CHICAGO (AP) — Powered by the steady presence of José Abreu, the White Sox revival is roaring on the South Side. On the North Side, Yu Darvish is pitching like an ace again, and the Cubs are eyeing another October run. Chicago's major league teams are linked by more than just geography these days. They also share a most enviable position this time of year — first place. "I think that every time we take the field, we feel invincible,” White Sox rookie Luis Robert said through a translator. Sure looks that way. The playoff-bound White Sox have won 24 of 31 to rise to the top of the AL Central. Heading into Sunday's game at Cincinnati, they had a magic number of four for clinching their first division title since their last postseason appearance in 2008. Under first-year manager David Ross, the Cubs jumped out to a 13-3 start and then faltered before picking up their play as the pandemic-shortened season barreled toward the finish. They are closing in on their first NL Central championship... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs added speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton to their active roster Tuesday and optioned slumping slugger José Martínez to their alternate training site.Hamilton was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on Monday. Hamilton, who turns 30 on Wednesday, went 1 for 22 in 17 games with New York before he was designated for assignment on Friday.Hamilton played the last three innings of Chicago's 3-0 victory over Cincinnati in center field.Martínez, an infielder/outfielder, is 0 for 14 since he coming over in a trade with Tampa Bay on Aug. 30. The Cubs were hoping he could help address their trouble against left-handed pitching this year, but it hasn't worked out so far.“In this weird season it's hard to give somebody consistent at-bats when they feel off and their timing's off,” manager David Ross said. “So just giving him an opportunity to go down there, get regular at-bats, get his timing back and come back and be the guy that we really need.”Right fielder Jason... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs added speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton to their active roster Tuesday and optioned slumping slugger José Martínez to their alternate training site.Hamilton was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on Monday. Hamilton, who turns 30 on Wednesday, went 1 for 22 in 17 games with New York before he was designated for assignment on Friday.Martínez, an infielder/outfielder, is 0 for 14 since he coming over in a trade with Tampa Bay on Aug. 30. The Cubs were hoping he could help address their trouble against left-handed pitching this year, but it hasn't worked out so far.“In this weird season it's hard to give somebody consistent at-bats when they feel off and their timing's off,” manager David Ross said before Tuesday night's series opener against Cincinnati. “So just giving him an opportunity to go down there, get regular at-bats, get his timing back and come back and be the guy that we really need.”Right fielder Jason Heyward was out of Chicago's starting... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs added speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton to their active roster Tuesday and optioned slumping slugger José Martínez to their alternate training site.Hamilton was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on Monday. Hamilton, who turns 30 on Wednesday, went 1 for 22 in 17 games with New York before he was designated for assignment on Friday.Martínez, an infielder/outfielder, is 0 for 14 since he coming over in a trade with Tampa Bay on Aug. 30. The Cubs were hoping he could help address their trouble against left-handed pitching this year, but it hasn't worked out so far.“In this weird season it's hard to give somebody consistent at-bats when they feel off and their timing's off,” manager David Ross said before Tuesday night's series opener against Cincinnati. “So just giving him an opportunity to go down there, get regular at-bats, get his timing back and come back and be the guy that we really need.”Right fielder Jason Heyward was out of Chicago's starting... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker and manager David Bell were each suspended for one game Monday for their roles in a benches-clearing incident Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.Chicago coach Mike Borzello also was suspended one game.Chris Young, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of baseball operations, announced the penalties. Winker, Bell and Borzello were also fined, and Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto received a fine as well.Winker, Votto, Bell, Borzello and Cubs manager David Ross were all ejected following an exchange of high pitches that sparked a shouting match and cleared the benches and bullpens over the weekend.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Chicago Cubs acquired José Martínez in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, giving manager David Ross another option at designated hitter.The 32-year-old Martínez is a .294 hitter with 43 homers and 182 RBIs in 422 major league games. He debuted with St. Louis in 2016 and spent four years with the Cardinals before he was traded to the Rays in January.“It’s a nice boost to get an offensive piece that makes you deeper than you already are," Ross said after Chicago's 10-1 win at Cincinnati. "It’s nice to be able to mix-and-match some bench pieces as well. It’s always nice to get a good player at the trade deadline.”It's a rare deal between division leaders ahead of Monday's trade deadline for the pandemic-shortened season. Tampa Bay is on top of the AL East, and Chicago is trying to hold on in the NL Central.The Rays acquired two players to be named or cash considerations in the trade. The team also promoted outfielder Randy Arozarena from its alternate training... [More]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Chicago Cubs acquired José Martínez in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, giving manager David Ross another option at designated hitter.The 32-year-old Martínez is a .294 hitter with 43 homers and 182 RBIs in 422 major league games. He debuted with St. Louis in 2016 and spent four years with the Cardinals before he was traded to the Rays in January.It's a rare deal between division leaders ahead of Monday's trade deadline for the pandemic-shortened season. Tampa Bay is on top of the AL East, and Chicago is trying to hold on in the NL Central.The Rays acquired two players to be named or cash considerations in the trade. The team also promoted outfielder Randy Arozarena from its alternate training site.Martínez, who can play first base or in the outfield, batted .239 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 24 games with Tampa Bay. He had his best season with St. Louis in 2018, hitting .305 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs in 152 games.The Cubs designated catcher Josh Phegley for assignment to make room for Martínez on their roster. ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs placed third baseman Kris Bryant on the 10-day injured list Saturday night with a sprained finger on his left hand.Bryant also got an injection for his ailing left wrist on Tuesday. The injuries occurred when he made a diving attempt on César Hernández’s flare to left field in the fifth inning of a 7-2 victory at Cleveland on Aug. 12.The 2016 NL MVP hasn't played since Monday's doubleheader split against St. Louis. The IL move is retroactive to Wednesday.The 28-year-old Bryant is batting just .177 with 20 strikeouts in 14 games.About three hours before Saturday night's game with the White Sox, Cubs manager David Ross said the hope was the team could avoid putting Bryant on the IL.The team did not announce a corresponding roster move.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant got an injection Tuesday for his ailing left wrist, sidelining the slugger for at least two days.Manager David Ross said Bryant also saw a specialist for the injury. The Cubs are off Thursday, so the earliest the 2016 NL MVP could return to the lineup is Friday against the crosstown White Sox.“The hope is that he would be back Friday, but there's no way of knowing that until we have those conversations and he picks up a bat and swings and tests it and all those things,” Ross said.The Cubs also placed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder Hernán Pérez was promoted from the team's alternate training site in South Bend, Indiana, and left-hander Brad Wieck was transferred to the 45-day IL.Bryant tweaked his wrist on a diving attempt on César Hernández's flare to left field in the fifth inning of a 7-2 victory at Cleveland last week. He stayed in the game and homered in the sixth, but he sat... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant got an injection Tuesday for his ailing left wrist, sidelining the slugger for at least two days.Manager David Ross said Bryant also saw a specialist for the injury. The Cubs are off Thursday, so the earliest the 2016 NL MVP could return to the lineup is Friday against the crosstown White Sox.“The hope is that he would be back Friday, but there's no way of knowing that until we have those conversations and he picks up a bat and swings and tests it and all those things,” Ross said.The Cubs also placed outfielder Steven Souza Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder Hernán Pérez was promoted from the team's alternate training site in South Bend, Indiana, and left-hander Brad Wieck was transferred to the 45-day IL.Bryant tweaked his wrist on a diving attempt on César Hernández's flare to left field in the fifth inning of a 7-2 victory at Cleveland last week. He stayed in the game and homered in the sixth, but he sat... [More]

Yu Darvish is finally pitching like an All-Star again, and the Chicago Cubs have emerged as early leaders in the NL Central.The Cubs entered this season at a bit of a crossroads. Since winning the World Series in 2016, they’ve won only one postseason series. They didn’t make the playoffs at all in 2019, and David Ross replaced Joe Maddon as manager before this season.The NL Central was hard to figure out coming into 2020, but Chicago broke out early to a 13-3 record, and the Cubs still lead the division by 3 ½ games even after dropping the last three games of their series against Milwaukee. Darvish took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Brewers in Chicago’s 4-2 victory Thursday night.A four-time All-Star with Texas, Darvish was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, then signed with the Cubs. He’s dealt with elbow and triceps injuries while with Chicago, but this year he’s 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA and playing an important role in his team’s fast start.The Cubs are winning despite... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Slugger Kris Bryant was held out of the surging Chicago Cubs' starting lineup against Milwaukee on Thursday night because of a sore left wrist and ring finger.Manager David Ross didn’t disclose if Bryant would be available off the bench, but said he made the move out of “an abundance of caution.”Bryant was injured trying to make a diving catch in left field Wednesday in the fifth inning of the Cubs 7-2 win at Cleveland. He remained in the game and hit a home run in the sixth inning before being pulled in the eighth.“We’re trying to be extra cautious,” Ross said. “I don’t think there’s a great deal of concern. We just want to make sure he’s good to go.”Kyle Schwarber was listed to start in left field and David Bote at third base Thursday for the Cubs, who entered leading the majors at 12-3.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings in his first appearance against Cleveland since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and Anthony Rizzo homered, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday night to match their best start in 50 years.Hendricks (3-1) didn’t have much trouble with the slumping Indians. He allowed one run and seven hits and handled everyone in Cleveland’s lineup but Franmil Reyes, who got three hits.The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club’s start after 15 games in 1970. Rizzo homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (2-2), David Bote drove in two runs and Kris Bryant connected for a 430-foot shot as the Cubs swept the two-game interleague set.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. ATHLETICS 8, ANGELS 4ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Piscotty, Matt... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings in his first appearance against Cleveland since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and Anthony Rizzo homered, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday night to match their best start in 50 years.Hendricks (3-1) didn’t have much trouble with the slumping Indians. He allowed one run and seven hits and handled everyone in Cleveland’s lineup but Franmil Reyes, who got three hits.The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club’s start after 15 games in 1970. Rizzo homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (2-2), David Bote drove in two runs and Kris Bryant connected for a 430-foot shot as the Cubs swept the two-game interleague set.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. ATHLETICS 8, ANGELS 4ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Piscotty, Matt... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings in his first appearance against Cleveland since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and Anthony Rizzo homered, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday night to match their best start in 50 years.Hendricks (3-1) didn’t have much trouble with the slumping Indians. He allowed one run and seven hits and handled everyone in Cleveland’s lineup but Franmil Reyes, who got three hits.The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club’s start after 15 games in 1970. Rizzo homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (2-2), David Bote drove in two runs and Kris Bryant connected for a 430-foot shot as the Cubs swept the two-game interleague set.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. ATHLETICS 8, ANGELS 4ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Piscotty, Matt... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings in his first appearance against Cleveland since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series and Anthony Rizzo homered, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday night to match their best start in 50 years.Hendricks (3-1) didn’t have much trouble with the slumping Indians. He allowed one run and seven hits and handled everyone in Cleveland’s lineup but Franmil Reyes, who got three hits.The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club’s start after 15 games in 1970. Rizzo homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (2-2), David Bote drove in two runs and Kris Bryant connected for a 430-foot shot as the Cubs swept the two-game interleague set.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. ATHLETICS 8, ANGELS 4ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Piscotty, Matt... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant is following through on his own words when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.Bryant returned to the starting lineup Monday against Kansas City after missing two games with a stomach ailment. The 28-year-old Bryant, who had thanked Reds second baseman Mike Moustakas after he self-reported possible coronavirus symptoms, spoke up when he himself wasn't feeling well Saturday, and then he had to sit out while he worked his way through Major League Baseball's pandemic protocols.“If we can add another part to our responsibility in that if you do feel something, you know, just stay away and take it as seriously as possible,” Bryant said on a video conference call. “That's the only way we're going to really get through a World Series. I just think it's important. Put your pride and egos aside. It could end up helping the rest of your teammates out, too.”The Cubs haven't had any positive coronavirus tests among their players since they started summer... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant was out of the lineup for a second straight game on Sunday, a day after reporting a stomach ailment.Bryant was tested for the coronavirus on Friday and Saturday, and the Cubs said both tests were negative. He is scheduled to be tested again on Monday.“He really needs to be commended for going in and getting checked out," manager David Ross said before Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. "We're going to take the right precautions to keep everyone safe.”The 28-year-old Bryant is off to a tough start, batting .120 (3 for 25) in his first six games.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs manager David Ross is working out how he plans to handle save situations while struggling closer Craig Kimbrel tries to fix his mechanics.Ross was non-committal when asked Saturday if he would give the ball to Kimbrel for the ninth inning if Chicago had a one-run lead. Sure enough, the Cubs then had a 4-3 lead with two outs in the ninth against Pittsburgh and Rowan Wick finished for his first save of the year.Kimbrel struggled in his first two appearances after he had a tough time last season with Chicago.“It’s going to be daily with him, daily conversations,” Ross said. “He threw a pretty intense bullpen today trying to work out some things, so wanted to stay away from him tonight.”It's a tough situation for Ross, who took over as manager in October. He played alongside Kimbrel while the two were in Atlanta. The 32-year-old Kimbrel is a key member of Chicago's bullpen, but the pandemic-shortened season is quite unforgiving at just 60 games.“I think the relationship... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs manager David Ross is working out how he plans to handle save situations while struggling closer Craig Kimbrel works on his mechanics.Ross was non-committal when asked Saturday if he would give the ball to Kimbrel for the ninth inning if the Cubs had a one-run lead. Kimbrel struggled in his first two appearances this year after he had a tough time last season with Chicago.“He's frustrated. He wants to work through it. He wants to be better,” Ross said, “and so we're here to help him and continue to move forward. We need him to be good if we're going to have a lot of success.”It's a tough situation for Ross, who took over as manager in October. He played alongside Kimbrel while the two were in Atlanta. The 32-year-old Kimbrel is a key member of Chicago's bullpen, but the pandemic-shortened season is quite unforgiving at just 60 games.“I think the relationship that we've had helps with the conversations we've had lately,” Ross said. “I think he has a lot of trust... [More]