MLB: Cubs win 7th straight, beat Nationals 8-5

CHICAGO — Addison Russell hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 8-5 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

Kris Bryant homered and Ben Zobrist had an RBI for the sixth game in a row as the Cubs took the matchup of division leaders. Chicago has won 10 of 11 to improve baseball’s best record to 23-6.

Russell finished with three RBIs. It was 5-all when the Cubs loaded the bases with two outs, and Russell hit a fly ball to right that landed barely fair as Bryce Harper ran toward the brick wall in pursuit. A review confirmed the ball was fair.

Adam Warren (3-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Hector Rondon earned his sixth save.

Washington’s Sammy Solis (0-1) got two outs and was charged with two runs and two hits.

YANKEES 8, RED SOX 2

NEW YORK — Nathan Eovaldi pitched eight effective innings, Didi Gregorius hit a three-run double and the Yankees handed David Price his first loss with the Red Sox.

Carlos Beltran added a two-run double for the last-place Yankees, who have won three of four following a six-game slide.

Swept in three games by their longtime rivals at Fenway Park last weekend, the Yankees will try to return the favor Sunday night in the Bronx.

Gregorius broke a 1-all tie in the fourth when he reached down and hooked an 0-2 pitch from Price (4-1) into the right-field corner. Eovaldi (2-2) struck out six and walked none while matching the longest start of his career.

DODGERS 6, BLUE JAYS 2

TORONTO — Clayton Kershaw struck out 10, Joc Pederson and Justin Turner homered, and the Dodgers stopped the Blue Jays’ season-high winning streak at four.

Coming off a three-hit shutout against the Padres and facing the Blue Jays for the first time, Kershaw (4-1) allowed two runs and eight hits in seven innings. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner has fanned at least 10 in four straight outings.

Pedro Baez worked the eighth and Kenley Jansen finished as the Dodgers won for the third time in 11 games.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (1-4) lost his fourth straight decision, allowing four runs and six hits in seven innings.

BREWERS 13, REDS 7, 10 inn.

CINCINNATI — Aaron Hill hit a grand slam in Milwaukee’s seven-run 10th inning for his third homer of the game, and the Brewers snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Reds.

Hill belted a two-run shot in the sixth and a tying solo shot in the eighth, helping Milwaukee erase a 6-2 deficit. The second baseman set career highs and matched franchise records with the three homers and seven RBIs.

Pinch hitter Jonathan Villar added a two-run double in the 10th as the Brewers snapped the Reds’ three-game win streak.

CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 4

ST. LOUIS — Matt Carpenter hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting St. Louis to the victory.

Aledmys Diaz sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single. After Jeremy Hazelbaker flied to deep left, Carpenter drove a 1-2 pitch from A.J. Schugel (0-1) over the wall in right for his fourth homer.

It was the Cardinals’ first win over the Pirates in five games this season.

Pittsburgh had tied the game on Starling Marte’s double off Trevor Rosenthal (1-1) with two out in the top of the ninth.

RANGERS 10, TIGERS 5

DETROIT — Adrian Beltre hit two of Texas’ five home runs, and the Rangers slugged their way to the road win.

Rougned Odor, Nomar Mazara and Mitch Moreland also went deep for the Rangers, who scored five runs in the sixth inning and overcame an injury-shortened start by A.J. Griffin. The right-hander left in the third with stiffness in his throwing shoulder.

Moreland’s tiebreaking two-run shot off Kyle Ryan (0-1) made it 7-5 in the sixth.

Anthony Ranaudo (1-0) got the win. Shawn Tolleson was credited with his 10th save in 12 chances — he came on to strike out Anthony Gose with the bases loaded for the final out.

Ian Kinsler homered for Detroit, which has lost five straight.

GIANTS 2, ROCKIES 1, 13 INN.

SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Duffy hit a game-ending RBI double with two out in the 13th inning, sending the Giants to the win.

Pinch hitter Conor Gillaspie set up the winning hit with a one-out walk against Justin Miller (1-1). After Denard Span walked and Joe Panik struck out swinging, Duffy lined a 1-0 pitch from Miller past Gerardo Parra in left for his second hit of the day.

Derek Law (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for San Francisco’s fifth win in seven games. Brandon Crawford had two hits and drove in a run.

The teams combined for 19 hits and 14 pitchers in a game that lasted 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Parra, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Story had two hits apiece for the Rockies, who have dropped four of six.

ROYALS 7, INDIANS 0

CLEVELAND — Ian Kennedy pitched four-hit ball for seven innings, Kendrys Morales homered and drove in four runs, and the Royals stopped the Indians’ four-game winning streak.

Kennedy (4-2) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and retired 14 in a row at one point.

Morales hit a three-run homer in the first and an RBI single in the eighth.

Kansas City’s win came at an opportune time. The Royals had lost eight of 10 and announced before the game that third baseman Mike Moustakas was headed to the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left thumb.

Cody Anderson (0-2), called up from the minors before the game, allowed four runs in five innings.

ATHLETICS 8, ORIOLES 4

ORIOLES 5, ATHLETICS 2

BALTIMORE — Chris Davis homered, Ubaldo Jimenez pitched eight effective innings and the Orioles beat the Athletics for a doubleheader split.

Marcus Semien homered and drove in three runs in the opener, and the Athletics broke a four-game skid with an 8-4 victory.

The day-night doubleheader was scheduled after rain washed out the first game of the series Friday night. It was the A’s first doubleheader in exactly two years.

In the nightcap, Davis’ eighth homer capped a four-run third inning against Jesse Hahn (1-1). It also snapped an 0-for-16 skid.

Winless in his four previous starts, Jimenez (2-3) gave up two runs and nine hits. He finished his outing by striking out the side in the eighth.

WHITE SOX 7, TWINS 2

CHICAGO — Todd Frazier doubled and homered in support of Chris Sale, who survived a rocky start to become the first seven-game winner in the majors, as the White Sox rallied for a victory over the Twins.

After a two-run, 36-pitch first inning, Sale (7-0) settled down to retire 19 of the next 20 batters. In seven innings, the left-hander allowed three hits and a walk. He struck out nine, five on a called strike three.

The victory was Sale’s eighth in 13 decisions against the Twins. He entered the game with a career 4.15 ERA against Minnesota, the highest of any American League opponent.

Matt Albers and Zach Duke mopped up, as Chicago improved to 12-1 in games started by Sale or Jose Quintana this season.

MARINERS 3, ASTROS 2, 10 inn.

HOUSTON — Robinson Cano homered early off Dallas Keuchel, then connected for a tiebreaking shot in the 10th inning that led the Mariners over the Astros.

Cano got four hits. He leads the majors with 32 RBIs and tops the AL with 11 home runs.

Cano sent a pitch by Tony Sipp (0-2) into the seats in left field with one out in the 10th to give Seattle its fifth victory in six games. Cano has been especially good against the Astros, piling up 13 hits with four homers and 16 RBIs in six games.

Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth off Mariners reliever Steve Cishek (2-1) to tie it at 2.

It was a wild game that included Houston manager A.J. Hinch’s ejection in the eighth for arguing a strikeout by Carlos Correa, followed by Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez being ejected as he ran to his position in the 10th.

RAYS 4, ANGELS 2

LOS ANGELES — Logan Forsythe hit a broken-bat two-run single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning after Steven Souza Jr. hit a tying two-run homer off Jered Weaver in the sixth, and the Rays beat the Angels.

Souza greeted Joe Smith (0-2) with a leadoff single in the ninth, then broke for second on a pitchout with Logan Morrison up. The throw from catcher Geovany Soto was so good that Souza retreated back toward first base. But shortstop Andrelton Simmons’ throw hit him in the back, allowing him to end up on second.

Souza was forced at third on Desmond Jennings’ bunt to first baseman C.J. Cron after a walk to Morrison, but Forsythe delivered the clutch hit on a 1-1 pitch after a walk to Curt Casali.

Erasmo Ramirez (6-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory and Alex Colome got three outs for his eighth save in as many chances.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA — Shelby Miller’s return to Atlanta brought a return to his winning form as he threw six strong innings for his first victory and the Diamondbacks beat the Braves.

Miller (1-3) allowed two runs on four hits and one walk. He was traded from the Braves to Arizona on Dec. 8.

The loss left the Braves 1-14 in home games. The Braves (7-22) are off to the worst start in franchise history since 1900.

Jake Lamb had two doubles and drove in a run in Arizona’s two-run third inning that tied the game at 2-all. Brandon Drury’s run-scoring double off reliever Bud Norris in the sixth gave the Diamondbacks the lead.

PHILLIES 4, MARLINS 3

MIAMI — Odubel Herrera scored the go-ahead run on first baseman Chris Johnson’s error in Philadelphia’s three-run eighth inning, sending the Phillies to a win over the Marlins.

Brett Oberholtzer (2-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Jeanmar Gomez tossed a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances.

Marcell Ozuna and Justin Bour homered for Miami, which had won four in a row.

Marlins right-hander Tom Koehler struck out a season-high eight over seven innings and exited with a 3-1 lead. He allowed two hits and walked two.

METS 6, PADRES 3

SAN DIEGO — New York’s Bartolo Colon became the oldest player to hit his first major league home run, connecting Saturday night less than three weeks before his 43rd birthday, to help the Mets to a victory over the Padres.

Colon’s impressive two-run drive off James Shields into the seats in the left field corner gave the Mets a 4-0 lead with two outs in the second.

Colon (3-1) watched the ball all the way, and didn’t toss his bat until he was well more than halfway to first base. The portly pitcher’s trot around the bases took about 30 seconds.

When he returned to the dugout, his teammates were hiding in the tunnel before coming out to mob him.

Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer for the Mets, who scored only three runs and had seven hits in losing the first two games of this four-game series.