KYLE HENDRICKS

Bryce Harper had three hits, drove a three-run homer and had four RBIs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 17-8 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Kris Bryant drew a pair of standing ovations in his return to Wrigley Field, then Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt homered in the seventh inning to send the San Francisco Giants over the Chicago Cubs 6-1 for their fifth straight win.

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer missed the team’s 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates after they tested positive for COVID-19.

A day after ending their longest winning streak in nearly 60 years, the Yankees try to get back in the win column against Oakland.

AJ Pollock hit a two-run single and robbed Manny Machado of a two-run homer to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the sinking San Diego Padres 5-2 in a series opener between NL West rivals headed in opposite directions.

The Yankees host the Red Sox in a day-night doubleheader as the longtime rivals jostle for playoff position.

Luis Urías tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Piña drove in six runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 17-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta has been released by the Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee right-hander Corbin Burnes struck out 10 consecutive batters, tying the major league record and leading the Brewers past the Chicago Cubs 10-0.

Miguel Cabrera’s 500th career homer could be just a few swings away.

Brian Goodwin led off the 10th inning with a two-run homer, and the Chicago White Sox regrouped after Craig Kimbrel blew a three-run lead against his former team to beat the rebuilding crosstown Cubs 8-6 at Wrigley Field.

In-state interleague matchups take center stage in several locales Friday as the Chicago White Sox play the Cubs in a Wrigley Field matinee, the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Angels, and the Kansas City Royals visit the St. Louis Cardinals.

Buster Posey scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error by first baseman Cody Bellinger in the eighth inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are set to play their final home game in Buffalo when they host the Red Sox.

Kyle Hendricks won his ninth straight decision, Patrick Wisdom hit a two-run homer and Chicago Cubs pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5.

Brad Miller hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career, and the Philadelphia Phillies routed the sinking Chicago Cubs 8-0.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Texas’ Kyle Gibson and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole are among those likely to picked as All-Stars when pitchers and reserves are announced Sunday.

Willy Adames and Keston Hiura each hit a three-run homer during a 10-run outburst in the eighth inning that lifted the Milwaukee Brewers a 14-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Major League Baseball will deal with Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago, the first player ejected under the new crackdown against grip-enhancing sticky stuff.

Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, is set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Wander Franco, a 20-year-old infielder considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, was set to make his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays against the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Jacob deGrom was pulled from a second straight start with an arm injury, this time leaving after three perfect innings with right shoulder soreness, but the New York Mets bullpen stepped up to finish a three-hitter in a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Joc Pederson homered and drove in three runs, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras went deep and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 on Friday afternoon.

Patrick Wisdom hit his third homer in two games, Willson Contreras also went deep and the surging Chicago Cubs beat San Diego 4-3 after Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. left with an injury.

The Baltimore Orioles have lost 14 straight games, the worst skid in the majors since Houston dropped 15 in a row in 2013.

Whatever the future holds, Kris Bryant is giving the Chicago Cubs plenty of production so far in 2021.

Harold Castro hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning off Craig Kimbrel to give the Detroit Tigers a 9-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Clayton Kershaw lasted one inning in the shortest start of his stellar career in the opener, Trevor Bauer didn’t get through the fifth in the nightcap, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 to sweep a split doubleheader.

Athletics left-hander Jesús Luzardo will be off the mound for a while.

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Jake Marisnick homered and matched a career high with five RBIs, and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Milwaukee Brewers 15-2 for their fourth straight victory.

Freddie Freeman crushed one of Atlanta’s four homers in the first inning against Kyle Hendricks, leading the Braves to a potentially costly 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. has left their game against the Chicago Cubs after experiencing pain in his lower abdominal muscles.

Willson Contreras struck back after getting plunked again by the Brewers, hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied past Milwaukee 3-2 on Tuesday night.

The Chicago Cubs hope to stay on schedule amid a coronavirus scare that’s landed four players on the COVID-19 injured list the past two days.

With the team facing a COVID-19 scare, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday night after the right-hander indicated he wasn’t feeling well.

Shohei Ohtani’s quest to regain his reputation as a stellar two-way player gets a big test when he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against the White Sox.

Shohei Ohtani’s quest to regain his reputation as a stellar two-way player gets a big test when he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels against the White Sox.

But the major change is that fans with the MLB Ballpark app will be able to order food or drink from their seats. The app generates a QR code fans can scan once they reach the concession stand or when a vendor reaches their seat. Wrigley Field will still have roaming vendors, but they, too, will accept only cashless purchases (fans older than 2 who aren’t eating or drinking in their seats will be required to wear masks).

Bieber bounced back with a pair of strikeouts, but Nick Heath hit a single to put the Royals up 3-0. DODGERS 10, ROCKIES 0 (6 INNINGS)Trevor Bauer, pitching for the first time since signing a $102 million, three-year contract, debuted in Dodger blue with two scoreless innings. Jameson Taillon followed with a scoreless inning. CUBS 1, PADRES 0 (7)Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks struck out two in two scoreless innings. BREWERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 1 (8)Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta each threw a scoreless inning for Milwaukee before Jordan Zimmermann gave up a run.

Philadelphia Phillies' Jake Arrieta pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)CHICAGO – Jake Arrieta is returning to the Chicago Cubs, agreeing to a $6 million, one-year contract on Friday. The 34-year-old Arrieta won the NL Cy Young Award with Chicago in 2015 and helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series for their first championship since 1908. He went 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA in 128 starts over five years in his first stint with the team. He tossed a five-hitter in the Cubs' 4-0 win at Pittsburgh in the 2015 NL wild-card game.

Hoyer insisted the Chicago Cubs are taking a different approach this time. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)CHICAGO – Jed Hoyer insists this time won't be like 2011 for the Chicago Cubs. Along the way, Cubs fans endured a painful rebuild that included a 101-loss 2012 season. “We know that we're coming to the end of this group of players — a wildly successful, franchise-changing run with this group of players,” Hoyer said. "We haven't gotten extensions, and as a result, there are contractual realities to how long we control some of these players,” Hoyer said.

Aaron Boone hit a game-ending leadoff homer in the 11th, sending New York to the World Series. 2015 WORLD SERIES GAME 5Matt Harvey and the New York Mets held a 2-0 lead, needing a win to send the Series back to Kansas City. 2016 WORLD SERIES GAME 7The Chicago Cubs led the Cleveland Indians 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth. 2019 WORLD SERIES GAME 7Too bad for Houston fans, the last time they saw Gerrit Cole throw, it was in the bullpen rather than on the mound. “I wasn’t going to pitch him unless we were going to win the World Series and have a lead,” Hinch said.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)CHICAGO – The Miami Marlins just kept fighting. Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer off a fading Hendricks in the seventh inning, and Miami beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Wednesday in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series. The Marlins, who rallied past the Cubs in a memorable NLCS that year, have never lost a playoff series. Yu Darvish starts for the Central champion Cubs, and rookie right-hander Sixto Sánchez get the ball for upstart Miami. “It’s going to be great.”Darvish is making his first playoff appearance since signing with Chicago before the 2018 season.

(AP Photo/Aaron Doster)A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___CRAZY EIGHTHow’s this for wild: MLB is set to stage eight postseason games on the same day for the first time. National League clubs will open their best-of-three wild-card series, while four American League teams are already facing elimination after starting Tuesday. With the expansion of the first round from a pair of wild-card games to eight best-of-three series, there are a maximum 65 possible postseason games this year. In the 1960s, there were 66 postseason games in the entire decade, with league championship series starting in 1969. Dallas Keuchel (6-2, 1.99 ERA) starts Game 2 following a successful first season with Chicago.

The NL Central-leading Cubs were assured a spot in the expanded playoff field when Philadelphia was swept in a doubleheader at Washington. It was Stallings’ third home run of the season and the third game-ending hit of his career. Anthony Rizzo’s two-run homer in the eighth inning had pulled the Cubs into a tie at 2-all. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on RBI doubles by Erik Gonzalez in the second inning and Adam Frazier in the fifth. Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (1-8, 6.70) has lost five straight decisions since getting his lone win Aug. 13 at Cincinnati.

Chicago White Sox's Jose Abreu (79) and Eloy Jimenez celebrate the team's 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in baseball game Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Chicago. The White Sox clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)CHICAGO – After clinching a postseason berth for the first time since 2008, the Chicago White Sox were low key during their on-field celebration. The White Sox assured themselves of no worse than a wild-card berth. White Sox: RHP Jonathan Stiever (0-0, 2.45 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series Friday night at Cincinnati.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Baltimore, Md. Kremer limited the Yankees to one hit, struck out seven and retired 14 of his final 15 batters. NAILEDRookie right-hander Spencer Howard will replace Zack Wheeler as the Phillies’ starter in Game 4 of their seven-game series at Miami. Wheeler ripped a fingernail putting on his pants Wednesday, delaying his next start until at least Monday and perhaps longer. While some teams have started a lineup in which all batters hit from the left side the first time up, all previous occasions since 1901 included at least one switch-hitter.

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader signals with catcher Manny Pina (9) after a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Chicago (AP Photo/Matt Marton)CHICAGO Keston Hiura and Orlando Arcia homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Sunday for their third straight win against the NL Central leaders. The Cubs struck out 53 times during the four-game set. Brewers starter Josh Lindblom also struggled, allowing five runs in five-plus innings. In the fifth, Urias led off with a triple and Arcia followed with a two-run homer to put the Brewers on top 5-3. HOMECOMINGBefore traveling to Minnesota for a three-game series beginning Tuesday night, the Brewers were planning to return home Sunday night.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks delivers in the first inning in a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Cleveland. The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club's start after 15 games in 1970. Hendricks hadn't faced the Indians since Nov. 2, 2016, when he started the dramatic finale as the Cubs beat the Indians in extra innings to clinch their first Series title since 1908. Indians: C Roberto Perez (shoulder) has been running and throwing at the team's alternate site in Lake County. Indians: Following their second off day in four days, Cleveland opens a three-game series in Detroit on Friday.

Manager Don Mattingly said he has never spoken with some of the players joining the team. With only about eight weeks left in the season, Ohtani might not pitch again until 2021. Ohtani reported discomfort in his arm Sunday after struggling through his second start since having Tommy John surgery in 2018. HAPPY BIRTHDAYKansas City right-hander Brady Singer makes his third major league start on his 24th birthday at Wrigley Field. Luzardo made six appearances as a September callup last season and made two appearances out of the bullpen this season.