MILWAUKEE (AP) — Michael Busch homered on the game’s first pitch, Moisés Ballesteros hit a bases-clearing double and the Chicago Cubs trounced the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep. Milwaukee leads Chicago by one game in the NL Central. The teams meet once more this season, a five-game series at Chicago from Aug. 18-21. Ian Happ homered, Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3 for 4 with two doubles and Kyle Tucker was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Cubs. Milwaukee’s William Contreras had his fifth career two-homer game.
The Brewers are off today.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jarren Duran went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, Trevor Story hit his second homer in as many games, and the Red Sox earned a series win with a 13-1 victory at Minnesota. Red Sox starter Brayan Bello yielded one earned run on five hits in seven innings with four strikeouts. The Dominican right-hander has recorded a quality start in nine of his past 10 outings. Boston finished the month of July 17-7 and has the American League’s fifth-best record at 59-51. Minnesota is 4-8 since the All-Star break and sits fourth in the AL Central.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired Jhoan Duran, trading two top prospects to the Minnesota Twins for the hard-throwing closer. Duran has 16 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 49 appearances this season, striking out 53 in 49 1/3 innings. Catcher Eduardo Tait and right-hander Mick Abel were shipped off to Minnesota in the deal. Philadelphia is competing with the New York Mets for the NL East title. The Phillies won the division last year before they were eliminated by the Mets in their NL Division Series.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Correa says discussions about a trade from Minnesota back to Houston before Thursday’s trade deadline aren’t serious,”but he didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the city where he won a World Series. The three-time All-Star shortstop has a no-trade clause in the six-year, $200 million contract he signed with the Twins in 2023, so he’d need to sign off on any deal between. Correa said he’s been in frequent communication with Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli. After trading starter Chris Paddack to Detroit on Tuesday, the Twins have indicated they plan to keep shedding contracts at this year’s deadline.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier had 30 points and nine rebounds, Kayla McBride added 24 points, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the short-handed New York Liberty 100-93 in a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals. Collier went 11 of 16 from the field to record her fifth 30-point game this season. Sabrina Ionescu countered with 31 points for New York, which did not have star Breanna Stewart due to a bone bruise in her right knee.