DETROIT (AP) — When David Bote’s two-run homer cleared the f
Đã gửi: Thứ 2 29/04/19 11:50in the fifth inning lex Reyes Jersey , it felt almost like a milestone for the Chicago Cubs — the first time in six games they’d scored more than one run.“Whatever it was, was broken at that point,” manager Joe Maddon said. “That was broken. It was good to move it forward from there.”Bote’s drive was the first of three homers by the Cubs in an 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night. Chicago had scored exactly one run in each of its previous five games, but even so, the victory Wednesday gave the Cubs a 3-3 mark on the road trip they were wrapping up.Jon Lester (14-5) allowed a run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Five Chicago relievers finished. Pedro Strop came in with the bases loaded in the eighth and walked in a run, but he retired James McCann on a grounder to end that threat with the Cubs still up 4-2.Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo hit consecutive homers in the ninth for Chicago to break the game open. Baez’s drive, a three-run shot, was his 26th of the year.“They put some balls in the seats. You knew they could do that,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That’s a very talented group who can do a lot of things. We matched up with them as best we could, and we fought hard, but you can’t always expect to beat them.”Francisco Liriano (3-9) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.Daniel Murphy singled home a run in the fifth in his first game with the Cubs after being acquired in a trade from Washington on Tuesday.Lester, who pitched six innings in a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh last Thursday, was sharp again in Detroit. He allowed an RBI single to Ronny Rodriguez in the second, but that was all the scoring against him for the Tigers.“Lester can move that cutter around, and that makes him tough,” Detroit infielder Niko Goodrum said. “He can make it move in on you or use it as a backdoor pitch. We had chances, but we didn’t take advantage.”Liriano didn’t get out of the second inning in his previous start, but he blanked Chicago for the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The first six Chicago hitters of that inning reached base, and Bote’s drive put the Cubs up 2-1, snapping an 0-for-16 drought for the Chicago third baseman.Murphy added his RBI single, although a baserunning blunder by Willson Contreras and a double-play grounder by Rizzo helped Liriano escape the inning with only three runs in.Contreras hit an RBI infield single in the sixth to make it 4-1.The NL Central-leading Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak.STRONG DEBUTMurphy started at second base and hit leadoff for the Cubs. He went 2 for 5 Evan Longoria Jersey , driving in a run in the fifth and scoring on Baez’s homer.“Love the guy. I mean, baseball rat, just like us,” Bote said. “Talked to him a little bit there in the ninth inning, kind of just scratching the surface of hitting and approach, and what he’s got. I’m so excited he’s with us.”TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: Chicago put SS Addison Russell on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, with a sprained left middle finger.Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) made a rehab start with Class A Lakeland on Tuesday night at Daytona, throwing three innings.UP NEXTCubs: Chicago starts a four-game home series against Cincinnati on Thursday night. Cole Hamels (3-0) takes the mound for the Cubs against Anthony DeSclafani (6-3).Tigers: Detroit opens a four-game set against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Matthew Boyd (7-11) takes the mound for the Tigers against James Shields (5-14). LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — When Michael Fulmer arrived in the major leagues in 2016, his impact was impressive and immediate.Now, the Detroit right-hander will settle for steady progress.Three years after that sparkling debut season, Fulmer is at a bit of a crossroads. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 but has struggled to return to that form, especially last year, when he went 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA. His 2018 season ended a bit early because of knee problems, and Fulmer — who turns 26 this month — has been working on some mechanical adjustments in response to his injuries.“I think last year, performance-wise, I wasn’t a hundred percent all the way through the season, and I think it showed,” he said Monday. “This year, we’re trying to kind of redo everything and get to be pain free Dustin McGowan Jersey , which I am. I’m blessed for that, and I think everything else will kind of build up.”Fulmer pitched three innings in Monday’s 9-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kolten Wong led off with a home run that carried up to an elevated walkway behind the bullpen in right field. That was the only run off Fulmer.“He felt really good with the ball coming out of his hand,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “The second and third inning, really good. It was coming out nice, his changeup, his breaking ball, so that’s what you’re looking for. Now, whether the velocity gets going with it, who knows?”Fulmer’s velocity has been a big topic. The pitch Wong hit for a home run was just 91 mph, according to the reading at the ballpark. But Fulmer figures he has enough time to build up to higher speeds as the season approaches.“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “If it keeps going up every outing, then we’ll be spot on.”The Tigers acquired Fulmer in 2015 when they traded Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets. Shortly after Fulmer arrived in the majors in 2016, he went on a run of nine straight starts allowing no more than one earned run.That peak would have been hard for any pitcher to sustain, but Fulmer finished with an 11-7 record and a 3.06 ERA, beating Gary Sanchez of the Yankees for Rookie of the Year. He was 10-12 with a 3.83 ERA in 2017, earning an All-Star nod, but last season raised questions about both his health and his ability to pitch like an ace over the long term.Right now, Fulmer has a lot to prove. His health seems fine. His fastball is a work in progress. Both will be under scrutiny over the next few weeks.“He’s the only person that knows if he’s going to have a little extra, and we just have to give it time,” Gardenhire said. “This is spring training, so he’s got plenty of time. He’s going to have quite a few more starts.”NOTES: The Tigers have all 40-man roster players under contract for 2019 after announcing deals right-handers Victor Alcantara http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , Sandy Baez, Buck Farmer, Reed Garrett, Eduardo Jimenez, Joe Jimenez, Franklin Perez, Zac Reininger, Spencer Turnbull and Drew VerHagen; left-handers Ryan Carpenter, Jose Fernandez, Matt Hall, Gregory Soto and Daniel Stumpf; catchers Grayson Greiner and John Hicks; infielders Sergio Alcantara, Jeimer Candelario, Willi Castro, Brandon Dixon, Niko Goodrum, Dawel Lugo and Ronny Rodríguez; and outfielders JaCoby Jones, Mikie Mahtook, Dustin Peterson, Victor Reyes and Christin Stewart.