The123 Chicago Cubs set a franchise record by bashing eight home runs in a single game on their way to an Independence Day annihilation of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, winning 11-3 on Friday.
Michael Busch enjoyed his first career three-homer game, and Pete Crow-Armstrong provided his 22nd and 23rd dingers of the season. Dansby Swanson and Busch went back-to-back off reliever John King in the seventh inning to break the team record.
The Cubs raced out to a 7-0 lead with six home runs in the first three innings. Seiya Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong both went yard in the first inning, Busch and Carson Kelly took a turn in the second for a 4-0 advantage, and Crow-Armstrong and Busch pummeled pitches 414 and 428 feet, respectively, in the third.
Miles Mikolas (4-6) served up those six home runs on his way to a forgettable Fourth of July. He stayed in for six innings, yielding eight runs on 10 hits without a walk. The veteran right-hander had never given up more than four homers in a game.
The run support was a welcome sight for Colin Rea (6-3), the Cubs starter whose only hit allowed over 6 2/3 innings was a fourth-inning solo shot by Brendan Donovan. Rea struck out four and walked two.
Red Sox 11, Nationals 2
Trevor Story homered among four hits, Lucas Giolito pitched into the eighth inning, and visiting Boston routed Washington.
Story added three singles, drove in four runs and scored three for Boston, which won for the third time in four games. Jarren Duran had two hits and three RBIs for the Red Sox, who collected four hits on the day.
Michael Soroka (3-6) was charged with seven runs on nine hits in four-plus innings for the Nationals. Washington's Daylen Lile extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning RBI double.
Reds 9, Phillies 6
Spencer Steer reached base four times, drove in two runs and scored twice as visiting Cincinnati topped Philadelphia in a matinee.
Steer's two hits and two walks highlighted a productive offensive day for Cincinnati, which has won back-to-back games after losing four of its previous six contests. Elly Da La Cruz added two hits and two RBIs for the Reds, while Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl each notched a pair of hits.
The Phillies jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning against Reds starter Andrew Abbott. Alec Bohm's sacrifice fly opened the scoring before Castellanos delivered a two-run homer.
However, Cincinnati responded with a run in the second, followed by a five-run rally in the third inning.
Mets 6, Yankees 5
Juan Soto went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Mets, who rallied past the visiting Yankees in the opener of a three-game Subway Series.
Trailing by one in the seventh and with Pete Alonso on, Jeff McNeil mashed a changeup into the second deck in right field off reliever Luke Weaver (1-3) to put the Mets in front 6-5. Mets reliever Huascar Brazoban (4-2) tossed a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win, and Reed Garrett did the same in the eighth and ninth for the save
Jasson Dominguez homered twice and Marcus Stroman allowed three runs on seven hits across five innings for the Yankees, who have lost five straight.
Twins 4, Rays 3
Harrison Bader hit two home runs, including a walk-off blast to lead off the bottom of the ninth, to lift Minnesota to a win over Tampa Bay in Minneapolis.
Bader belted the first pitch he saw in the ninth to clinch the win for the Twins, who scored the final three runs of the game. Byron Buxton doubled and drove in a run for Minnesota.
Josh Lowe and Junior Caminero each went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Tampa Bay. Yandy Diaz doubled and drove in a run.
