Diaz Helps Cardinals Beat Marlins, Cubs Down White Sox

By ESPN

The first time Jose Fernandez faced Aledmys Diaz on Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals' slugger fouled the first pitch off with a mighty swing.

"I told him, `Really? You're going to swing first pitch like that?" Fernandez said. "That swing had a lot of bad intentions."

It was a sign of things to come. Diaz homered, doubled and drove in three runs in the first-ever meeting between the two childhood pals from Cuba, helping the Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins 5-4.

Fernandez fell behind 5-0, departed after five innings and dropped to 26-2 at Marlins Park.

"I made some mistakes and they took advantage. That's on me," he said. " Every time you get four runs and have your ace on the mound, you should expect to win."

Miami's Dee Gordon, the 2015 NL batting and stolen bases champion, returned from an 80-game suspension for failing a drug test and went 0 for 4. Ichiro Suzuki doubled as a pinch hitter in the seventh for Miami and needs two hits for 3,000.

Michael Wacha (6-7) allowed three runs in six innings, and three relievers completed an eight-hitter. Seung Hwan Oh pitched around a one-out single in the ninth for his seventh save.

Diaz and Matt Holliday homered in the third inning against Fernandez (12-5), who had never previously given up more than one homer in a home game.

Cubs Pitching Leads to Victory

John Lackey and Aroldis Chapman outperformed Chris Sale in his return from a jersey-trashing suspension.

The Cubs did just enough against the White Sox ace in his six innings and rode their own pitching to a 3-1 victory Thursday night in Chicago's rivalry series.

Chapman earned his first save for the Cubs since being acquired from the Yankees, leaving the crowd buzzing by consistently throwing 102 mph.

"It was fun to be in the dugout and check that out," Lackey said of Chapman's sizzling fastballs. "It's definitely something you want to tune in to see for sure."

Sale faced dozens of reporters after the game, heaping praise on his teammates, sidestepping questions about the jersey-tearing and expressing gratitude to be back.

"It felt like I was out on an island, really," Sale said of his suspension.

Sale (14-4) served a five-day ban for tearing up 1976-style uniforms he didn't want to wear before his previous scheduled start. He had command issues, but worked out of trouble while allowing two runs and six hits.

Lackey (8-7) allowed one run in six innings for his first win since June 8. Chapman, in his second appearance since being acquired from the Yankees, struck out two and consistently hit 102 mph in his first save for his new team.

"It makes me feel proud when I go out there and the fans are cheering," Chapman said through catcher Miguel Montero, who served as his translator.

Thursday, July 28 Scoreboard

Colorado 2, New York Mets 1

Milwaukee 6, Arizona 4

Minnesota 6, Baltimore 2

Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 5

St. Louis 5, Miami 4

Texas 3, Kansas City 2

Chicago Cubs 3, Chicago White Sox 1

Los Angeles Angels 2, Boston 1

Washington 4, San Francisco 2

Friday, July 29 Schedule (All Times Central)

Seattle at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Baltimore at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Oakland at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Houston at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

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

St. Louis at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Kansas City at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee 7:10 p.m.

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

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

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

Washington at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.

Cincinnati at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Saturday, July 30 Schedule (All Times Central)

Baltimore at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Seattle at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Washington at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 5:10 p.m.

Oakland at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Houston at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago white Sox at Minnesota, 6:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

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

St. Louis at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Cincinnati at San Diego, 7:40 p.m.

Boston at Los Angeles Angels, 8:05 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10 p.m.

Sunday, July 31 Schedule (All Times Central)

Baltimore at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

St. Louis at Miami, 12:10 p.m.

Oakland at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m.

Houston at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

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

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 12:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 12:35 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m.

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

Kansas City at Texas, 2:05 p.m.

Boston at Los Angeles Angels, 2:35 p.m.

Washington at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles Dodgers, 3:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at San Diego, 3:40 p.m.

Seattle at Chicago Cubs, 7 p.m.