Cubs Edge Padres, Cardinals Beat Angels

Looking quite comfortable in the middle of the order, Ben Zobrist is benefiting from the relentless approach by the Cubs' dangerous lineup.

Zobrist went 4 for 4, Addison Russell had three RBI and Chicago beat the San Diego Padres 8-7 on Tuesday night for its eighth straight win.

"You pass the baton," Zobrist said. "That's what we try to do in the lineup, and guys have been doing a good job of that."

Jon Lester (4-1) pitched six innings of three-run ball as Chicago improved to 25-6 for the best start by a major league team since the 1984 Detroit Tigers won 26 of their first 31 games. Kris Bryant drove in two runs and Jason Heyward scored twice, helping the Cubs open an 8 1/2-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

Zobrist had run-scoring singles in the third and fourth against rookie Cesar Vargas (0-2). Zobrist also singled in the second and seventh, and scored in each inning on a hit by Russell.

"I feel like it's a cumulative effect for the whole team," Zobrist said.

"Obviously they're not getting breaks in our lineup and that's what makes it so difficult for them to stay focused on every hitter."

Zobrist, a switch-hitter who signed a $56 million, four-year contract with Chicago as a free agent, is batting .365 (23 for 63) with 23 RBI in his last 18 games. He has driven in 17 runs during Chicago's win streak.

Cardinals 8, Angels 1

Matt Carpenter led off the game with a home run into the right-field corner for the St. Louis Cardinals. It turned out to be sign of things to come.

Carpenter homered twice, including his drive on the fifth pitch of the night, and St. Louis had nine extra-base hits Tuesday in an 8-1 rout of the Los Angeles Angels.

Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday also homered for the Cardinals, who finished one shy of their season high for extra-base hits.

"The momentum shifts at times when that happens and I think today was a little bit of that," Carpenter said of his leadoff homer, the 10th of his career. "We're just having good at-bats and games like this tend to happen when collectively you go out and have good ABs."

Backed by that offensive support, Mike Leake (1-3) took a shutout into the eighth inning for his first win with St. Louis after signing an $80 million, five-year contract in the offseason. He allowed six hits and one run in eight innings overall.

"It feels pretty good to get that first win," Leake said. "Six or seven games in a row of not producing will weigh on you, but you've just got to keep moving forward."

Hector Santiago (2-2) lasted 4 1/3 innings for the struggling Angels, who have lost four straight and eight of 10. He permitted seven hits -- five for extra bases -- and four runs in his shortest outing of the season.

Rangers 13, White Sox 11

Trailing by five runs in the eighth inning and scheduled for another game to begin barely 13 hours later, the Texas Rangers could've just decided it wasn't their night.

Instead, Ryan Rua hit a three-run homer to cap a seven-run rally, and Texas beat the Chicago White Sox 13-11 on Tuesday.

"Incredible," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "We've talked about the sheer will and heart and resilience. These guys believe."

Chicago led 11-6 before Elvis Andrus led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. Pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland singled home a run, Adrian Beltre drove in another with a sacrifice fly and Ian Desmond hit a two-run triple.

The Rangers still trailed 11-10 with two outs. Rua had only one home run in his previous 48 at-bats, and was just 4 for 26 (.154) against right-handers such as Matt Albers (1-1).

"I kind of swung at two bad fastballs," Rua said. "I had it in the back of my mind that he might come back fastball again, so I was kind of sitting on it."

The ball sailed toward center field, and landed about halfway up the batter's-eye grassy hill beyond the fence.

Tuesday, May 10 Scoreboard

New York Yankees 10, Kansas City 7

Detroit 5, Washington 4

Boston 13, Oakland 5

Philadelphia 3, Atlanta 2

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, Postponed

Milwaukee 10, Miami 2

Texas 13, Chicago White Sox 11

Chicago Cubs 8, San Diego 7

Baltimore 5, Minnesota 3

Cleveland 4, Houston 0

Arizona 5, Colorado 1

St. Louis 8, Los Angeles Angels 1

Seattle 6, Tampa Bay 4

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, New York Mets 2

Toronto 4, San Francisco 0

Wednesday, May 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Diego at Chicago Cubs (DH), 12:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Minnesota, 12:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Texas, 1:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Houston, 1:10 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 2:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Seattle, 2:40 p.m.

Toronto at San Francisco, 2:45 p.m.

Kansas City at New York Yankees, 6 p.m.

Detroit at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Oakland at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Los Angeles Angels, 9:05 p.m.

New York at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.