Cubs

Yadier Molina and Paul DeJong homered on Craig Kimbrel’s first two pitches in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals handed the reeling Chicago Cubs their fifth straight loss with a wild 9-8 victory on Saturday.

Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals are taking charge of the NL Central by grinding out tough, ugly wins.

Matt Carpenter homered in the 10th inning against Craig Kimbrel in the All-Star closer's return, and the St. Louis Cardinals regrouped after blowing a late lead to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 Thursday night.

Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo hit a tying home run in his surprise return to the lineup Thursday night for the opener of a crucial four-game series against the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

Jose Iglesias had an RBI double in the 10th inning and five Cincinnati pitchers combined for a four-hitter as the Reds recorded their second straight win over the playoff-contending Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Wednesday night.

The Chicago Cubs were shut down by Sonny Gray and two relievers Tuesday night, falling 4-2 to the Cincinnati Reds in a loss that hurt their playoff positioning.

Playing without Anthony Rizzo, the Chicago Cubs turned to Kyle Schwarber. And Nicholas Castellanos. And Alec Mills.

When Anthony Rizzo went down in the infield grass at Wrigley Field, it looked bad for the big first baseman and the Chicago Cubs.

Anthony Rizzo was helped off the field Sunday by a trainer and a teammate with a sprained right ankle, and Wrigley Field fell silent. With Chicago's postseason pursuit already hindered by a season-ending injury to shortstop Javier Báez, the team may now be without another star player.

Kris Bryant and rookie Nico Hoerner each homered among three hits, and the Chicago Cubs went deep four times to set a club record with 237 home runs as they pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-1 on Saturday.

After a rough start, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras and the Chicago Cubs rebounded with an overwhelming response at the plate.

Yu Darvish and the Chicago Cubs are heading back to Wrigley Field feeling better about their situation than they had in several days.

If this was Chris Paddack's final start of 2019, he will have finished his rookie season with a brilliant performance that hurt the Chicago Cubs in their pursuit of a wild-card spot.

With the Chicago Cubs playing a five-man infield, Manuel Margot was looking for a pitch up in the strike zone that he could elevate.

Touted prospect Nico Hoerner had three hits and four RBIs in his big league debut and made some nice plays at shortstop for the Chicago Cubs, who beat the San Diego Padres 10-2 Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

All-Star shortstop Javier Báez could return to the Chicago Cubs if they reach the playoffs.

Tyler Austin drove a pinch-hit, three-run homer during the Brewers' five-run fourth inning against Jon Lester, and Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 Sunday to tighten the NL wild-card race.   

The Chicago Cubs' Addison Russell left Sunday's game against Milwaukee in the third inning, after he was hit on the head by a 94 mph pitch from Milwaukee's Adrian Houser.   

Christian Yelich sliced an opposite-field double off Brandon Kintzler to score the winning run in the ninth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Saturday night.   

Chicago Cubs star shortstop Javier Baez has a hairline fracture in his left thumb, putting the rest of his season in jeopardy.