Rizzo Homer Gives Cubs Win, Cardinals Bounce Padres

By ESPN

Anthony Rizzo kept fouling the ball off, over and over again. When Steven Matz finally blinked, Rizzo capitalized with one mighty swing.

Rizzo hit a three-run homer, Jon Lester pitched 7 2/3 innings and the Chicago Cubs stopped an eight-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 5-1 victory on Monday night in a rematch of last year's NL Championship Series.

With one out and two on in the third inning, Rizzo fouled off five straight 2-2 pitches before driving a changeup deep into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd homer.

"It was 2-2 for a while there. I don't think he wanted to go 3-2," Rizzo said. "He was making good pitches and I was just fighting them off. Just try to grind at-bats, that's what we're so good at doing."

The crowd of 41,353 cheered wildly as Rizzo rounded the bases on a picturesque night at Wrigley Field. The All-Star slugger is batting .339 with three homers and 10 RBI in July.

"He's the anchor of the whole group. There's no question about it," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Matz (7-6) blamed himself for poor execution.

"You really want to grit your teeth and beat this guy," he said. "Unfortunately, he won."

Cardinals 10, Padres 2

Mike Leake is known for getting ground-ball outs. These days, he's taking care of business himself.

Leake had his second straight double-digit strikeouts game with no walks, joining Bob Gibson as the only Cardinals to accomplish the feat, and St. Louis beat the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Monday night.

"Actually I'm trying to attack and get a few strikeouts, I think that's kind of helping," Leake said. "I'm feeling good, feeling healthy and just going after guys."

Leake (7-7) struck out a season-best 11, one shy of his career high, and allowed one run and six hits in six innings. The Cardinals' top free agent pickup fanned 10 over seven innings in a victory at Milwaukee on July 10.

Plus, he hasn't walked anybody in 19 consecutive innings.

"I feel like it's all kind of coming together a little bit," Leake said. "I'm able to put the ball where I want it a little better right now than I was earlier in the year, that's for sure."

Gibson accomplished the feat in his final start of the 1968 regular-season and his first in 1969, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Leake has four career double-digit strikeouts games and is the first Cardinals pitcher with 10 or more in consecutive starts since Lance Lynn in 2012.

"He's able to make big pitches in big situations," manager Mike Matheny said. "He was so good on the corners."

Mariners 4, White Sox 3

One swing by Mariners pinch-hitter Adam Lind erased a masterful performance by White Sox ace Chris Sale, who could only watch from the dugout.

Lind hit a three-run homer off closer David Robertson in the ninth inning to give Seattle an improbable 4-3 comeback victory on Monday night and hand Chicago its fifth consecutive loss.

Seattle, which had managed just one hit in eight innings off Sale, rallied against Robertson (0-2), who had recorded 13 straight save opportunities.

Franklin Gutierrez singled to open the ninth, but was forced out at second on Robinson Cano's fielder's choice. Nelson Cruz walked and Dae-Ho Lee struck out.

Kyle Seager followed with an RBI single to center to make it 3-1. Lind pinch-hit for Chris Iannetta and hammered an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for his 14th home run.

"I knew I hit it well and I hit it true, with the backspin," Lind said. "But no, to answer your question, I didn't know if I had enough, but it carried out."

Sale, bidding to become the first 15-game winner in the majors, allowed just a first-inning single en route to eight scoreless innings.

Monday, July 18 Scoreboard

Chicago Cubs 5, New York Mets 1

New York Yankees 2, Baltimore 1

Miami 3, Philadelphia 2 (F/11)

Detroit 1, Minnesota 0

Cincinnati 8, Atlanta 2

Kansas City 7, Cleveland 3

St. Louis 10, San Diego 2

Colorado 7, Tampa Bay 4

Los Angeles Angels 9, Texas 5

Oakland 7, Houston 4

Seattle 4, Chicago White Sox 3

Tuesday, July 19 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Mets at Chicago Cubs, 6 p.m.

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

Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

San Francisco at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Minnesota at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Atlanta at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

San Diego at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Toronto at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Texas at Los Angeles Angels, 9:05 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox Seattle, 9:10 p.m.