CHICAGO (AP) Prized prospect Willson Contreras crushed the first pitch he saw in Major League Baseball for a two-run home run as the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-5 on Sunday.
Contreras, called up from the minors on Friday, pinch hit for Hendricks in the sixth and sent A.J. Schugel’s changeup an estimated 415 feet (126 meters) to center. The cheering crowd didn’t let up until the 24-year-old Venezuelan catcher obliged with a curtain call.
”It’s incredible,” a smiling Contreras said. ”I don’t have the words to explain how happy I am.”
A fan even returned the ball to Contreras, which sat in his locker. ”It’s a dream come true,” he said.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit consecutive home runs in the third and Javier Baez added a solo shot for the Cubs, who completed a sweep of the fading Pittsburgh Pirates and increased their division lead over St. Louis to 12 1/2 games.
In Florida, Brandon Belt homered as the San Francisco Giants beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 for their eighth straight win.
Jake Peavy pitched six solid innings to win for the third time in four starts. Belt hit his team-leading 10th homer off Jake Odorizzi.
”We made Jake work pretty hard the first three innings,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ”For him the one run was really impressive considering all that happened behind him.”
Matt Wieters homered and drove in four runs as Baltimore outslugged Toronto 11-6 to provide right-hander Chris Tillman with his ninth straight victory.
Baltimore amassed a season-high 19 hits against Marcus Stroman and five relievers in the deciding matchup of the three-game series between AL East contenders.
In New York, Julio Teheran tossed a one-hit masterpiece, pitching the Atlanta Braves to a 6-0 win that completed a surprising three-game sweep of the Mets.
Nick Markakis homered and drove in two runs for Atlanta, which has won five straight for the first time since the first five games of last season.
”You don’t want to panic early but, right now, with what’s going on, we are going to shake some things up,” New York manager Terry Collins said. ”We’ve got to start playing better.”
In California, Jered Weaver pitched a three-hitter, leading the Angels to a 2-0 victory over the Oakland A’s while the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Brewers 2-1 when pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal walked with the bases loaded to end the game.
Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run drive in the sixth inning for his 13th homer as the Miami Marlins beat the Rockies 3-0 and Drew Pomeranz allowed three solo homers in six innings in helping San Diego to a 6-3 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Boston left-hander David Price snapped a personal three-game losing streak by pitching eight sharp innings as the Red Sox downed the Mariners 2-1, while Jose Ramirez hit an RBI single with two out in the 10th inning to Cleveland to a 3-2 win and a three-game sweep over the Chicago White Sox.
Profar hit a two-run single in the eighth to help the Texas Rangers beat the Cardinals 5-4 and record its sixth straight win while Cheslor Cuthbert singled home Lorenzo Cain in the 13th inning, giving Kansas City a 2-1 win over Detroit.
Max Kepler and Brian Dozier homered as the Twins beat the New York Yankees 7-4, Evan Gattis and Luis Valbuena homered to help Houston beat Cincinnati 6-0 and Archie Bradley pitched six strong innings and drove in a run to lead Arizona to a 5-1 victory over the Phillies.
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