CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Amaya hit his first career grand slam and drove in a personal-best five runs, and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Detroit Tigers 10-2 on Thursday to take the three-game series.
Justin Steele (4-5) struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings, and the Cubs came away with an easy win as they try to make up ground in the race for the National League’s third wild card. They are 11-7 in August.
Amaya provided a huge spark from the ninth spot in the batting order, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead in the second inning with his drive to left against reliever Kenta Maeda (2-6). He also capped a four-run seventh with an RBI single off the ivy in left-center, though he got thrown out stretching for a double.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “It’s something that I dream of as a kid. To make it happen now feels really good, especially for the team. We’ve been having some ups and downs, but we won the series.”
Amaya had three hits and raised his average nine points to .221. Since July 12, he is batting .300 with four homers, which he credits to a midseason adjustment to his stance. Amaya eliminated a leg kick in order to improve his timing and put more balls in play.
“What comes first — the confidence or the adjustment,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he’s got both going right now. He’s swinging at good pitches. When he gets a pitch to hit, he’s doing some damage with it. He has the power to do this. This is not, like, fluke stuff. He hits the ball hard and he’s getting some results from it, some good feedback from it.”
Cody Bellinger doubled and scored in the third. He also singled in a run in the fourth to make it 6-0.
Steele gave up two runs and four hits. He threw 94 pitches without a walk, helping the Cubs improve to 25-15 in interleague play.
Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Maeda got tagged for six runs and nine hits in five innings, and the Tigers dropped two of three against Chicago after winning six of seven.
Things took a bad turn for Detroit after Tyler Holton retired all three batters in the first.
Amaya connected against Maeda in the second after Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson singled. He came through with two outs, driving the first pitch he saw out to left for his sixth homer this season.
“It was a misexecution,” Maeda said. “I think it got a little too much inside. That’s where he hits. It was a two-out situation. So if I could have gotten an out, that could have changed things.”
Bellinger added to the lead in the third when he led off with a double and scored on Hoerner’s bases-loaded groundout. The Cubs scored again in the fourth when Ian Happ doubled off the center-field ivy and Bellinger drove him in with a two-out single.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: The Tigers placed RHP Alex Faedo on the paternity list and recalled LHP Sean Guenther from Triple-A Toledo. Faedo has a 3.61 ERA in 37 appearances and six starts.
UP NEXT
Tigers: The Tigers remain in Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox. RHP Keider Montero (4-5, 5.28 ERA) starts for Detroit, and RHP Chris Flexen (2-12, 5.46) pitches for the White Sox.
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (3-10, 6.35) gets the ball as the Cubs open a three-game series at Miami. RHP Max Meyer (3-3, 5.58) starts for the Marlins.
