MLB scores: Cubs beat Padres for 8th straight win

Chicago Cubs' Ben Zobrist (18) and Kris Bryant celebrate the Cubs' 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres in a baseball game Tuesday, May 10, 2016, in Chicago. (AP / Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO -- Ben Zobrist went 4 for 4, Addison Russell had three RBIs and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 8-7 on Tuesday night for their eighth straight win.

Jon Lester (4-1) pitched six innings of three-run ball as Chicago improved to 25-6 for the best start by a major league team since the 1984 Detroit Tigers won 26 of their first 31 games. Kris Bryant drove in two runs and Jason Heyward scored twice, helping the Cubs open an 8 1/2-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

Zobrist had run-scoring singles in the third and fourth against rookie Cesar Vargas (0-2). Zobrist also singled in the second and seventh, and scored in each inning on a hit by Russell.

Alex Dickerson became the first player in Padres history with a pinch-hit grand slam for his first career homer, according to STATS, but San Diego lost its third consecutive game. Melvin Upton Jr. also went deep for the Padres.

TIGERS 5, NATIONALS 4

WASHINGTON -- Andrew Romine drove in the tiebreaking run on a play that withstood a replay challenge under the new slide rule, Miguel Cabrera tacked on a pinch-hit RBI, and Detroit overcame Ryan Zimmerman's two homers to beat Washington and end a seven-game losing streak.

Bryce Harper came up as the potential go-ahead run in the ninth, but closer Francisco Rodriguez intentionally walked the NL MVP to put two men on with one out for cleanup hitter Zimmerman. Rodriguez struck out Zimmerman swinging, then got .402-hitting Daniel Murphy to fly out for his eighth save.

The Tigers trailed 3-2 before scoring three runs in the sixth off Joe Ross (3-2).

Michael Fulmer (2-1) went five innings in his third big league start, allowing three runs and seven hits.

YANKEES 10, ROYALS 7

NEW YORK -- Brett Gardner doubled home the tiebreaking run off Kelvin Herrera in the eighth inning, and New York overcame three home runs by Lorenzo Cain to beat reeling Kansas City.

In a back-and-forth game, Kansas City rallied from deficits of 1-0, 5-3 and 7-6 as Cain tied his career high with five RBIs. Cheslor Cuthbert also homered for the Royals.

An error by Gold Glove shortstop Alcides Escobar led to Gardner's RBI double off Herrera (0-1) for an 8-7 lead. Brian McCann added a two-run double.

Aroldis Chapman, who returned from a 29-game domestic violence suspension on Monday, followed with a hitless ninth for his first Yankees save.

New York (13-18) trailed 2-1, 3-2 and 6-5 before winning for the fourth time in five games. The Yankees are 13-3 when scoring three or more runs.

World Series champion Kansas City has lost 11 of 14, dropping two games under .500 at 15-17.

Cain hit a solo homer in the third and a three-run drive in the fifth, both off starter Masahiro Tanaka. Cain added a tying homer off Andrew Miller (2-0) leading off the eighth and became the seventh Royals player to hit three homers in a regular-season game.

DODGERS 3, METS 2

LOS ANGELES -- Pinch-hitter Trayce Thompson connected for a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Los Angeles a victory over New York.

Thompson fought back from an 0-2 count against Hansel Robles (0-2) to get to 2-2 before homering into the left-field pavilion, snapping the Dodgers' four-game skid against the Mets.

Thompson's two-run drive accounted for the team's only runs in a 4-2 loss in the series opener Monday night.

Kenley Jansen (1-0) worked a scoreless inning for the win.

Chase Utley started against the Mets for the first time since the NL playoffs last year, when his takeout slide broke Ruben Tejada's leg. He went 1 for 4.

Corey Seager had an RBI double for the Dodgers off Jacob deGrom, who went seven innings.

BREWERS 10, MARLINS 2

MIAMI -- Jonathan Villar got two hits, stole two bases and scored twice, and Milwaukee won its rematch against Adam Conley by beating Miami.

Conley (2-2) won when he held Milwaukee hitless for 7 2/3 shutout innings on April 29 before exiting because of a career-high pitch count. This time the young left-hander gave up seven hits and four runs in four innings, and the Brewers stole four bases against him.

Ryan Braun had a pair of RBI singles. Aaron Hill added three hits, including a two-run double. Hernan Perez had two hits and two stolen bases.

Zach Davies (1-3) allowed two runs in five innings and lowered his ERA to 6.29.

ORIOLES 5, TWINS 3

MINNEAPOLIS -- Adam Jones broke out of a long slump in a big way, delivering the go-ahead, two-run single in the ninth inning after a towering homer in the fifth to lead Baltimore over skidding Minnesota.

Manny Machado also went deep while going 3 for 3 with two walks to raise his batting average to .365, and Zach Britton earned his eighth save for the Orioles. Kevin Jepsen (2-4) intentionally walked Machado in the ninth to get to Jones, who made him pay.

Trevor Plouffe homered and drove in three runs for the Twins, who have lost six straight.

Chris Davis had three hits, and Darren O'Day (2-0) won in relief of Kevin Gausman.

RED SOX 13, ATHLETICS 5

BOSTON -- Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw each homered and Boston continued its strong hitting with a victory over Oakland.

The Red Sox had a season-high 16 hits. Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his major league-best hitting streak to 16 games as Boston won its third straight. Shaw tied his career-high with five RBIs.

The Athletics lost their fourth consecutive game.

First-inning home runs by Betts and Ramirez gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

Then the Red Sox followed that up with a five-run third inning to blow the game open.

Sean O'Sullivan (1-0) got the victory in his first start with the Red Sox after signing a minor league contract in December.

Oakland's Sean Manaea (0-1) had his second straight rough outing, giving up 10 hits and eight runs in 2 2-3 innings.

INDIANS 4, ASTROS 0

HOUSTON -- Trevor Bauer pitched seven scoreless innings and Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen completed the four-hitter to help Cleveland over Houston for its sixth victory in the past eight games.

Bauer (3-0), who started the season in the bullpen, allowed three hits and struck out seven to extend his winning streak to a career-high three games. He's been dominant in his career against the Astros and entered the game 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in three outings against Houston.

Lonnie Chisenhall drove in a run with a double in Cleveland's two-run second inning. Jason Kipnis tripled in the eighth and scored on a single by Francisco Lindor as the Indians added two runs in the eighth.

Houston rookie starter Chris Devenski (0-2) remains winless in nine career appearances after allowing five hits and two runs with five strikeouts in a career-high 6 2/3 innings.

PHILLIES 3, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA -- Adam Morgan allowed only one run in seven innings, Mikael Franco homered and Philadelphia extended Atlanta's home misery.

Morgan (1-0) matched the longest start of his career, allowing four hits and one walk.

Franco hit his seventh homer off Matt Wisler (1-3) to lead off the eighth.

Freddie Freeman led off the ninth with his fifth homer off Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez. Gomez gave up a two-out single to Kelly Johnson before ending the game on Reid Brignac's fly ball to centre field for his 12th save.

The Braves (7-24) own the majors' worst record and are 1-16 at Turner Field.

BLUE JAYS 4, GIANTS 0

SAN FRANCISCO -- Troy Tulowitzki homered and drove in three runs, J.A. Happ allowed five hits in 8 2/3 innings and Toronto beat San Francisco for its sixth victory in eight games.

Happ (5-0) was one out from his first complete game since August 2010. He walked three and struck out five in beating the Giants for the first time in five starts. He also singled in the eighth.

Roberto Osuna came on to walk Matt Duffy, loading the bases, before striking out Jarrett Parker for his eighth save.

Matt Cain (0-5), winless in his last 14 starts dating to last year, gave up two runs and six hits over eight innings in his longest outing of the season. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 1

DENVER -- Rubby De La Rosa took a shutout into the eighth inning before running out of steam, Paul Goldschmidt homered and Arizona beat Colorado for its fifth straight victory.

The hard-throwing De La Rosa (4-4) handcuffed the Rockies for 7 1/3 innings with a fastball that routinely hit 95 mph. He allowed four hits and struck out six. The only run he allowed was on a wild pitch.

De La Rosa also drove in his first run of the season with a sacrifice bunt as part of a four-run sixth that broke open the game.

Chris Rusin (1-1) was cruising along until he unraveled in the sixth. He allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Rockies dropped their seventh straight game at Coors Field -- their longest skid at home since 2012.

RANGERS 13, WHITE SOX 11

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ryan Rua hit a three-run homer to cap a seven-run rally in the eighth inning that carried Texas past Chicago.

The White Sox led 11-6 before the Rangers broke loose. Pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland singled home a run, Adrian Beltre drove in another with a sacrifice fly and Ian Desmond hit a two-run triple before Rua's homer against Matt Albers (1-1).

Winning pitcher Alex Claudio (1-0) went a career-high 4 1/3 innings. Shawn Tolleson pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 13 opportunities.

Rua also had two singles and four RBIs. Desmond and Bryan Holaday each homered and drove in three runs.

Avisail Garcia and Todd Frazier each had three RBIs for Chicago in a game delayed 78 minutes by rain.

CARDINALS 8, ANGELS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Matt Carpenter homered twice, including a leadoff shot on the fifth pitch of the game, and St. Louis had nine extra-base hits in a rout of Los Angeles.

Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday also homered for the Cardinals, who finished one shy of their season high for extra-base hits.

Mike Leake (1-3) took a shutout into the eighth inning for his first win with St. Louis after signing an $80 million, five-year contract in the off-season.

Hector Santiago (2-2) lasted 4 1/3 innings for the struggling Angels, who have lost four straight and eight of 10. He permitted seven hits -- five for extra bases -- and four runs in his shortest outing of the season.

MARINERS 6, RAYS 4

SEATTLE -- Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run homer in the first inning, Dae-Ho Lee added a three-run shot in the fourth and Seattle beat Tampa Bay.

The Mariners took the first two games of the three-game series and won for the 18th time in the past 25. This time it was thanks to home runs from an unlikely duo, both off Tampa Bay starter Drew Smyly.

Steve Pearce hit a pair of solo homers and Steven Souza Jr. added a solo shot for the Rays. But those were the only costly mistakes made by Wade Miley (3-2), who allowed four hits over six-plus innings in winning his third straight decision.

Tampa Bay had two runners on with two outs in the eighth, but Nelson Cruz made a sliding catch of Souza's fly ball down the right-field line to end the threat.

Steve Cishek got four outs for his 11th save in 12 chances.

Smyly (1-4) went five innings. He tied a career high with six runs allowed and gave up 10 hits.