Baseball

Seiya Suzuki, Four Hits and Three RBIs as the Cubs Rally Past the Giants 11-8

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Chicago Cubs’ Dansby Swanson (7) greets Seiya Suzuki at home after they both scored on Suzuki’s two-run home run off San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Chicago.

12:25 JST, September 6, 2023

CHICAGO (AP) — Seiya Suzuki and Christopher Morel homered during Chicago’s six-run seventh inning, and the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 11-8 on Tuesday night for their third consecutive win.

Suzuki had four hits and three RBIs as Chicago remained 2 1/2 games back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee. Yan Gomes added three hits and two RBIs, and Drew Smyly (10-9) got three outs for the win.

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki hits a two-run home run off San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Chicago.

The Cubs moved a season-high 11 games over .500 at 75-64. They are 49-28 since they dropped to 26-36 with a 3-1 loss at the Angels on June 8.

J.D. Davis, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores homered for San Francisco in its fifth consecutive loss. Davis and Joc Pederson each had three hits.

Part of a four-way fight for the third NL wild card, the Giants dropped to 9-20 since Aug. 5.

San Francisco, which was shut out in its previous two games, scored three runs in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. Pederson hit an RBI double off Kyle Hendricks and Davis greeted Hayden Wesneski with a one-out drive to center for his 16th homer.

But Chicago went ahead to stay in the seventh, taking advantage of a couple of defensive miscues for San Francisco (70-69).

After Suzuki’s two-run homer tied it at 6, Pederson misplayed Jeimer Candelario’s fly ball to left into a double. With one out and runners on the corners, third baseman Casey Schmitt committed a throwing error when he tried to cut down Candelario at the plate on Nick Madrigal’s grounder.

Morel followed with a 431-foot drive to center against Luke Jackson (1-2) for a three-run shot that lifted the Cubs to a 10-6 lead. The excitable Morel punctuated his 20th homer with a big bat flip.

San Francisco closed to 11-8 on Flores’ leadoff drive to left against Julian Merryweather in the ninth. After Pederson walked, pinch-hitter Paul DeJong struck out before Davis bounced into a game-ending double play.

The late rally for Chicago spoiled a fast start by San Francisco.

Wade drove Hendricks’ first pitch of the game into the bleachers in right for his 14th homer, helping the Giants build a 3-0 lead. Wade Meckler saved a run with a diving catch in center in the bottom of the first, and then hit an RBI single in the second.

Chicago responded with four runs in the third, including a two-run double for Gomes that deflected off a diving Pederson.