CHICAGO — Ben Zobrist homered twice and Anthony Rizzo added a towering solo shot as the streaking Chicago Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 8-6 Friday for their fifth straight win.
Zobrist has homered three games in a row. He drove in four runs for the second consecutive day against the Nationals.
Tommy La Stella also homered as the Cubs won for the ninth time in 10 games and improved to 22-6, the best record in the majors.
The Nats began the day at 19-9, the second-best mark in baseball.
John Lackey (4-1) struck out 11, one shy of his career high, in seven innings.
Max Scherzer (3-2) was tagged for seven runs and seven hits in five innings.
MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 4: Giancarlo Stanton hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift host Miami to its 11th win in the last 12 games.
REDS 5, BREWERS 1: Brandon Phillips homered for the third straight game and Cincinnati’s bullpen finally ended its 23-game streak of giving up runs with a win at home.
PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 2: Jung Ho Kang homered twice and Francisco Liriano continued his dominance at Busch Stadium as Pittsburgh won at St. Louis.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, BRAVES 2: Zack Greinke (3-2) allowed two runs in six innings and Brandon Drury hit a homer as Arizona snapped a six-game losing streak with a win at Atlanta.
The Braves (7-21) have the worst record through 28 games in their Atlanta history.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
INDIANS 7, ROYALS 1: Jose Ramirez got three hits and drove in a career-high five runs as host Cleveland won its fourth straight.
The World Series champion Royals have lost 8 of 10.
RANGERS 5, TIGERS 1: Cole Hamels held host Detroit to one hit in seven scoreless innings, and Texas became the first team this season to beat Jordan Zimmermann (5-1).
Hamels struck out nine and won his 11th straight decision. He hasn’t lost since Aug. 7.
WHITE SOX 10, TWINS 4: Melky Cabrera had four hits and three RBI, Jose Abreu hit a solo homer and Chicago become the second major league team to reach 20 wins.
Adam Eaton drove in two runs and made one of the three fine defensive plays for the host White Sox (20-10), who trail only the crosstown Cubs (22-6) for most victories.
ASTROS 6, MARINERS 3: Doug Fister improved to 3-3 as Houston won at home.
INTERLEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 5, DODGERS 2: Kevin Pillar hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning and Jose Bautista also connected as Toronto won at home.
Gavin Floyd (1-2) worked one inning for the win and Drew Storen survived a shaky ninth to earn his second save as the Blue Jays recorded their season-best fourth straight win.
NOTES
YANKEES: Just after his best outing this season, CC Sabathia was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left groin. He is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA in five starts.
GIANTS: Right-hander Vin Mazzaro was designated for assignment prior to San Francisco’s game against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
REDS: Catcher Devin Mesoraco will have surgery on his left shoulder next Tuesday, resulting in a second straight season wiped out by injury.
INDIANS: Catcher Roberto Perez is expected to miss up to three months after undergoing surgery on his right thumb Friday.
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