UNDATED (AP) — Scoring was hard to come by at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
David Bote’s fifth-inning homer was all the runs the Cubs needed in a 1-0 shutout of the Reds.
Bote went deep off Reds starter Vladimir Gutiérrez, who allowed just one other hit over five innings in his major league debut.
Winning pitcher Adbert Alzolay wriggled out of several jams while working into the sixth inning, allowing five hits and three walks to move to 3-4.
Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth to close out the Cubs’ 10th win in 12 games.
Nick Castellanos ran his hitting streak to 14 games with a pair of singles, but the Reds fell for the eighth time in 11 games.
Also around the majors:
— Victor Caratini’s RBI single sparked a seven-run 11th that gave the Padres a 10-3 win over the Astros. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tommy Pham both homered, then helped out with an RBI each in the 11th.
— The Giants blew a three-run lead in the ninth before scoring three in the 10th to defeat the Dodgers, 6-3. LaMonte Wade singled home the tiebreaking run and scored on Evan Longoria’s two-run double later in the 10th.
— The Diamondbacks’ losing streak stands at 12 games after Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer for the second straight night to help the Cardinals earn an 8-6 win at Arizona. Nolan Arenado added a solo shot, his 11th home run of the year.
— The Red Sox beat the Marlins, 5-2 in a game that was called after 5 1/2 innings because of rain. Alex Verdugo slammed a three-run homer and J.D. Martinez added a two-run double to back Martín Pérez, who allowed two runs over five innings.
— The Tigers pulled out a 3-2 win over the Yankees on Robbie Grossman’s two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. Rougned Odor homered among his four hits for the Yankees, who dropped a bizarre game that also included a three-ball walk for New York hitter Gio Urshela.
— Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Joe Panik drove in three runs apiece as the Blue Jays crushed the Indians, 11-2 in a game called by blowing rain amid wind gusts in the seventh inning. Winning pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu allowed a pair of first-inning runs and five hits over five innings.
— Whit Merrifield had two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run double while the Royals scored five times in the seventh to beat the Twins, 8-3. Kris Bubic allowed one run and four hits in six innings to pick up the win.
— Jed Lowrie scored the tiebreaking run from second on a single and a bobbly by outfielder Justin Upton, helping the Athletics beat Shohei Ohtani and the Angels, 3-1. Ohtani gave up three runs over six-plus innings, one day after he had to be scratched from a start because he ran into traffic in the Bay Area.
— Kyle Lewis slammed a two-run homer and scored twice as the Mariners nipped the Rangers, 3-2. Seattle starter Justus Sheffield was hit hard, but the Rangers could only manage two runs off the lefty over five innings before Texas secured its 10th straight road loss.
— Rain caused the postponement of the Pirates and Rockies in Pittsburgh, the Brewers and Nationals in Washington, the Orioles-White Sox game in Chicago and the Mets and Braves in New York. The Pirates, Nationals and White Sox will host Saturday doubleheaders to make up the games. The Mets haven’t announced a makeup date.
