Lackey Pitches Cubs to Win, Cardinals Fall to Reds

By ESPN

John Lackey was ornery and fired up, just what the Cubs needed from their veteran right-hander to keep rolling.

Lackey outpitched friend and former teammate Jered Weaver, Kris Bryant hit his 28th home run and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 Tuesday night for its eighth straight victory.

Willson Contreras also homered and Ben Zobrist added an RBI double for the major league-leading Cubs, who won their 70th game and moved a season-high 29 over .500.

Kole Calhoun homered on Lackey's third pitch, but the former Angels right-hander later retired 12 straight. Lackey (9-7) allowed three hits over eight innings, and all six of his strikeouts were looking.

"He's not going to be out there smiling all the time and he's going to be upset with umpires and he's going to be upset with his manager," said Cubs skipper Joe Maddon, who was with the Angels when Lackey started his career in 2002. "He's going to be upset with teammates on occasion. But that's just who he is, and when you know that, it's OK. Because you love having him on your team."

Weaver (8-9) gave up four earned runs and another one that was unearned when he dropped a throw to first base for an error during the Angels' fifth straight loss.

Reds 7, Cardinals 4

Tyler Holt made his manager look smart Tuesday night. Holt, an inning after entering the game in a triple switch, doubled home the game-winning run as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4.

"I've been searching for something like that for a long time," Holt said. "To hit the ball flush like that is pretty encouraging."

Holt's double off Matt Bowman (1-4) broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth. He then scored from second on an infield hit by Billy Hamilton after Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter bobbled a barehanded attempt to get the speedy Hamilton at first.

"Holt runs the bases better than a lot of people I know," Hamilton said. "He hustles . he's going to give you 100 percent every time he's on the field."

Reds manager Bryan Price said Holt's appearance was more of a necessity than a stroke of genius. Scott Schebler's calf started tightening up after getting hit by a pitch and second baseman Brandon Phillips was dealing with a tight quad making Holt and Ivan De Jesus' substitutions "a no-brainer."

"It just played out well," Price said. "It was certainly no genius; it was just some good fortune."

Adam Duvall's two-run single in the third broke a career high 0-for-18 skid and gave the Reds a 2-1 lead.

White Sox 7, Royals 5

Todd Frazier hasn't needed a high batting average to make an impact for the Chicago White Sox.

Frazier hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning for his first hit in five at-bats, Justin Morneau had four hits and the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-5 on Tuesday night.

"Frustrating day," Frazier said. "I was trying to find my swing a little bit and finally felt a little connection there. So, I was happy about that and happy that I could help contribute to the team."

Despite hitting only .213, Frazier is tied for the major league lead with 31 homers and has 72 RBI. His latest homer came on the first pitch from Kelvin Herrera (1-4) after a single by Jose Abreu and a double by Morneau.

"It didn't do anything, down the middle," Herrera said of his fastball that Frazier drove out of the park.

David Robertson (3-2) blew a save in the ninth when Alcides Escobar's two-out single scored pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson.

Dan Jennings struck out Eric Hosmer to end the game, logging his first career save.

Tuesday, August 9 Scoreboard

Texas 7, Colorado 5

Cleveland 3, Washington 1

Pittsburgh 6, San Diego 4

Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 2

Boston 5, New York Yankees 3

Arizona 5, New York Mets 3

Miami 2, San Francisco 0

Chicago Cubs 5, Los Angeles Angels 1

Atlanta 2, Milwaukee 1

Houston 7, Minnesota 5

Chicago White Sox 7, Kansas City 5 (F/10)

Cincinnati 7, St. Louis 4

Oakland 2, Baltimore 1

Seattle 6, Detroit 5 (F/15)

Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Philadelphia 3

Wednesday, August 10 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Francisco at Miami, 11:10 a.m.

Philadelphia at Los Angeles Dodgers, 2:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Washington, 3:05 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 6 p.m.

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

Tampa Bay at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

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

Cincinnati at St. Louis, 6:15 p.m.

Colorado at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Houston at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

Baltimore at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Detroit at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.