Bryant homers as Cubs beat Royals 2-0
(CHICAGO) – Kris Bryant homered in his return to the lineup and Alec Mills pitched seven effective innings, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive win. ...... {LISTEN}. (audio courtesy of WSCR Radio). Javier Baez had a sacrifice fly and a nice play in the field as NL Central-leading Chicago improved to 8-2 for the first time since 2016. Bryant also doubled in the first after missing two games with a stomach ailment. Mills (2-0) allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three on a wet, windy night at Wrigley Field. Mills got a chance to start when Jose Quintana had surgery on his left thumb last month, but the right-hander is making a strong bid to keep his spot in the rotation. Mills was selected by Kansas City in the 22nd round of the 2012 amateur draft and made his major league debut with the Royals in 2016. But he hadn't gotten a chance to face them since he was traded to the Cubs in February 2017. Kansas City wasted a solid performance by Danny Duffy, who pitched six innings of one-run ball. The Royals finished with five hits in their fourth straight loss. Bryant connected for his first homer of the season in the seventh, hitting a drive to center off Ian Kennedy. The 2016 NL MVP struggled in his first six games of the year, going 3 for 25 at the plate. Bryant said he told his infant son, Kyler, he would hit a home run for him. Casey Sadler got the first two outs of the eighth for Chicago before Rowan Wick finished for his second save.


OTHER INTERLEAGUE SCORES
Cincinnati 3 – Cleveland 2
NY Yankees 6 – Philadelphia 3
Minnesota 5 – Pittsburgh 4

MONDAY A.L. SCORES
Oakland 11 – Seattle 1

MONDAY N.L. SCORES
NY Mets 7 – Atlanta 2
Colorado 7 – San Francisco 6
San Diego 5 – LA Dodgers 4