NEW YORK -- Jonathan Herrera filled in neatly for Kris Bryant, driving in three runs with a squeeze bunt and homer that sent Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs past the feeble New York Mets 6-1 Thursday for a three-game sweep.
Miguel Montero also homered as the Cubs beat the Mets for a team-record ninth time in a row, and finished 7-0 against them this season.
Arrieta (8-5) pitched eight sharp innings, helping extend the Cubs' shutout string to 25 innings before the Mets managed their only run of this series.
Arrieta gave up five hits, walked none and struck out seven. The crowd booed several times as New York kept making weak outs and breaking their bats.
Jacob deGrom (8-6) doubled and scored for the Mets, who have totaled a mere 23 runs in 14 games.
Marlins 5, Giants 4
MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez's comeback required a comeback.
The precocious right-hander shook off a rocky start in his return from Tommy John surgery, pitching six innings and hitting a homer Thursday to help the Miami Marlins rally past the San Francisco Giants 5-4 and complete a three-game sweep.
The first two batters to face Fernandez scored, and he screamed at himself as he walked off the mound to end the first inning.
After that, Fernandez found the form that made him the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year. Pitching for the first time since May 9, 2014, he went six innings and allowed three runs.
American League
Indians 5, Rays 4 (10)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Mike Aviles homered on the first pitch of the 10th inning, giving the Cleveland Indians a 4-3 victory and four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Corey Kluber struck out 14 over eight innings. Brian Shaw (1-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win, and Cody Allen struck out the side in the 10th to earn his 15th save in 16 opportunities.
Aviles homered off Xavier Cedeno (1-0), extending Tampa Bay's losing streak to five games. Michael Brantley had a RBI single and sacrifice fly for the Indians, who also got run-scoring singles from Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor.
Interleague
Pirates 8, Tigers 4
DETROIT -- Francisco Liriano pitched seven shutout innings in a rare victory over the Detroit Tigers as the Pittsburgh Pirates finished a three-game sweep with an 8-4 win on Thursday afternoon.
Liriano (5-6) came into the game with a 1-9 record in his last 14 games against Detroit, including 11 starts. He allowed five hits and three walks in his first victory over the Tigers since August 15, 2011.
Kyle Ryan (1-2) took the loss, giving up two runs on three hits and five walks in four-plus innings.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was ejected in the fifth inning by home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook for arguing a called third strike on J.D. Martinez.
Sports on 07/03/2015