Arrieta, Cubs Beat Braves, Cardinals, White Sox Lose

Jake Arrieta believes he's maturing every day as a major league starter. As the summer wears on, Arrieta is learning how to adjust to heat and humidity and the difference in preparing for day and night starts.

"It's a huge opportunity for individuals to lean on their mental ability and try to push the physical nature of the situation out of your mind," he said. "Sometimes it can be tough to do based on the circumstances."

Arrieta pitched seven dominant innings and Jorge Soler homered to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Sunday.

Arrieta (11-5) gave up three hits, three walks and struck out 10, throwing 73 of his 112 pitches for strikes. Over his last six starts, the right-hander is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the coaching staff is getting Arrieta to focus on becoming one of the NL's elite starters.

"He's just figuring everything out right now -- that's what's going on," Maddon said. "And I hate to tell you, but there's actually some more in the tank there. There's another level of him."

Mets 3, Cardinals 1

The New York Mets left 25 men on base and went 1-for-26 with runners in scoring position. In the end, they still managed to pull out a win.

Ruben Tejada hit a sacrifice fly in the 18th inning and the Mets outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Sunday in the second-longest game this season.

Boston beat the New York in 19 innings in April. In this one, it took 5 hours, 55 minutes for the Mets to top the NL Central-leading Cardinals and avoid a three-game sweep.

The Mets and Cardinals had already played one marathon game in 2015. New York beat St. Louis 2-1 on May 18 in 14 innings. Sunday's contest was the third-longest game ever between the teams.

After Tejada's bases-loaded fly gave New York the lead, Eric Campbell drove in another run with a squeeze bunt.

Royals 4, White Sox 1

There is no big secret to Danny Duffy's July success. No mechanical adjustments. Nothing like that at all. The Kansas City Royals play great defense, and Duffy is putting his fielders to work.

Duffy took a shutout into the ninth inning in the longest outing of his career, and surging Kansas City beat Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Sunday.

"We needed him to stand up today big time, and he did," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Duffy (4-4) was replaced by Joe Blanton after Tyler Saladino led off the ninth with his first career homer. The left-hander allowed six hits, struck out four and walked one while improving to 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three starts this month.

Sunday, July 19 Scoreboard

New York Yankees 2, Seattle 1

Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 0

Baltimore 9, Detroit 3

Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 3 (F/11)

Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Washington 0

Philadelphia 8, Miami 7

Kansas City 4, Chicago White Sox 1

Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 1

Houston 10, Texas 0

New York Mets 3, St. Louis 1 (F/18)

Oakland 14, Minnesota 1

Colorado, San Diego, postponed

San Francisco 2, Arizona 1

Chicago Cubs 4, Atlanta 1

Boston, Los Angeles, postponed

Monday, July 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

Boston at Los Angeles, 4:05 p.m.

New York at Washington, 6:00 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Seattle at Detroit, 6:08 p.m.

Los Angeles at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

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

Texas at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Miami at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Boston at Los Angeles, 9:05 p.m.

San Francisco at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.