Monthly Archives: July 2010

Swisher,Votto win “Last Man” votes, added to AL and NL All Star teams.

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ANAHEIM—The American and National Leagues have added a couple of booming bats to their bench Tuesday in Anaheim with the selection of Nick Swisher and Joey Votto, now that fans have spoken loudly in the four-day All-Star Final Vote.The White Sox Paul Konerko was third inthe AL voting behind Swisher and Kevin Youkilis
2010 All-Stars

AL starters |

C: J. Mauer, MIN

1B: J. Morneau, MIN

2B: R. Cano, NYY

SS: D. Jeter, NYY

3B: E. Longoria, TB

OF: J. Hamilton, TEX

OF: I. Suzuki, SEA

OF: C. Crawford, TB

DH: V. Guerrero, TEX

NL starters |

C: Y. Molina, STL

1B: A. Pujols, STL

2B: C. Utley, PHI

SS: H. Ramirez, FLA

3B: D. Wright, NYM

OF: R. Braun, MIL

OF: A. Ethier, LA

OF: J. Heyward, ATL

Furcal blast carries Dodgers past Cubs 3-2

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LOS ANGELES—Rafael Furcal hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Cubs 3-2 in their series opener.Kershaw (9-4) struck out a season-high 12 — one off his career best — in eight innings, tying his longest outing. The 22-year-old left-hander allowed two runs and seven hits for his second straight win, and didn’t walk anyone for the second time in his career.Jonathan Broxton worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances and the Dodgers won for the fourth time in six games.All-Star Marlon Byrd went 3 for 4 for the Cubs, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.Byrd was ejected in the ninth inning for arguing a strike call after the first base Umpire rung him up on a check swing attempt.Furcal’s season-long 10-game hitting streak ended in a 4-0 loss to Florida on Wednesday night, when he was hitless in four at-bats, but he picked right back up against the Cubs. He had three hits and got hit by a pitch.His 15th homer came on the first pitch from Randy Wells (4-7). It sailed inches inside the foul pole in right field and gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Russell Martin, who led off with a single and was sacrificed to second, also scored.Furcal has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, batting .500 with 17 runs, four homers and 15 RBI since June 26, two days after Furcal returned from the bereavement list after his father died.Wells gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked one in falling to 0-3 against the Dodgers.Furcal had Wells second-guessing himself on the home run pitch.The Dodgers led 1-0 in the first after James Loney’s RBI single scored Furcal, who doubled leading off.The Cubs tied it in the second on Alfonso Soriano’s 15th homer on the first pitch from Kershaw. They took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Geovany Soto’s RBI single.

  

  

NOTES—Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez will begin a rehab assignment as a DH with Class-A Inland Empire on Saturday. Torre said Ramirez should be ready to return after the All-Star break. The slugger is on the DL with a strained right hamstring. … The Dodgers took a 1,019-1,017 lead in the all-time series between the teams that began in 1890. 

Danks blanks Angels 1-0, complete four game sweep

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John Danks got the ball, took the signs from catcher A.J. Pierzynski and then let it go. And for six innings, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim couldn’t hit what he delivered.After losing his no-hit bid to start the seventh, Danks maintained his composure and finished with his first career shutout on a two-hitter as the surging White Sox beat the Angels 1-0, completing a four-game sweep and winning for the 22nd time in 27 games.The game lasted only 1 hour, 50 minutes on a muggy 79-degree day. Stepping up just a day after the White Sox learned they might be without ace Jake Peavy for the rest of the season, Danks, whose previous low-hit performance was a three-hitter last September against the Indians — his only other complete game — worked quickly and was in control of his pitches from the outset.The sturdy lefty had no walks and seven strikeouts, winning a duel with the Angels’ Ervin Santana.The Sox got a run off Santana (8-7) in the first as he hit leadoff batter Juan Pierre with a pitch, Alex Rios doubled to left and Paul Konerko delivered a sacrifice fly.And then Danks made it stand up.Reggie Willits grounded a single just underneath the reach of Alexei Ramirez to lead off the seventh for the first hit against Danks, who’d lost his previous two starts. Howie Kendrick then followed with a single up the middle and the Angels had their first threat of the game.But Danks escaped, getting Torii Hunter on a fielder’s choice, Mike Napoli on a pop and then leaping high to snag Juan Rivera’s comebacker before throwing him out.So when did Danks realize he was working on a no-hitter, which could have been the fifth in the majors this season? The Sox won their fifth straight and moved within a half game of idle Detroit for first place in the AL Central.The only Angel to get on base in the first five innings was Cory Aldridge, who reached on third baseman Omar Vizquel’s two-out error in the third. Pierzynski then made a nice sliding, bobbling catch of Erick Aybar’s foul pop to end the inning.Santana gave up only three hits with three walks and four strikeouts to go with the one hit batsman — the only runner who scored in the entire game.

NOTES—With Danks on the mound, slumping lefties Hideki Matsui (4 for 22 in July) and Bobby Abreu (1 for 24) got the day off…..Guillen was asked how the White Sox would fill the rotation vacancy created by the injury to Peavy, who has a detached muscle behind his pitching shoulder. “I think you got to stay in the organization. You don’t just pull up the magic thing and make a trade,” Guillen said. “I think you’ve got to stay in the organization.” Daniel Hudson, 11-4 at Triple-A Charlotte, is a possibility.

Bulls lose out on Wade and Bosh,but agree to terms with Boozer. James decision on Thursday,likely to Miami

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Carlos Boozer is headed to the Bulls. Now what about you, LeBron James? A person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press that Boozer, a two-time All-Star forward, agreed to a deal on Wednesday and is leaving the Utah Jazz after six seasons. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract can’t become official until 12:01 a.m. Thursday, did not reveal the terms.Several outlets have reported it’s a five-year deal, and the Tribune cited a source saying the Bulls would still have enough room to offer a maximum salary contract to another free agent. The NBA set the salary cap at $58.04 million for next season on Wednesday.Upon arriving at O’Hare around Midnight Wednesday evening, Boozer told the Score’s Jason Goff that the #1 reason he is signing with the Bulls was “to win Championships”. Boozer becomes the latest chip to fall on a day when Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh confirmed they will play in Miami next season.James, the jewel of this star-studded class, is still out there. While everyone awaits his announcement on Thursday night, the Bulls at least know they’re not coming away empty-handed after landing Boozer.Anticipating about $30 million in cap room, the Bulls were looking to make a big splash in free agency after consecutive first-round playoff exits. Adding Boozer strengthens their standing in the Eastern Conference — and maybe makes them more attractive to James, his former teammate.Boozer averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds last season. His arrival gives the Bulls a formidable pair in the frontcourt with Joakim Noah, not to mention a good pick-and-roll partner for All-Star point guard Derrick Rose.There is some irony to this. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson’s brother, Jim, was Cleveland’s general manager when Boozer left the Cavaliers following the 2003-04 season.Cleveland, which could have exercised a one-year option after Boozer’s second season, thought they had a six-year, $41 million agreement in place and let him hit the market. Boozer wound up accepting a six-year, $68 million dollar contract as a restricted free agent that Cleveland chose not to match.Jim Paxson is now a Bulls’ consultant and scout.Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment Wednesday.With Boozer, the Bulls finally have a big man who will command double-teams — something they’ve craved for years — and can hit the jumper. They now have two double-double players, with Noah averaging 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds last season, and can still add a perimeter player.If they don’t get James, they could go after someone like Kyle Korver and Mike Miller.Boozer, meanwhile, has been limited by injuries in three of his six seasons with Utah and has clashed at times with management. But he played in 78 games the past season.The U.S. Olympian would be one of the top prizes in free agency most summers, but this one has been anything but typical with the likes of James, Bosh and Wade available.The Bulls put themselves in position to be major players by allowing Ben Gordon to sign with Detroit a year ago and trading John Salmons during the season. That gave them enough room to offer a maximum contract, but they didn’t stop there.They agreed to trade Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary along with the 17th pick to Washington on draft day, putting them in position to land two stars. That deal becomes official Thursday, when the Wizards can take on Hinrich’s salary for next season without having to send back something of similar financial value.

  

 

Sox roll on, beat Halos again, Peavy to D.L.

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Freddy Garcia has already matched the expectations of his manager.Before the season, Ozzie Guillen said if Garcia reached double digits in wins, the White Sox would take the AL Central.Garcia pitched six solid innings for his ninth victory, Paul Konerko hit a two-run double and the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-2 on a wet Wednesday for their fourth straight victory.The White Sox jumped ahead of the Minnesota Twins for second place in the AL Central and trail the Detroit Tigers by one game.The start of the game was delayed because of rain for two hours, 20 minutes.Paul Konerko hit a two-run double and won despite making five errors. The Angels lost their third in a row.Before the game, White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a detached muscle in the back of his right shoulder, an injury that will almost certainly end his season. He was hurt early in Tuesday night’s win over the Angels.Garcia (9-3), the most consistent pitcher in the White Sox rotation, allowed one unearned run and five hits. He has won six straight decisions against the Angels and is 15-3 over them lifetime.Not bad for someone that entered the season as the fifth starter in the rotation.Matt Thornton relieved with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth and retired Hideki Matsui on a flyball and Mike Napoli on a soft liner.Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 20 opportunities.Brent Lillibridge had a two-run single as the White Sox won for the 17th time in 21 games. The Angels have lost five of six.Joe Saunders (6-9), who came into the game with a 3-0 record and a 1.53 ERA in four outings against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, allowed five runs on 10 hits.Konerko doubled in the third after singles by Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios.The Angels took advantage of a two-out throwing error by third baseman Dayan Viciedo in the fifth for a run.The Sox added three runs in the sixth. Viciedo hit an RBI double with two outs and Lillibridge followed with a single that made it 5-1.The White Sox made two errors on the same play in the eighth, giving the Angels a run. With runners on first and second and one out, third baseman Omar Vizquel misplayed Torii Hunter’s bouncer. Ramirez at short picked the ball up and made an errant throw to second, allowing Erick Aybar to score from second.

  

NOTES—For the second straight game, Carlos Quentin was out of the lineup with a sore left knee. He is day-to-day. … The Angels and White Sox were delayed by rain for one hour, 41 minutes on Tuesday. 

Cubs earn first ever sweep in the desert over D-Backs

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PHOENIX—Aramis Ramirez seemed to take the first steps toward breaking out of his season-long funk. The rest of the team was swinging, too, scoring more runs than the previous 10 games combined. Even the pitching was decent.Their first three-game sweep at Chase Field could go a long way in turning the Cubs from woeful to at least hopeful.Ramirez hit a three-run homer, Ryan Dempster labored through five innings and the Cubs beat the free-swinging Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 Wednesday.Outscored 35-12 in a recent seven-game homestand, the Cubs heated up in Chase Field’s air conditioning, scoring 23 runs to notch their first three-game sweep at Arizona’s spacious stadium in 16 series all-time.Starlin Castro had a two-run single as the Cubs roughed up Edwin Jackson (6-7) early and Ramirez put it out of reach in the ninth, hitting his third homer in two games off Chad Qualls to give the Cubs their first series win of any kind in Arizona since 2003.With four games against the Dodgers left before the All-Star break, the Cubbies have reason for optimism in a season that hasn’t had much. The Diamondbacks are building momentum toward a record they don’t want.Continuing its whiff-a-palooza, Arizona hit 10-plus strikeouts for the fifth straight game to match a team record. The 10 Ks against the Cubs gives the Diamondbacks 69 in six games under interim manager Kirk Gibson and 793 on the season as they swing and miss toward the all-time record.It’s more than just strikeouts, though.Arizona hasn’t made many tangible strides under Gibson, losing five straight since winning in his debut last Thursday. The bullpen still has a knack for blowing up, the key hits never seem to come in the late innings and the Diamondbacks haven’t budged from the bottom of the NL West.In other words, they don’t look a whole lot different under Gibson than they did under A.J. Hinch – at least so far.Dempster (7-7) struck out six, but gave up three runs on eight hits in failing to reach the sixth inning for just the second time in 18 starts.He was still better than Jackson.Two starts removed from the second no-hitter in Diamondbacks’ history, Jackson was sharp early, holding the Cubs without a hit until Derrek Lee led off the fourth with a single to left.Once the Cubs got one hit, they kept going.Marlon Byrd knocked in Lee with a double, then Alfonso Soriano drove him in with a single. Dempster helped himself out in the inning, too, pushing a bunt toward first for a fielder’s choice that scored another run and put the Cubs up 3-0.He just couldn’t hold it in the bottom half.After working around three singles in the second inning and two baserunners in the third, Dempster gave up three runs in the fourth on Jackson’s flare single to center and Chris Young’s broken-bat, two-run single just over the head of Ramirez at third.Didn’t matter against the Diamondbacks.The Cubs continued to knock around Jackson in the fifth inning, going up 5-3 on a two-run single by Castro that left the right-hander so irritated he didn’t see the ball bound off the backstop on left fielder Gerardo Parra’s throwing error.Jackson didn’t come out for the sixth inning after giving up five runs on six hits for his first loss since May 28. The Diamondbacks went out with a whimper after Dempster left, unable to get a runner into scoring position against four relievers over the final four innings to get swept for the eighth time this season.

NOTES—Soriano was 0 for 2 in career game No. 1,400 and left in the bottom of the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow in the top half. … Arizona previously struck out 10 times or more in five straight games from April 29-May 3 earlier this season. … Piniella said he expects right-hander Carlos Silva to be ready for his next start after injuring his right calf against Arizona Tuesday night.

Sox beat Angels again,but Peavy strains a muscle in his back

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Andruw Jones hit his 399th career home run and the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4-1 despite losing starter Jake Peavy in the second inning because of a back injury.Alex Rios added a solo homer and drove in two runs for the White Sox, who are a major league-best 20-5 since June 9 and are a season-high six games over .500.With the White Sox leading 1-0 in the second inning with two outs, Peavy jumped off the mound after throwing an outside fastball to Mike Napoli. He came off the mound raising his right arm and walked straight to the dugout with team trainer Herm Schneider walking beside him.The team called the injury a back strain and said Peavy will be reevaluated Wednesday.The White Sox contemplated skipping Peavy’s turn in the rotation on June 17 at Pittsburgh because of an achy right shoulder, but after an MRI showed no damage, Peavy insisted on pitching two days later against Washington. In that game, he tossed a three-hitter for his fourth career shutout.The former Cy Young winner came into Tuesday’s start with a 7-6 record and 4.70 ERA, but he was 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA in his previous four starts.White Sox reliever Tony Pena (2-1) picked up the win, allowing only one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one. J.J. Putz and Matt Thornton each pitched a scoreless inning and closer Bobby Jenks got his 18th save in 19 opportunities.Torii Hunter had three singles for the Angels, who have lost four of five.The White Sox finally were able to beat Angels starter Jered Weaver (8-4), who entered the game 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in his last four starts. Weaver was 4-0 with a 0.52 ERA lifetime against the White Sox in five starts.Weaver allowed four runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two in his first loss since winning three straight decisions.After getting buzzed by Weaver on a 0-2 pitch near his head in the fourth inning, Rios homered off Weaver in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.In the seventh, Jones tagged Weaver for his 11th homer of the season. He broke an 0-for-17 slump with his first homer since June 3 against Texas. Dayan Viciedo followed with a single and Brent Lilibridge chased Weaver with a double, moving Viciedo to third. Juan Pierre followed with an RBI infield single off reliever Kevin Jepsen that Napoli wasn’t able to handle.Pierre doubled in the first inning and stole third and scored on Rios’ fly out.The White Sox stayed one game behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.Pena allowed leadoff single to Hunter in the fourth inning and walked Hideki Matsui. Napoli followed with a RBI single. With runners on first and third with one out, Rivera was caught stealing, he was eventually tagged out in a rundown. Matsui, who was at third, never broke for home and was stranded after Kevin Frandsen flied out.The game started after a 1-hour, 41-minute rain delay.

NOTES—Angels INF Maicer Izturis, who has been on the DL since June 16 with a strained right forearm, will start swinging the bat Wednesday, according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia. … White Sox RF Carlos Quentin missed the game with a sore left knee. He is listed day-to-day.

Cubs take a series(at last)with 6-4 win over D-Backs

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PHOENIX—Maybe it’s the triple-digit heat outside or just the sputtering team they are facing. Something is finally warming up the bats of the Cubs.Especially for Aramis Ramirez who homered twice. Carlos Silva earned his first victory in five starts and the Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 on Tuesday to clinch their first road series in 1½ months.Ramirez, hitting .178 going into the game, had his first two-home run game since Aug. 23, 2008. He has 22 multi-homer games in his career.Kosuke Fukudome also homered in the air conditioned confines of Chase Field, where Cubs fans seemed to outnumber those rooting for the flailing home team.The Cubs won their first road series since taking two of three at Texas May 21-23. They had lost five straight series overall. They can complete just its second three-game sweep of the season with a win on Wednesday night.The Cubs have won two in a row for the first time since June 16-17 vs Oakland. That’s also the last time they won a series.Silva (9-2) allowed two runs on four hits through six innings, then left with what has been a recurring problem with his right calf.The Cubs right-hander, who failed to make the All-Star team, began the season 8-0 but lost his next two and had no decision in his last two outings. Carlos Marmol struck out five in 1 2/3 innings for his 16th save in 19 opportunities.Kelly Johnson drove in two runs with a home run and single for the Diamondbacks, who lost their fourth in a row to fall to 1-4 since A.J. Hinch was fired and replaced on an interim basis by Kirk Gibson. Justin Upton also had two hits for Arizona.Ramirez hit a two-run homer off starter Barry Enright (1-1) in the sixth to put the Cubs up 3-1 and another two-run shot off reliever Aaron Heilman to make it 6-2 in the eighth.The Diamondbacks got two runs, one unearned, in the eighth to cut it to 6-4, but the Cubs brought on Marmol. That put the strikeout-prone Diamondbacks against the best strikeout reliever in the game. Marmol now has 77 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings.Silva had not won since a 6-1 victory at Pittsburgh on June 7, even though he had allowed two runs in three of his last four starts and only three in the other.Enright, in his second big-league start, blanked the Cubs through five innings but gave up a solo homer to Fukudome and a two-run shot to Ramirez as the Northsiders went ahead 3-1 in the sixth.Fukudome, who struck out three times, knocked a 2-1 pitch over the porch in center field to tie it 1-1 leading off the sixth. Four batters later, Ramirez hit his first two-run shot and it was 3-1.It could have been more. After Fukudome’s homer, Theriot lined one past Chris Young in right-center and tried for a triple. But left fielder Gerardo Parra threw to shortstop Stephen Drew. Drew’s perfect throw got to third just ahead of Theroit, who went head first into the base and was tagged out by Mark Reynolds.
NOTES—TYhe Cubs have 15 runs in their last two games, more than it has scored in consecutive contests since May 8, and that pair against Cincinnati included a 14-2 victory. … The Diamondbacks have struck out 50 times in the last the four games. … The only other three-game sweep for the Cubs this season was at home against Milwaukee April 13-15. … Johnson has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games. … Theroit had his 25th multi-hit game of the season.

Sox hammer Halos behind Floyd and Quentin

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The White Sox remained red hot with an almost wire to wire 9-2 rout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in front of the Sox fifth sellout of the season. Gavin Floyd,at last had some run support and worked 7 innings of 5 hit ball to out duel Scott Kazmir.Alexi Ramirez homered in the first top put the Sox ahead for good in this one. Brent Lillibridge singled in Andruw Jones in the second inning and it stayed 2-0 until ther Halos got on the board in the 6th when Eric Bybar doubled and scored on a grounder by by Bobby Abreu. But the Sox answered fast in the home half of the sixth.Paul Konerko singled in Juan Pierre who had led off the inning with a walk. Carlos Quentin,who had robbed Torii Hunter of extra bases in the first inning,then launced his first of two homers on the night to make it 5-1.Dayan Viciedo hit his first Big League homer in the Sox 7th and then Ramirez singled in Lillibridge as Kazmir was chased.The Angels got one in the top of the 8th off Bobby Jenks when Howie Kendrick picked up one of his three hits, but they left the bases loaded when Sergio Santos fanned Mike Napoli to end the threat.Quentin’s second long ball of the night came in the bottom of the eight to key a two run inning and finish the scoring.

NOTES—The Sox have won 15 of their last 19 games……Jake Peavy(7-6)opposes Jared Weaver(8-3)in Tuesday night second game of the series.

LES

Cubs finally win first game of a series, beat D-Backs 9-4.

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PHOENIX—Tom Gorzelanny got out of one jam in the first inning, a bigger one in the third and the Cubs struck out 12 in a 9-4 win over the still-struggling Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.The Cubs gave Gorzelanny some rare support early, roughing up Ian Kennedy (3-7) for four runs the first two innings. Kosuke Fukudome led off the game with a homer, Starlin Castro and Geovany Soto drove in two runs each from the bottom of the order, and Alfonso Soriano capped it with his 800th career RBI with a solo shot in the eighth.Those nine walks? Unseemly, but the Cubs were able to work around it. For a team that’s won just six times in 17 games, they’ll take a W any way they can get it.The Diamondbacks had been swinging and missing a lot this season, with 100 more strikeouts than the next closest team in the majors, including 28 combined in a pair of losses to the Dodgers over the weekend.The Cubs were fourth in the majors with 634 strikeouts, so there figured to be a lot of flailing.There was. Arizona whiffed at least a dozen times for the third straight game, including eight of the last nine outs to push its season total to 773.What hurt the Diamondbacks more was the inability to capitalize on the walks. Arizona was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and got one run on two bases-loaded chances in the first three innings to lose its third straight under interim manager Kirk Gibson after winning in his debut.Gorzelanny did the best escape work, pitching out of walk-induced jams in the first and third innings.The left-hander got out of a bases-loaded spot in the first by striking out LaRoche after a pair of two-out walks. In the third, Gorzelanny walked the bases loaded with no outs, but allowed just one run on Miguel Montero’s sacrifice fly. Gorzelanny gave up a leadoff homer to LaRoche in the fourth inning and Johnson made it 5-3 with an RBI triple in the fifth. That was it, though. Gorzelanny was done the next inning, lifted for a pinch hitter after allowing three runs on five hits.Kennedy knows how hard it can be to work around walks. He set a team record with nine in his last outing, a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay on June 26.The right-hander rediscovered the strike zone against the Cubs, walking none in 5 2/3 innings. He just couldn’t miss their bats.Fukudome started it off, breaking a 1 for 10 slump on Kennedy’s fourth pitch, launching it into the balcony in center for his seventh homer of the season.Castro followed two leadoff singles in the second inning with a two-run triple off the wall in center, and Soto made it 4-0 with a run-scoring double hit even harder to nearly the same spot.First-time All Star Marlon Byrd knocked in a run on a groundout in the fifth, then two more came across in the sixth on Soto’s RBI double and a run-scoring single by pinch hitter Mike Fontenot. That put the Cubs up 7-4 and chased Kennedy, who allowed seven runs on nine hits to push his winless streak to eight starts.

NOTES—Fukudome’s homer was the Cubs first to lead off a game this season.