MILWAUKEE—Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 34th home run of the season, Yovani Gallardo pitched seven strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs with a 3-2 victory Wednesday.John Axford pitched a scoreless ninth to convert his second straight save, returning to his role as the Brewers’ closer after he was demoted earlier in the season.Gallardo (13-8) gave up two runs and four hits, with nine strikeouts and two walks.Braun hit a solo shot deep to right-center field in the sixth and had an RBI double in the first. With Wednesday’s homer, Braun has surpassed the 33 he hit during his 2011 NL MVP season.Although the Brewers’ overall season has been a disappointment, they’ve been hot at home, going 9-1-2 in their last 12 series at Miller Park.David DeJesus and Bryan LaHair homered for the Cubs.Starter Travis Wood (4-10) took the loss but pitched fairly well, giving up three runs and six hits in seven innings with a walk and six strikeouts.Wood, in his second stint with the big-league club this year, was making his 18th start of the season.Brewers players began Wednesday by saying goodbye to veteran left-hander Randy Wolf, who was released by the team on his 36th birthday.Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA, and said he didn’t blame the club for making the move.

“I just want to thank them for everything,” Wolf said. “It’s certainly unfortunate that this year was the way it was, and there’s nobody more disappointed about that than I am.”

Both general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ron Roenicke said they expected Wolf to find a job somewhere else — perhaps even this season.DeJesus led off by pounding a 3-1 pitch from Gallardo over the wall in center. It was his sixth home run of the season – and four of those have come in his last eight games.DeJesus then appeared to hurt his left hand in a collision with center fielder Brett Jackson while making a sliding attempt at a catch in the bottom half of the inning, but stayed in the game. Milwaukee’s Norichika Aoki ended up with a double after DeJesus and Jackson couldn’t make the catch.After a strikeout by Rickie Weeks, Braun doubled over the head of LaHair — who appeared to lose track of the ball as it came off the bat — and Aoki scored to tie the game. Braun later scored on a broken-bat bloop double by Corey Hart, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead.After Braun homered in the sixth, LaHair hit his 15th of the season in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2.The Brewers blew a chance to pad their lead in the seventh, when Carlos Gomez tried to score on a ball that got away from catcher Steve Clevenger but was thrown out easily.

NOTES—Milwaukee recalled INF Jeff Bianchi from Triple-A Nashville. … Brewers starter Shaun Marcum is expected to return from a rehabilitation stint and start Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh. … Brewers SS Jean Segura sat out with a sore foot. … It was the 12th career leadoff home run for DeJesus.

Kevin Youkilis hit a grand slam, Paul Konerko homered and Dewayne Wise had four hits Tuesday night as the White Sox rallied for the second straight game to beat the New York Yankees 7-3.The White Sox,who fell behind 3-0 in Monday night’s opener before winning 9-6, trailed 2-0 after one inning Tuesday in the matchup of division leaders.Wise, designated for assignment by the Yankees in July, had four singles from the leadoff spot and has played well while filling in for the injured Alejandro De Aza.With the game tied 2-2, the White Sox loaded the bases in the fifth inning on Alexei Ramirez’s double, a walk and single by Wise. Youkilis connected off Ivan Nova for his second grand slam at U.S. Cellular Field this season. He also cleared the bases in April for the Red Sox against the White Sox and Phil Humber.Since joining the White Sox in a June trade with Boston, Youkilis has hit 11 of his 15 homers.Nova (11-7), who is 1-4 in his last eight starts, gave up seven hits and six runs in six innings.Francisco Liriano (5-10) also went six innings, surrendering Derek Jeter’s leadoff homer and two runs in the first while allowing six hits and three walks. Jeter hit the game’s first pitch for his 12th homer, giving him sole possession of 11th place on the career hits list (3,256) and moving him ahead of Eddie Murray. The Yankees then loaded the bases on a single by Nick Swisher and two walks, but ended up with just one more run on UIC’s Curtis Granderson’s fielder’s choice grounder as Liriano avoided a big inning.The Sox got one back in the second on Alex Rios’ triple and A.J. Pierzynski’s sacrifice fly and then tied it on Konerko’s 21st homer in the fourth.Russell Martin hit his 14th homer, a solo shot off Jesse Crain, in the seventh. Gordon Beckham had a two-out RBI single in the eighth to restore the four-run lead.

NOTES—Yankees ace CC Sabathia threw 38 pitches in a bullpen session and said he expects to return to the rotation Friday against Cleveland. He’s been on the DL with an inflamed elbow. … OF Jordan Danks returned to the White Sox after a short stint in the minors as they put De Aza on the DL with sore ribs.

MILWAUKEE—Marco Estrada allowed two hits in six solid innings to win for the first time in almost a year, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cubs 5-2 Tuesday night.Estrada (1-5) started for the 16th time this season and made 14 relief appearances over this season and last since his 11-4 win at Pittsburgh on Aug. 23, 2011.The Brewers right-hander gave up Alfonso Soriano’s double leading off the second and rookie starter Chris Rusin’s first major league hit, a one-out triple in the third. Estrada worked retired David DeJesus on a comebacker and then Josh Vitters took a called third strike to end the inning.Estrada retired 18 of 21 batters before turning over a 1-0 lead to Kameron Loe to start the seventh.

The White Sox put a lousy weekend in Kansas City behind them in a hurry. Really, there was no choice with the New York Yankees coming to town to start a three-game series between first-place teams.Alexei Ramirez hit a go-ahead homer, Adam Dunn drove out his major league best 36th and the Sox rallied twice Monday night to beat the Yankees 9-6 in the opener.

“We played so bad in Kansas City,” Dunn said of three-game sweep by the Royals that featured some sloppy baseball by the White Sox.

“The energy was going down a little bit in Kansas City. We didn’t get off to a good start tonight. I think it shows the resiliency of this team. Obviously tonight wasn’t looking good. We had some opportunities early to drive some runs in and we didn’t and fell behind. We just kept battling.”

Dewayne Wise and Gordon Beckham also homered for the Sox, who fell behind early 3-0 and also trailed 6-5.

“Every game is important. What happened in Kansas City, we have to leave in the past. The race is so tight, every night is going to be important,” said Ramirez, who lost a double earlier in the game when umpires changed a call and ruled his bouncer over third foul.

“That’s baseball. The calls will go your way in certain instances and I just had to take it in stride,” Ramirez said. “Fortunately I was able to hit the home run and more importantly we won the game, that’s the most important thing of all.”

Ramirez connected with two outs in the seventh off Boone Logan (4-2) for his seventh homer of the season. Brett Myers (2-1) got the win by pitching two-thirds of an inning. Addison Reed worked the ninth for his 22nd save in 25 chances.

“It’s tough to swallow. We’ve been scuffling as a whole down there lately,” Logan said. “You gotta grind through it and get through it. We know that and we talk about it. We’re doing the best we can.”

Ramirez’s homer came on a 3-2 pitch.

“It was a bad pitch, either way, but I was looking to throw it low, in the dirt. I was gonna show it to him, but in the dirt,” Logan said. “If I walked him, onto the next guy. If he swings, I strike him out.”

New York’s Derek Jeter homered and had four hits, tying Eddie Murray for 11th place on the career hits list (3,255). He also took over 13th place on the runs scored list (1,845), passing Craig Biggio.

“He just continues to have big days for us. That’s what he’s doing. It is pretty amazing,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Wise hit a two-run homer as the White Sox scored five times in the fifth for a 5-3 lead, but the Yankees quickly went ahead in the top of the sixth on Jeter’s solo homer and RBI singles by Mark Teixeira and pinch-hitter Casey McGehee.However, Beckham homered off Joba Chamberlain to start the bottom of the sixth, tying it at 6.The Yankees scored three early runs against White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who was wild from the outset and lasted only 2 1/3 innings.Wise, designated for assignment by the Yankees in July, hit his sixth homer in the fifth, shortly after umpires reversed a call and ruled that an apparent double by Ramirez was a foul ball.

“I mean I’m not going to lie. When you play against a former team you obviously want to go out there and try and do well,” Wise said. “I don’t think too many people can leave one team that was in first place and come to another one, so I’m pretty blessed and just glad to be here.”

Ramirez led off with a bouncer over third that third base umpire Bill Welke ruled a fair ball with Ramirez reaching on second. But after an umps’ conference, they reversed the call and ruled it was foul. White Sox manager Robin Ventura came out of the dugout for an explanation but the changed call stood and Ramirez then struck out. At the time it was a pivotal call because Beckham followed with a single and then Wise homered.Kevin Youkilis followed with a single and Dunn and Paul Konerko walked to load the bases and finish Yankees starter Freddy Garcia. The Sox tied it on Alex Rios’ fielder’s choice grounder.A.J. Pierzynski greeted reliever Clay Rapada with an RBI single to center, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead and after the Yankees brought in their fourth pitcher of the inning in Chamberlain, Dayan Viciedo hit another run-scoring single.Jeter hit the game’s first pitch for a single, tying him with Nap Lajoie for 12th place on the career list. Nick Swisher walked before Beckham made a nice back-handed stop on Robinson Cano’s grounder to get a force at second. Teixeira hit an RBI single and Eric Chavez a run-scoring fielder’s choice.Curtis Granderson hit a bases-loaded single to make it 3-0 in the second before Rios’ strong throw from right cut down Cano at the plate for the final out.Garcia lasted 4 1/3 innings. He gave up six hits and five runs with eight strikeouts.Floyd threw 50 pitches in the first two innings and was yanked after just 2 1/3 innings — his shortest outing of the season — when he gave up five hits, three runs and four walks.

NOTES—Yankees ace CC Sabathia is scheduled to throw a bullpen session this week and manager Joe Girardi said how the left-hander feels after that workout could determine if he can come off the DL and return to the rotation….White Sox CF and leadoff hitter Alejandro de Aza missed his third straight game with a sore back.

MILWAUKEE — It took seven starts but Mark Rogers finally got his first major league win.Jonathan Lucroy hit two home runs and the Milwaukee Brewers scored eight runs in the fifth inning Monday night to rally for a 9-5 victory over the Cubs.The Brewers sent 11 batters to the plate and recorded seven hits in the game-turning inning. Six runs scored after there were two outs. The eight runs were the most in an inning for Milwaukee since it scored nine runs in the second inning of an 11-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 5, 2010. Rogers (1-1), who started five games this season, pitched five innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs while recording seven strikeouts. He walked three.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Rogers said. “Tonight wasn’t my best effort of the year. But the offense was excellent. They picked me up today and the bullpen came in and really shut them down. It was a good win.”

The Brewers trailed 3-1 when Rogers left the game after the top of the fifth.

“It’s a crazy game. Coming out behind, I wasn’t expecting to get the win,” he said. “The way our offense played in the fifth inning was incredible.”

Justin Germano (2-3) took the loss for the Cubs, giving up eight hits and seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his fifth start for Chicago after being acquired from Boston on July 19 for cash. He walked one and struck out three.

“People might think I’m crazy, but I feel like I pitched a lot better than the line shows,” Germano said. “I got ground balls that last inning. They just hit them where our guys weren’t. It’s part of the game. A couple inches to the left, a couple inches to the right, I could get out of that inning with just a couple runs. I definitely battled that last inning just trying to get that third out.”

Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Carlos Gomez’s first of two at-bats in the fifth inning — he singled and homered — turned out to be key.

“The big hit of the game I think was when he had Gomez two strikes and let him off the hook with a hanging changeup,” Sveum said. “Otherwise, it was pretty well set up to finish that inning, and then we were going to be able to go from there. But it just didn’t happen. He kind of lost it and couldn’t get through it.”

The Brewers’ outburst started when Gomez singled and moved to second on Jean Segura’s groundout. Gomez scored on a single by Travis Ishikawa, who pinch-hit for Rogers. Ishikawa advanced to third as the throw got away from catcher Wellington Castillo and scored on Norichika Aoki’s sacrifice fly.

Rickie Weeks and Ryan Braun followed with consecutive singles and Aramis Ramirez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Corey Hart blooped a single into right field, driving in Weeks and Braun and chasing Germano. Lucroy then hit a three-run home run off reliever Jeff Beliveau. Two pitches later, Gomez followed with a solo shot off Beliveau. Segura then had his second groundout of the inning.

“Hitting two home runs in a game doesn’t happen all the time,” Lucroy said. “I’m just trying to be consistent and have good at-bats and hit the ball hard somewhere. Sometimes these things happen and sometimes you go 0 for 4. It’s just the way it is. Hopefully, I can keep getting better.”

The win for Rogers came after Brewers manager Ron Roenicke indicated before Monday’s game that Rogers soon may be shut down for the season due to him nearing his innings limit. Rogers entered the game having thrown 119 innings in 2012 between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville.

“I don’t exactly know how much longer they want me to pitch,” Rogers said. “I still feel great and I want to keep it that way. I’m going to keep doing everything I can to prepare to pitch.”

Roenicke credited Rogers for the way be fought through some early problems

“I thought his command was off, especially early, but he battled it,” Roenicke said. “The pitch count got up there pretty fast, but after that I thought the command got better and the fastball still had good life. It always seems to have good life. It’s just going to be a command thing for him. He threw some real good breaking balls and then left some up in the zone. But he battled through it enough to keep us in it.”

The Cubs scored in the first inning when David DeJesus led off with a double, stole third and scored on a ground-rule double by Anthony Rizzo. The Cubs added a run in the second when Castillo hit a lead-off double and, after walks to Brett Jackson and Darwin Barney, scored on a sacrifice fly by DeJesus.The Brewers cut into the lead in the second when Lucroy hit a solo homer that glanced off the top of the left field wall.Josh Vitters, the Cubs’ 22-year-old third baseman, hit his first career home run in the fifth, extending the Cubs lead to 3-1. Vitters, a first-round draft pick of the Cubs and third selection overall in 2007 draft, entered Monday’s game hitting .091. He made his major leaguedebut on Aug. 5.

“It’s good to feel that confidence right now, and hopefully I’m just going to work on seeing balls and hitting more balls like I did tonight,” Vitters said.

The Cubs added a run in the seventh when Barney led off with a double and scored on a groundout and added another in the ninth when Castillo scored on a wild pitch.

NOTES—After being given the day off Sunday, Brewers regulars Ramirez, Hart and Aoki returned to the starting lineup Monday night. … Although there was no sign of rain at the start of Monday night’s game at Miller Park, the retractable roof and panels were closed. A 7-minute in-game rain delay occurred on Sunday when an unexpected shower popped up with the roof open. … Alfonso Soriano is the only major league left fielder to have handled at least 150 chances without an error this season. … LHP Chris Rusin, a fourth-round draft pick of the Cubs in 2009, will make his major league debut on Tuesday against the Brewers, the team said. A corresponding roster move will be announced then. RHP Alex Hinshaw, claimed off waivers from San Diego, is also expected to join the Cubs on Tuesday.

KANSAS CITY—Jeremy Guthrie was working on a no-hitter before one well-placed grounder was ruled a base hit. Then he had to settle for a no-decision.At least his team won.Guthrie pitched into the eighth inning in another dominant outing and Salvador Perez drove in three runs as the Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox 5-2 on Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep of the AL Central leaders.Paul Konerko reached on an infield single with two out in the seventh for Sox first hit. Shortstop Alcides Escobar fielded Konerko’s grounder on the outfield grass and his one-hop throw was dropped by first baseman Eric Hosmer.

“That’s an error,” Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur said. “That’s all you can say about it. No disrespect to Pauly, but he’s not the fastest guy in America. He’ll tell you that. To me you’ve got to flash error up right away.

“Obviously, Guthrie pitched a heckuva game. The worst part is we couldn’t get him the win because he pitched so well.”

Official scorer Del Black ruled it a hit and the Kauffman Stadium crowd of 22,401 loudly booed when the “H” was flashed on the scoreboard.

“The shortstop was on the grass,” said Black, who has been scoring Royals games since 1975. “He had to make a backhanded stop and he was off balance. It’s a tough play from that deep. He makes that play a lot, but it’s a tough play.”

The Royals are appealing Black’s ruling.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I know this, if Hos catches that ball, Konerko is out by 15 feet. I think for the next two hitters I was so upset, I wasn’t really thinking period. I kind of reeled myself back in and got back in the ballgame. I was just glad they got a clean base hit.”

Guthrie said he was not deflated by the hit call.

“That’s a tough ground ball there,” Guthrie said. “I didn’t think Esky would get to it. When he got to it, I knew we had a shot at it and it just didn’t work out.

“It was a tough play. He played himself into the chance to get an error or an hit. It went the way the scorer scored it. If he scored it a hit, great. If he scored it an error, great. My goal was to finish out the game with zero runs.”

Konerko said he had not seen any replays of his hit.

“I didn’t see it when I hit it; I just ran,” Konerko said. “I’m the last guy to have any opinion on it. I know I’m not used to getting infield hits, so I’ll take it.”

The White Sox collected two clean hits off Guthrie in the eighth when Dayan Viciedo and Ray Olmedo singled with two outs. Yost then summoned left-hander Tim Collins to face Dewayne Wise.Both runners scored when Wise’s hard grounder went between the legs of Hosmer and rolled to the right-field corner, tying it at 2.The error snapped Guthrie’s scoreless streak at 22 innings, the longest by a Royal this year. Guthrie was charged with two unearned runs and three singles.

“Jeremy’s unbelievable,” catcher Perez said. “He threw the ball down every pitch. He was hitting my glove all day.”

The Royals regained the lead with three runs in the bottom half. Billy Butler led off with a walk and was replaced by Jarrod Dyson, who swiped second for his 23rd stolen base in 26 attempts and scored on Perez’s single to center off Jesse Crain (2-2).Mike Moustakas walked and scored on a throwing error by catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Lorenzo Cain’s two-out single scored Hosmer, who reached on a walk. Perez’s double, a high chopper down the third-base line, drove in Cain and Escobar to put the Royals in front in the sixth.Guthrie retired the first 14 batters he faced before walking Pierzynski on a full-count offering with two outs in the fifth. Alexei Ramirez broke his bat grounding out to third baseman Moustakas to end the inning.Greg Holland (6-3) retired the final four batters to pick up the victory.The Royals had four hits in the second inning and failed to score. Butler led off with a single, but Perez grounded into a double play. Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur and Hosmer hit consecutive singles, but Moustakas was thrown out at the plate when he attempted to score on Hosmer’s hit.The Royals swept a three-game series from the White Sox for the first time since 2003.

NOTES—White Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis, who is nursing a sore right knee, rested. “I’m just trying to battle through something that’s been barking a bit,” Youkilis said….Yost celebrated his 58th birthday….Royals rookie LHP Will Smith, who has won his past two starts, will start Monday at Tampa Bay. The Rays will counter with RHP Jeremy Hellickson….The White Sox will start RHP Gavin Floyd on Monday when they open a homestand against the Yankees on Monday night. The White Sox have lost six straight home games to the Yankees, who will start RHP Freddy Garcia.

CINCINNATI—Xavier Paul kept the Cincinnati Reds winning in spite of themselves.Paul led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit triple and Ryan Hanigan followed with a single Sunday as Cincinnati overcame three more errors to pull out a 5-4 win over the Cubs.Paul lined the first pitch from Shawn Camp (3-6) over first base into the right-field corner. Hanigan hit the next pitch to left-center over the drawn-in outfield.

“I knew the ball was down the line and I had a chance for three,” Paul said. “I was trying to bust it out of the box. There’s a big difference between being on third with nobody out and being on second with no outs. On the first pitch, I was looking for a pitch I could drive. I went out with the mindset that, if I got a pitch I could handle, I was hacking. I got it, and luckily, I got a good swing on it.”

Aroldis Chapman (5-4) struck out two in the ninth. Brett Jackson doubled with one out, but was caught trying to steal third.The NL Central-leading Reds took three out of four from the Cubs and finished a 5-2 homestand. Cincinnati made 10 errors in those seven games, leading to seven unearned runs.The Reds went into Sunday tied for second in the NL in fielding, and the sloppy glovework left manager Dusty Baker less than giddy about the win.

“Is there stink on the field?” wondered Baker, who said he spoke with his team about tightening up the defense while the Reds were in Chicago a week ago. “It was an ugly win, but a win’s a win. We’ve got to tighten up the defense. That’s one thing we pride ourselves in. We’ve just got to keep working. It’s a matter of concentration. We’ve got to go back to total concentration.”

The Cubs capitalized on two errors to tie the score. Third baseman Wilson Valdez misplayed Darwin Barney’s potential double-play ball with no outs in the sixth, leading to Alfonso Soriano’s sacrifice fly and Starlin Castro’s RBI single.Jay Bruce dropped Luis Valbuena’s fly ball near the right-field warning track with one out in the eighth inning, allowing David DeJesus to go from first to third. DeJesus scored on Soriano’s groundout.The Cubs’ comeback allowed Chris Volstad to avoid the loss, but his streak of consecutive starts without a win was stretched to 24, dating to July 17, 2011, when he was pitching for the Marlins. He allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings.The errors cost Mat Latos his fourth straight win. He gave up six hits and four runs – two earned – with six strikeouts in eight innings.

“I was spotty here and there,” Latos said. “I didn’t have control of my fastball or command of my curveball or slider. I got by with what I had.”

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the first on Bruce’s two-out single. He is batting .406 (13 for 32) during an eight-game hitting streak, which started immediately after he got two days off.The Cubs tied it in the third on Scott Clevenger’s leadoff walk, Volstad’s sacrifice and DeJesus’ ground-rule double.Consecutive singles by Bruce, Todd Frazier and Valdez to lead off the fourth produced the go-ahead run. Hanigan’s sacrifice fly and Latos’ RBI single made it 4-1.Volstad was hurt as much by bad luck as anything, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

“It started with a cueball by Bruce and a [lunging] single that found a hole by Frazier,” Sveum said. “Then he threw a bad pitch to Valdez and got lazy with the pitcher.”

Volstad agreed, especially on Latos’ hit.

“There was no reason for the pitcher to get a hit there,” Volstad said.

NOTES—This was the 13th sellout of the season, a single-season record at 10-year-old Great American Ball Park. The previous record of 12 was set last season…..The Cubs optioned LHP Brooks Raley to Triple-A Iowa, the day after he earned his first big league win….The Reds optioned RHP Todd Redmond to Triple-A Louisville, the day after he got the loss in his major league debut…..LHP Chris Rusin will be recalled from Iowa to start for the Cubs at Milwaukee on Tuesday. It will be Rusin’s major league debut….The Cubs claimed LHP Alex Hinshaw off waivers from San Diego. To make room, they transferred RHP Arodys Vizcaino to the 60-day disabled list. Hinshaw was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 31 relief appearances. He had been out of the majors since 2009 before returning this year. The Padres designated him for assignment on Aug. 14.

Different surroundings, familiar results for Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.Cutler and Marshall looked sharp from the start, and the Bears beat Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins 33-31 in a preseason game on Saturday night.In their first appearance together for the Bears (tied for 11th in the AP Pro32), Cutler and Marshall picked up where they left off when they starred together with the Denver Broncos. They connected on a 41-yard pass on Chicago’s first play from scrimmage to set up the first of two first-quarter touchdown runs by Michael Bush, and the defense contained Griffin.Making matters worse for the Redskins (No. 25), they lost Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Orakpo (shoulder) and safety Brandon Meriweather (knee) to injuries late in the first quarter.The Bears
pulled out the win on Robbie Gould’s 57-yard field goal with 31 seconds left right after Washington’s reserves gave the Redskins the lead.The Bears racked up 262 yards in the first half after managing just 41 through the first two quarters of a preseason-opening loss to Denver, with their quarterback and Pro Bowl receiver getting off to a good start.Held out last week following the birth of his son, Cutler threw for 122 yards and completed 7 of 13 passes before Jason Campbell took over midway through the second quarter. Marshall caught two passes for 61 yards and was targeted four times after making a brief cameo against the Broncos. The Bears used most of their stars after they also sat Matt Forte and Julius Peppers in the preseason opener.One notable exception – Brian Urlacher.The Pro Bowl linebacker had an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his left knee Tuesday and he is expected to sit out the entire preseason. His status is a question mark even if his stated goal is to be ready for the opener against Indianapolis on Sept. 9.Even with the Bears missing one of their key defensive players, Griffin had a rough time.He played the first half, completing 5 of 8 passes for 49 yards. But he also got sacked three times and lost a fumble on one of them, leading to Bush’s second touchdown, before Kirk Cousins took over.Cutler and Marshall were in sync right from the start.That 41-yarder came on the first play from scrimmage after the Redskins punted on the game’s opening possession, and it was just what the Bears envisioned when they reunited the pair.Marshall got behind Cedric Griffin, and Cutler hit him wide open and in stride on the right side. In one play, the Bears matched their yardage for the first half against Denver last week, and they didn’t stop there.Marshall also turned a short pass into a 20-yarder with a nice spin move on Meriweather, a former Bear, putting the ball on the 17. Bush ran it in from the 1 to give the Bears a 7-0 lead.Things didn’t get much better from there for Washington.Orakpo was injured trying to make a lunging tackle on Devin Hester following a catch, and missed. He eventually had his left shoulder – the same one that was operated on in the offseason – wrapped on the sideline.Then, after the Redskins took over on their 17, Griffin got sacked by Israel Idonije and lost the fumble. Bush immediately plowed through the middle for an 8-yard TD that made it 14-0, while Meriweather was injured trying to make the tackle. He had to be helped off the field.There was a scary moment for the Bears early in the second half, when backup safety Brandon Hardin was carted off the field with a neck injury.Lorenzo Booker had just returned the opening kickoff of the second half 105 yards for a touchdown when Hardin went down. He was injured trying to tackle Logan Paulsen on a 19-yard pass from Kirk Cousins on the next play from scrimmage.Hardin stayed on the turf for about 10 minutes as medical personnel tended to him before being placed on a stretcher and taken away on a cart. He was moving his hands and gave the thumbs-up sign as he left the field.

KANSAS CITY—Mike Moustakas and the Kansas City Royals put on an offensive display that ruined Adam Dunn’s 400th career homer.Moustakas hit a three-run shot, Billy Butler had three RBI and the Royals beat the White Sox 9-4 on Saturday night.

“We’ve very confident coming in here each day,” Butler said. “We believe in each other. We honestly believe coming in each day that we’re going to win.”

The Sox trailed 5-2 before Dunn drove a 2-2 pitch from Tim Collins over the wall in left-center in the eighth. Kevin Youkilis, who singled with one out for his 1,000th career hit, was aboard for Dunn’s major league-best 35th homer of the season.Dunn is one of 11 active players with 400 homers and No. 50 to reach the mark overall. The burly slugger and Paul Konerko are the first teammates to reach 400 career homers in the same season.

“It’s just about the worst-case scenario, getting it like this,” Dunn said. “We’ve played two bad games. Tonight was a disaster from the get-go. Obviously, I would have wanted it to come in a win.”

Kansas City responded with four runs in the bottom half. Butler, who finished with three hits, singled in Alcides Escobar before Moustakas hit a drive to right for his 19th homer.All four runs were charged to Brett Myers, who gave up four hits.

“A 5-4 lead is by no means a comfortable situation,” Butler said. “Nobody wants to be pitching with that tight of a lead. Sometimes you have to do it. We have to do it enough. We’ve had to win enough tight ones, so it was good to have a cruise win.”

Moustakas finished with four RBI for the Royals, who have won four of five. Escobar had four infield singles, scored three runs and had his team-leading 24th steal.Butler, who homered Friday, was hit by a Jake Peavy pitch in the first inning.

“I think we all know what that was,” Butler said. “I’m not going to beat around the bush on that. Maybe I did a little excessive last night. Professionals hit me below the belt and that’s the professional way to do it and move on. I felt like I won today. We’re going to leave it I professionally got back even.”

Alex Gordon also had three hits for Kansas City, including his American League-leading 39th double. Eric Hosmer contributed a solo home run in the sixth as the Royals rapped out 15 hits overall.The White Sox committed a season-high four errors. They entered ranked second in the majors with a .988 fielding percentage. It was just their ninth multi-error game this season.The Royals took advantage of miscues by catcher Tyler Flowers, right fielder Alex Rios and second baseman Gordon Beckham to push across two unearned runs in the third. Butler had an RBI single and scored on Moustakas’ base hit.Bruce Chen (9-10) held the White Sox scoreless until Dunn doubled and scored on Konerko’s 20th homer in the sixth. It was Konerko’s 41st career home run against Kansas City.Konerko has connected in back-to-back games since coming off the concussion-disabled list Friday.Chen allowed five hits, struck out five and walked one in six innings. Chen mentioned how the rotation has been pitching well in August.

“I just wanted to keep it going, not let the starting rotation down,” Chen said. “I see all these guys doing well. I say, `You know what, I can do that.’ You can start seeing how aggressive and how they’re pitching.”

Peavy (9-9) gave up five runs, two unearned, and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings, dropping to 0-6 with a 5.52 ERA in his past seven starts against the Royals. He is 1-5 with a 5.52 ERA in six starts at Kauffman Stadium.The Royals are 12-6 in their past 18 games.

NOTES—Royals 2B Chris Getz, who broke his left thumb Friday, had season-ending surgery with two pins placed in the thumb. There is an eight-week recovery time, and Getz is expected to be at 100 percent by spring training. Manager Ned Yost said Johnny Giavotella, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha, would get the majority of the playing time at second with Getz out….Alejandro De Aza was not the lineup with cramps in his lower back. Dewayne Wise replaced him….CF Lorenzo Cain hit leadoff for the first time. Cain is the eighth player Yost has batted first this season…..RHP Jeremy Guthrie takes a 15-inning scoreless streak into Sunday’s start against the White Sox, who will start rookie LHP Jose Quintana….

CINCINNATI—Johnny Cueto knows how to prepare for day games, and his routine is working out quite well for him.Cueto pitched eight crisp innings, Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead homer for the second straight game and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Saturday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.Brett Jackson hit his first career home run to help Brooks Raley earn his first major league win, leading the Cubs to a 9-7 victory over the Reds and a split by taking the night cap.Starlin Castro had three hits and two RBIs as the Cubs rebounded after losing the first two in the four-game weekend series. David DeJesus added his fifth home run of the season in the ninth.
Xavier Paul and Miguel Cairo added their first home runs of the season as the Reds roughed up another Chicago starting pitcher for three home runs. They hit three off Travis Wood in a 7-3 win on Friday night and three more off Jeff Samardzija.Cueto (16-6) settled down after allowing Alfonso Soriano’s two-run homer in the first. The right-hander gave up three hits and struck out eight, drawing a standing ovation when he walked off the mound for the last time. He also hit David DeJesus, the first batter of the game.Cueto, who didn’t allow a runner past first base after the first inning and retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced, is the first Cincinnati pitcher since Danny Jackson in 1988 to win 16 of his first 25 starts. He has won seven of his last eight appearances to move into a tie with Tampa Bay’s David Price for the major-league lead in wins.
“He was dealing,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He has to be a serious candidate for the Cy Young Award. We don’t talk about it, but that has to be in the back of his mind.”
“I’ve got to keep working,” Cueto said. “There’s a lot of baseball to go before I can think about that.”
Dale Sveum watched Cueto dominate Chicago for the second time in six days. He also pitched eight innings in the Reds’ 3-0 win at Wrigley Field last Sunday.
“He did everything,” Sveum said. “His off-speed stuff was good. He worked inside.”
Aroldis Chapman allowed two hits, a walk and a run — his first in 24 appearances — but held on for his 29th save.
The first-place Reds (73-47) began the day with a six-game lead over Pittsburgh and an eight-game advantage over St. Louis in the NL Central.
Frazier also drove in Jay Bruce with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. He went 2 for 3 and is batting .600 (15 for 25) with three homers and 11 RBI in 10 games against the Cubs this season.Soriano drove a 3-2 pitch 433 feet into the second deck in left field with two outs in the first inning for his 22nd homer. The two RBI gave Soriano 1,000 for his career.The Reds responded in the second. Frazier led off with a single up the middle and Paul followed with a 381-foot line drive into the right-field seats on a 2-0 pitch.Frazier led off the fourth with a drive to the first row of the second deck in left for his 17th homer and third in four games. He also had a two-run shot Friday night that gave the Reds a 4-3 lead.Cairo added a one-out shot to left on a 1-2 pitch for his first homer since Sept. 21 against Houston, making it 4-2.Samardzija (8-11) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out five, walked none, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.The right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.07 ERA in four starts this month.Raley (1-2) gave up four runs, three earned, and five hits in 5 1-3 innings in the night cap.Ryan Ludwick went deep twice and drove in three runs for the Reds, who had won seven of eight. It was Ludwick’s fourth multihomer game of the season and leaves him tied with Jay Bruce for the team lead with 25 homers on the year.The Cubs jumped all over Todd Redmond (0-1) in the nightcap. Redmond (0-1) gave up four runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings in his major league debut. He struck out two and walked five.Redmond was the sixth pitcher to start for Cincinnati this season. The Reds used the same five starters for the first 120 games, a modern franchise record and a key reason for their surge to the top of the NL Central.
Jackson sparked the Cubs’ 13-hit attack with a drive into visitors’ bullpen down the right-field line on a 1-1 pitch in the second, making it 1-0.The Cubs built an 8-2 lead, then held on as the Reds battered its beleaguered bullpen. Carlos Marmol worked the ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances.The Reds came out of the doubleheader with a 6 1/2-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh.Cueto (16-6) gave up two runs and three hits, drawing a standing ovation when he walked off the mound for the last time. He also hit David DeJesus, the first batter of the game.Cueto, who didn’t allow a runner past first base after the first inning and retired 19 of the last 20 batters he faced, is the first Cincinnati pitcher since Danny Jackson in 1988 to win 16 of his first 25 starts. He has won seven of his last eight appearances to move into a tie with Tampa Bay’s David Price for the major league lead in wins.Aroldis Chapman allowed two hits, a walk and a run – his first in 24 appearances – but held on for his 29th save.Cubs slugger Alfonso Soriano drove a 3-2 pitch 433 feet into the second deck in left field with two outs in the first inning for his 22nd homer. The two RBIs gave Soriano 1,000 for his career.Jeff Samardzija (8-11) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out five, walked none, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.The right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.07 ERA in four starts this month.

NOTES—The Cubs are working on a new contract for SS Starlin Castro, but Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, said nothing has been finalized yet….Both teams recalled pitchers from their Triple-A affiliates to start the second game of the doubleheader. The Cubs promoted LHP Brooks Raley from Iowa, while the Reds recalled RHP Todd Redmond from Louisville for his major league debut….Neither team was required to send anybody out to make room. Major League Baseball rules allow teams to add a 26th player to their active roster for doubleheaders such as Saturday’s, which was scheduled after a May 1 postponement….Soriano joined Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield as the only major-league players with at least 1,000 RBI, 400 doubles, 350 home runs and 250 stolen bases in their careers.