Once Clayton Kershaw exited DeAndre Hopkins Jersey , the Chicago Cubs put a positive ending on a 2-6 road trip.
Anthony Rizzo’s three-run double and Addison Russell’s two-run homer highlighted a seven-run seventh inning as Chicago broke loose late and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 on Thursday.
The Cubs pounded out 15 hits, including a season-best four by Rizzo. Russell drove in a season-high four runs in the final regular season meeting between the teams that played each other in the NL Championship Series the last two years.
”Over the course of this road trip everyone has been fine-tuning their approaches,” Russell said. ”Today you see a clear example of it being executed. It’s nice to see the ball fly.”
The teams met seven times in 10 days, with the Cubs winning four games over the two series.
”We’re doing this without everybody right now, too, and that’s the even better part,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”We have part of our bullpen but not everybody. I give these guys a lot of credit. During this little stretch they’ve been above and beyond.”
The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a 3-1 lead before he departed after five innings because of a pitch limit.
”He’s that good where he can rehab in the big leagues,” Rizzo said. ”It’s amazing.”
The Cubs jumped on reliever Walker Buehler (4-2), who arrived earlier in the morning from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he had been set for a rehab assignment. Albert Almora Jr. homered on Buehler’s second pitch and Russell’s sacrifice fly tied it at 3 in the sixth.
”Some bad pitches to good hitters,” Buehler lamented.
The Cubs didn’t let up in the seventh when they batted around.
Jason Heyward’s pinch-hit RBI double gave them the lead for good, 4-3.
Almora followed with a popup to first base. Max Muncy used his glove as a shield against the sun in a cloudless sky, but the ball dropped for a single and scored Kyle Schwarber, who reached on a walk.
Rizzo stroked a double to right-center field off Erik Goeddel, extending the lead to 8-3. Russell followed with a two-run shot on an 0-2 pitch that made it 10-3. The Cubs’ seven runs were the most by a Dodgers’ opponent in an inning this season.
”I just want to stay consistent,” said Rizzo, who has 53 RBIs this season. ”That’s what I’ve shown over the last few years and that’s what I want to get back to.”
Steve Cishek (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Muncy hit his team-leading 17th homer in the third and Justin Turner added a two-run shot in the ninth Cody Whitehair Jersey , giving the Dodgers a major league-leading 53 homers in June and tying the franchise record set last year. Enrique Hernandez drove in a pair of two-out runs with a single in the second and a double in the fourth.
Kershaw tossed five innings of one-run ball in his second start since coming off the disabled list with a lower back strain. He allowed four hits, struck out six and didn’t walk anyone while restricted to 68 pitches.
”Today was a good step and hopefully next time the restrictions should be off,” Kershaw said. ”I kept the pitch count down and didn’t walk anybody. There’s definitely some things to be positive about.”
Cubs starter Jose Quintana gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, the fourth time in five starts this month he hasn’t completed six innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked three.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis) threw a bullpen session that didn’t go well when he experienced pain. He will return to Chicago to be re-evaluated and RHP Tyler Chatwood will start in his place on Saturday. Chatwood was activated from the paternity list. … INF Kris Bryant (shoulder) has yet to be cleared for baseball activities, although it’s hoped he will come off the DL next week. … RHP Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) will pitch for Triple-A Iowa on Friday and if it goes well, he could rejoin the rotation.
Dodgers: RHP Josh Fields (right shoulder inflammation) went on the DL.
QUICKEST TURNAROUND
Buehler had the quickest turnaround of any of his teammates who faced a day game after a night game. The rookie right-hander arrived in Oklahoma City for a rehab assignment on Wednesday only to board a 6:15 a.m. flight Thursday to LA. He came off the DL where he had been nursing a rib microfracture. The Dodgers needed him with four others unavailable in the bullpen. Buehler, who has been starting this season, refused to use the travel as an excuse. ”These guys are good. You can’t make pitches like that,” he said. ”I didn’t execute.” Manager Dave Roberts said Buehler would toss a bullpen session and then return to the rotation.
UP NEXT
Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (2-2, 3.39 ERA) starts Friday against Minnesota in the opener of an eight-game homestand. It will be his seventh start to go with 18 relief appearances.
Dodgers: LHP Rich Hill (1-2, 5.30) starts Friday against Colorado. He is 0-3 with a 7.52 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies.
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On Day 2 of the NFL draft, Denver Broncos general manager John Elway began fixing the mess on offense, selecting two big bangers in SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the second round and Oregon running back Royce Freeman in the third.
"Well, we got better on the offensive side, no question," Elway said Friday night after adding Sutton (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) and Freeman (6-foot Christian Jones Jersey , 238 pounds).
Also in the third round, the Broncos selected Isaac Yiadom, a lean, long-armed cornerback from Boston College who impressed the Broncos at the Senior Bowl and is expected to be a special teams stud in Denver.
Mix Demaryius Thomas' size and strength with Emmanuel Sanders' pedigree and athleticism and you've got Sutton, whom the Broncos project as a future featured receiver.
"He's big and he can really run," Elway said. "He can make the very difficult catch and make great catches. We also think he's very raw and has lots of upside."
Thomas and Sanders "are going to be great role models for him," Elway added.
Sanders tweeted a video of the two of them working out together last month in Dallas, saying the he and Sutton "joked about how lethal we'd be together."
Now, the laugh is on Denver's opponents.
With the first of two third-round picks, the Broncos added Oregon's all-time leading rusher in Freeman, a big back who ran for a Pac-12-record 60 career touchdowns but carried 947 times in four seasons in Eugene, putting plenty of miles on his football odometer.
"What it shows to us is durable," Elway said. "He played a lot, so obviously he can take that. And it's probably nearer at the end of his career, but who knows how much that will shorten it? But it wasn't a concern when we took him."
The Broncos needed a top-tier running back after releasing C.J. Anderson in a cost-cutting move, and in Sutton they added the big playmaker their anemic offense has sorely lacked of late.
Sutton gives quarterback Case Keenum another big, physical red-zone target who will initially be the third receiver but "has No. 1" receiver traits Justin Blackmon Jersey , according to coach Vance Joseph.
"John said it, in the future he could be our No. 1 guy," Joseph said.
Freeman could be the starting running back right away.
Elway called him a "big banger that we haven't had for a while."
Freeman is big like Anderson but faster.
"With Freeman, he is a big back with speed, so when you're down in the red zone running the football, he's definitely a nice option," Joseph said. "When you're in third-and-1, fourth-and-1, he's a great option."
Like Sanders, Sutton went to SMU, and over the years he sought his advice.
"It wasn't an everyday thing but we would talk a few times about how I get to that level and how I continue to climb to be the best that I can be, even with that big fight against me coming from a smaller school," Sutton said.
The versatile Sutton prides himself on garnering attention no matter where he lines up, but he's admittedly still a work in progress and eager for mentoring by Thomas and Sanders.
"I am very new to the position. I am learning as I go," Sutton said.
Recruited out of high school as a safety, Sutton was moved to wide receiver by former Mustangs head coach June Jones.
"I loved playing safety, but I feel like in my heart I was a true receiver Darian Stewart Jersey ," Sutton said. "They played me at safety but Coach Jones saw that I had the ball skills and they needed some grit on that other side of the ball."
After a medical redshirt in 2014, Sutton caught 194 passes for 3,193 yards and 31 touchdowns in three seasons at SMU.
The Broncos turned to offense on Day 2 after Bradley Chubb , the top-ranked defensive player in the draft, fell to them at No. 5 on Thursday night.
Elway insisted he was also surprised to see Sutton there at No. 40 on Friday.
"We feel very fortunate," Elway said. "We had a first-round grade on him."
Chubb, a defensive end at North Carolina State, will play outside linebacker in Denver, where the Broncos believe his dogged determination and relentless motor will help their defense return to dominance.
"That is really what we're excited about because I think it's contagious," Elway said Friday.
"That motor came from always wanting to make plays," Chubb said. "I always wanted to be around the ball. It was just something I was raised with. If I am going to do something, I am going to do it at 100 percent. That is my mindset every time I step on the field. I feel like I bring that to the pass-rush game."
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