Castro Guides Cubs To Win, White Sox Beat Indians

Less Starlin Castro has meant more production for the Chicago Cubs.

"No matter if I don't play, I just continue to work," Castro said after hitting a three-run homer and getting four RBI in an 8-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. "I keep ready when my time comes."

Castro, the Cubs' longtime starting shortstop, was moved to second base last month to make room for rookie Addison Russell and is hitting .252 in semi-regular duty. But he's batting .323 in his last 34 games after hitting just .101 the previous 19. Anthony Rizzo also homered and had three RBI for the Cubs in the middle game of a three-game series.

The Cardinals have the best record in the majors at 87-51, but have dropped five of six. Their lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central slipped to 4 1/2 games. The Cubs are 6 1/2 back and are second in the NL wild-card race behind the Pirates.

St. Louis was down 8-0 and had been outscored 24-1 over three games before pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk sparked a five-run seventh with a two-run homer estimated at 451 feet into Big Mac Land in the seventh. Grichuk was activated from the disabled list strictly to pinch run on Monday.

White Sox 7, Indians 4

Soft-spoken rookie Carlos Rodon is quietly on an impressive roll for the White Sox. Rodon allowed one run through seven innings and Rob Brantly smacked a three-run homer for his first American League hit to lead Chicago past the Cleveland Indians 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Jose Abreu went 3 for 4 -- including his 26th homer and a double -- to drive in two runs and help the White Sox win for the fifth time in six games. Trayce Thompson also had two RBI.

Rodon (7-6) scattered five hits, struck out eight and walked one in his sixth straight quality start. He is 3-2 in that span while yielding eight earned runs in his last 41 innings.

Orioles 2, Yankees 1

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has reached 30 home runs for the 15th season, tying Hank Aaron's major league record. Rodriguez hit his 684th career home run leading off the sixth inning Tuesday night, lifting New York into a 1-1 tie with Baltimore and chasing Orioles starter Kevin Gausman. The Yankees eventually fell 2-1.

Rodriguez, 40, hadn't hit the 30-homer mark since 2010. He didn't play last year while serving a season-long drug suspension.

Aaron held the career home run record of 755 before it was broken by Barry Bonds, who finished with 762.

The homer was A-Rod's fourth in five games and boosted his career hit total to 3,056, moving him past Rickey Henderson for 22nd in major league history.

Tuesday, September 8 Scoreboard

Baltimore 2, New York Yankees 1

New York MEts 8, Washington 7

Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 0

Detroit 8, Tampa Bay 7 (F/13)

Toronto 5, Boston 1 (F/10)

Pittsburgh 7, Cincinnati 3

Miami 6, Milwaukee 4

Kansas City 4, Minnesota 2

Chicago Cubs 8, St. Louis 5

Chicago White Sox 7, Cleveland 4

Arizona 6, Arizona 2

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Los Angeles Angels 4

Oakland 4, Houston 0

Texas 9, Seattle 6

San Diego 2, Colorado 1

Wednesday, September 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at St. Louis, 12:45 p.m.

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

Baltimore at New York, 6:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 6:08 p.m.

Toronto at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Chicago, 7:10 p.m.

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

Colorado at San Diego, 8:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Los Angeles at Los Angeles, 9:00 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.