Confidence Returning To Cubs, Cards Beat Padres

Confidence has returned to the Chicago Cubs in the form of what manager Joe Maddon describes as a couple of slices of Meat Loaf.

Anthony Rizzo homered twice off Bartolo Colon, Kyle Hendricks pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the Cubs beat the New York Mets 6-2 Wednesday to take two of three in the rematch of last year's NL Championship Series.

After entering the All-Star break on a 6-15 skid, the Cubs have taken four of six from AL West-leading Texas and the Mets, who swept them in last year's NL Championship Series.

"A nice homestand. Four out of six ain't bad," Maddon said. "Eating Meat Loaf twice, I'll take it."

The offbeat Maddon calls winning series eating Meat Loaf, a reference to the singer's 1977 hit, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad."

"We've played six really good games since the break, and that's the part that has really stood out to me," Maddon said.

A night after the first four-strikeout game of his big league career, Rizzo pulled a slider to right for a solo homer in the third, a drive that would have traveled 451 feet had it landed at ground level unimpeded, according to MLB's Statcast program.

Two innings later with a runner on, he sent a fastball into the right-field bleachers -- estimated at 436 feet by Statcast -- for the 11th multihomer game of his career.

The Cubs acquired Mariners lefty Mike Montgomery on Wednesday, bolstering their bullpen in a four-player deal.

Chicago sent Triple-A slugger Dan Vogelbach and Double-A pitcher Paul Blackburn to Seattle, which shipped Triple-A pitcher Jordan Pries to the Cubs as part of the trade.

Montgomery, 27, immediately fills a need for the Cubs, who have been lacking a lefty reliever. He also has 18 starts in his two-year career, including two this season.

Montgomery said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto told him about the trade during Seattle's 6-5 win over the White Sox in 11 innings.

"I was a little sad at first, understanding that I'm not going to be here with these guys in this city. But at the same time, I'm excited because I'm going to a good team and I'm ready to go contribute any way I can and help them win a World Series,'' Montgomery said.

"It kind of hit me by surprise. When I heard the news, I wasn't shocked, but I definitely didn't see it coming."

Montgomery said the Cubs told him he would begin in the bullpen.

Cardinals 4, Padres 2

Yadier Molina thought Carlos Martinez was done early.

It turned out a nosebleed that halted Wednesday's day-night doubleheader opener for about 12 minutes in the second inning was just a minor issue. The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander was even better once the bleeding stopped.

"It actually really helped me stay focused after the fact," Martinez said through an interpreter after working seven dominant innings in a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. "I was trying to stay in the game, and my mind in the game where it should be."

Martinez said he also dealt with the issue last season and awoke with a nosebleed on Wednesday. The pitcher assured manager Mike Matheny he was fine, and trainers staunched the flow with cotton balls and petroleum jelly while Martinez sat on the field near the mound.

"We were going to sit there and plug it until he pitched, there wasn't another option," Matheny said.

Only 11,191 fans were in the seats for the opener, rescheduled from a rainout on Tuesday night. Paid attendance was 40,184.

"When I came out early I was like `Wow, what happened here?" Molina said.

Matt Holliday, Jedd Gyorko and Molina homered off Colin Rea (5-4). Gyorko is 10 for 17 against his old team with three homers and seven RBI. He has homered against the Padres four straight games.

Mariners 6, White Sox 5

On the day Felix Hernandez returned to the mound, Leonys Martin gave the Seattle Mariners the biggest boost.

Martin hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot with one out in the 11th inning that sent Seattle over the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Wednesday.

"Every time you win a ballgame, it's good no matter how you win the ballgame, but this is a great feeling," Martin said.

Martin hit a two-run drive in the second inning. He then drove an 0-2 pitch from Dan Jennings (3-2) over the wall in right for his 13th homer. His previous season high was eight homers in 457 at-bats with Texas in 2013.

"With two strikes, especially in the second half, he's taking some walks, he's not swinging quite as hard," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I believe the pitch he hit out was an 0-2 pitch. Not trying to kill it, just hit it, because he's got a lot of ability."

Vidal Nuno (1-1) pitched one inning for the victory.

Wednesday, July 20 Scoreboard

Cincinnati 6, Atlanta 3

Minnesota 4, Detroit 1

Chicago Cubs 6, New York Mets 2

Cleveland 11, Kansas City 4

St. Louis 4, San Diego 2

Tampa Bay 11, Colorado 3

Houston 7, Oakland 0

Seattle 6, Chicago White Sox 5 (F/11)

Toronto 10, Arizona 4

Boston 11, San Francisco 7

New York Yankees 5, Baltimore 0

Washington 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

Philadelphia 4, Miami 1

Milwaukee 0, Pittsburgh 5

St. Louis 3, San Diego 2

Los Angeles Angels 7, Texas 4

Thursday, July 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington, 11:05 a.m.

Baltimore at New York Yankees, 12:05 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

San Diego at St. Louis, 6:15 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox 7:10 p.m.

Atlanta at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Friday, July 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Francisco at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

San Diego at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Seattle at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Minnesota at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Arizona at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

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

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Atlanta at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Saturday, July 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Seattle at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

San Francisco at New York Yankees, 3:05 p.m.

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 3:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

San Diego at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 6:10 p.m.

Arizona at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Houston, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Texas at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers St. Louis, 6:15 p.m.

Atlanta at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

Sunday, July 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Francisco at New York Yankees, 12:05 p.m.

Seattle at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Arizona at Cincinnati, 12:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Miami, 12:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 12:35 p.m.

Minnesota at Boston, 12:35 p.m.

San Diego at Washington, 12:35 p.m.

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 12:35 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 1:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston, 1:10 p.m.

Texas at Kansas City, 1:15 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Colorado, 3:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis, 7 p.m.