CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Bellinger drove in four runs and Nico Hoerner had three of Chicago’s 15 hits, helping the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 in a wet and wild matchup of NL Central rivals. Chicago trailed 1-0, 3-1, 5-3 and 6-5 before moving in front for the first time with three runs in the sixth inning. Bellinger yanked a two-run single into right field and Seiya Suzuki followed with an RBI single, giving the Cubs an 8-6 lead. Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman homered for St. Louis, which has dropped two in a row after a six-game win streak. Nootbaar had three hits, scored three times and made two impressive defensive plays in a terrific all-around performance.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Christian Vásquez drove in the tying run and Michael A. Taylor followed with an RBI single, all in the seventh inning, as the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Saturday night. Jordan Balazovic (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning and earned his first big league victory. Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17 saves of the year. Keynan Middleton (2-2) gave up a hit and a walk in a third of an inning and took the loss.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s future has been the talk of baseball all year long, and the forecast isn’t much clearer as the Los Angeles Angels reach the last 10 days before the MLB trade deadline. Ohtani is in the final year of his contract before unrestricted free agency, and the Angels must decide whether to trade their generational superstar for a probable motherlode or to risk the possibility of losing him for practically nothing in the winter. Ohtani said he has no assurances he won’t be traded, and he didn’t acknowledge any discussions about a contract extension.
