegner knows he missed the call.

"I'm sure he's watched it, it was a ball obviously," Maddon said.

The Cubs' 10th loss in 27 games since the All-Star break dropped them into a virtual tie with streaking St. Louis for the NL Central lead. The Cardinals (61-56) won their eighth in a row, holding off Atlanta 6-5. The Cubs (60-55) have led the division for 19 consecutive days.

"It's never easy," Bryant said. "It's never easy."

Lester matched zeroes with Corbin until the game fell apart for Chicago in the sixth. Adam Rosales led off that inning with a single and, after an A.J. Pollock groundout, the Cubs elected to intentionally walk Paul Goldschmidt, who had four homers in his previous two games against them.

"I'd do it again and again and again. It was the right thing to do," Maddon said. "It just didn't work."

The strategy backfired when J.D. Martinez lined a double to right field for the game's first run.

Shortstop Javier Baez threw the ball 10 feet over catcher Alex Avila's head for a two-base error while trying to get Goldschmidt at the plate on Ketel Marte's grounder.

"We had some mistakes in the field which we should tighten up a bit," Bryant said.

Drury, formerly an everyday player but starting at second base for the first time in seven games because of his defensive liabilities, drove a two-run double to center field to make it 4-0. That helped him make up for failing to turn a routine double play in the first, a potentially costly mistake that Chicago didn't capitalize on.

"it's not always going to be smooth -- it's been rough lately and sometimes the game will kick you down," Drury said. "I think it will make me better, make me a better player from it. My head is down and I'm working every day to help this team win games."

Lester (8-7) left an inning later after David Peralta's leadoff double. Hector Rondon gave up Pollock's run-scoring single before working out of further trouble.

Peralta finished it off with an inside-the-park homer in the eighth -- his 12th homer of the season -- against reliever Jason Grimm, a shot off the center field wall that ricocheted wildly and allowed Peralta to score easily. It was Arizona's second inside-the-park homer of the season, with Marte getting one at Chase Field against Atlanta on July 26.

"I took a peek," Peralta said, "and I saw the third base coach sending me home and I'm like, `I'm out of gas.' I didn't slide home at home plate, I just let myself down. I was out of breath. That was my first one, and that was a pretty special moment for me."

Corbin gave up 14 runs (10 earned) in nine innings in his previous two starts, only to shut down the Cubs by striking out eight and walking one. Lester permitted four runs (three earned) and seven hits despite striking out nine in six-plus innings.

Bryant has reached base nine times in 10 plate appearances in the series on five singles, a double, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. He was 3-for-4 Saturday, with a flyout in the seventh with two on and two outs.

The Cubs threatened in the fifth after leadoff singles by Baez and Avila and Lester's well-placed sacrifice bunt. But Baez was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Albert Almora Jr.'s grounder -- the call was upheld on replay -- and Anthony Rizzo's long drive with the bases loaded and two outs was caught just short of the right field fence by Martinez.

Chicago also couldn't score in the first when the Diamondbacks failed to convert two double-play grounders. Drury's throwing error negated one and Corbin failed to cover first on the other, but Corbin pitched out of trouble by getting Ian Happ to ground out with two on.

In the bottom of the inning, Peralta and Rosales singled in succession off Lester, but the Cubs converted a double play on Pollock's grounder and Goldschmidt struck out.

Arizona put runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth, but Drury popped up to end the threat.

NOTES: Cubs manager Joe Maddon started the left-handed-hitting Kyle Schwarber -- despite his .193 average -- against LHP Patrick Corbin because of his power potential. But Schwarber struck out in his first three at-bats. ... Arizona All-Star LHP Robbie Ray threw a simulated game as he recovers from taking a 108 mph line drive off his head on July 28 in St. Louis. ... CF Albert Almora Jr. became the 10th Cubs hitter to bat first this season. ... Chicago lost for only the fourth time in its last 17 road games. ... Corbin is 7-3 at home, 2-8 on the road.

Cabrera homers to send Royals past White Sox

(TSX / STATS) -- CHICAGO -- Melky Cabrera harbors no hard feelings toward the Chicago White Sox for dealing him to the Kansas City Royals before the trade deadline.

However, Cabrera did not mind hitting a go-ahead home run to help beat his former team.

"I've got a lot of friends over there," Cabrera said through an interpreter. "I liked it there. But I'm here with Kansas City now, and I'm trying to help this club win."

Cabrera's two-run home run in the eighth inning keyed the Royals' 5-4 win on Saturday night. Eric Hosmer also homered as Kansas City (58-58) snapped a five-game losing streak.

Kansas City manager Ned Yost enjoyed the celebratory rap music playing in the locker room as he conducted a postgame interview in his office.

"These kind of wins are the wins that help you stop the bleeding," Yost said. "We have been struggling, and you get a great pitching performance by your starter. ... It was huge to answer back."

Jose Abreu hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the White Sox at the plate. Leury Garcia drove in two more runs for Chicago (45-69), which had its four-game winning streak come to an end.

Cabrera stung his former team to erase a 4-3 deficit in the eighth. He lifted a low pitch to the opposite field for his 16th home run of the season and his third since Kansas City acquired him from Chicago.

"(The pitch) ended up staying out over the plate," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He put a good swing on it. Melky does what he sometimes does -- he drove it out of the ballpark."

Royals left-hander Scott Alexander (3-3) earned the win in relief. He replaced right-hander Ian Kennedy, who allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The White Sox's comeback attempt fell short in the ninth as Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas made a diving stop on a ground ball by Adam Engel that could have tied the game. Moustakas climbed to his feet and fired a strike to first base for the final out.

"I knew I had to be ready," Moustakas said. "I got a pretty good read on the hop, so I was able to get there and make a play on it."

White Sox left-hander Aaron Bummer (1-3) took the loss out of the bullpen after allowing Cabrera's home run.

The bullpen loss negated a solid outing by White Sox right-hander James Shields, who gave up three runs in six innings. He walked one and struck out eight, which marked a season high.

"It was nice to get some swings and misses today, get some strikeouts when I needed it" Shields said.

Right-hander Kelvin Herrera pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 25th save for the Royals.

Abreu pulled the White Sox within 3-2 in the sixth inning when he belted his second home run of the game and his 21st of the year. The 410-foot shot over the left-field wall gave him nine career multi-homer games.

Garcia gave Chicago a 4-3 lead with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh. His line drive up the middle scored Tim Anderson and Omar Narvaez, who slid just in front of an attempted tag by catcher Drew Butera.

The Royals grabbed an early lead on Hosmer's solo home run into the left-field bleachers in the first inning. The blast marked Hosmer's 19th home run and his third in the past seven games.

Kansas City added two more runs in the second to increase its advantage to 3-0. Alcides Escobar ripped a triple to the wall in right-center field, which scored Mike Moustakas. Three batters later, Whit Merrifield singled to center field to push Escobar across the plate.

Chicago trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth on Abreu's 20th home run. Abreu became the first player in White Sox history to hit 20-plus homers in each of his first four seasons.

"He continues to impress by the way he goes about doing his business," Renteria said. "He's a really good example to everybody about staying the course, working hard."

NOTES: White Sox OF Avisail Garcia returned to the starting lineup Saturday after receiving a day off because his legs were tired. He went 2-for-3. ... Royals C Salvador Perez (strained intercostal muscle) played catch Saturday and might try to take some swings next week as he nears a return. Perez has been out since Aug. 5 ... White Sox DH Matt Davidson (bruised right wrist) will remain on the 10-day disabled list for an indefinite period after experiencing a setback. Davidson was injured Aug. 1 when he was hit by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman. ... Royals OF Melky Cabrera extended his hit streak to eight games.