Cubs Edge Mets, White Sox Down Cardinals

Joe Maddon sat behind his desk in the visitors' clubhouse and, with a sly smile, pressed play on his mobile device, starting up The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe In Magic?"

Maddon brought in an illusionist to entertain his team after a rough patch of play, but after a 1-0 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night that snapped a five-game skid, the Chicago Cubs seemed to think the man with the magic touch was actually their mischievous manager.

"I just felt more comfortable and, I'm sure the guys felt the same, because he kind of tones it down a little bit, lets you relax," Matt Szczur said about Maddon. "It was a fun time."

Kyle Hendricks (3-4) pitched three-hit ball for six innings and combined with three relievers to bail out the Cubs, who scored just six runs during their losing streak.

White Sox 2, Cardinals 1

Chris Sale forced another avalanche of swings and misses. Helping at the bat, was an unexpected bonus. The Chicago White Sox lefty matched a major league record by striking out at least 10 in eight straight starts. In his 100th start he also got his first career hit and scored his first career run.

"I got to do a few things I normally don't do," Sale said after the White Sox outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 in 11 innings on a home run by Tyler Flowers. "It was fun, it was cool."

Sale struck out 12 in eight innings. The lefty tied the mark set by Pedro Martinez in 1999 with Boston and gets a chance to break it this weekend at home against the Blue Jays -- not that he's paying much attention.

Tuesday, June 30 Results

Chicago Cubs 1, New York Mets 0

Texas 8, Baltimore 6

Milwaukee 4, Philadelphia 3

Boston 4, Toronto 3

Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 4 (F/14)

Washington 6, Atlanta 1

Minnesota 8, Cincinnati 5

Miami 5, San Francisco 3

Cleveland 6, Tampa Bay 2

Houston 4, Kansas City 0

Chicago White Sox 2, St. Louis 1 (F/11

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Arizona 4 (F/10)

Los Angeles Angels 2, New York Yankees 1

Colorado 2, Oakland 1

Seattle 5, San Diego 0

Wednesday, July 1 Schedule (All Times Central)

Minnesota at Cincinnati, 11:35 a.m.

Boston at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Colorado at Oakland, 2:35 p.m.

Seattle at San Diego, 2:40 p.m.

New York at Los Angeles, 6 p.m.

Texas at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Detroit, 6:08 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago at New York, 6:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Miami 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Los Angeles at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.