PHILADELPHIA (AP) — One of the hottest pitchers in baseball was at his best early on, yet the Cubs’ high-powered hitters didn’t get discouraged.
Javier Baez hit one of three solo home runs off Cy Young contender Aaron Nola to reach 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and Jon Lester pitched six shutout innings to continue his mastery of the Phillies in NL Central-leading Chicago’s 8-1 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday.
Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rizzo also went deep off Nola (15-4), who gave up three home runs in a game for the second time over 88 starts in his four-year career.