BREAKING
Cubs pound out six home runs in thrashing of Braves
Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs pound out six home runs in thrashing of Braves


by - Senior Writer -

CHICAGO — Finishing with six home runs, just one short of the club's single-game record, the Chicago Cubs (6-8) lit up the Atlanta Braves (6-9) at Wrigley Field on Saturday. The North Siders routed the Braves 13-4, scoring two more runs than they did in their previous six games combined. Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras hit two homers apiece, and Javy Baez and David Bote each went yard once. Chicago outhit Atlanta 14-7 on the afternoon and led 11-0 at one point, powering out three round-trippers off starter Huascar Ynoa.

Trevor Williams walked Ronald Acuna Jr. on four pitches to start the game before picking him off at first. A successful Cubs challenge determined that Anthony Rizzo applied the tag in time. Contreras smacked his first home run of the day in the bottom of the first, giving him homers in three straight games for the first time in his career. The 400-foot solo shot to left placed the Cubs up 1-0. The Braves put two men on in the next frame but failed to score. Back-to-back doubles by Jason Heyward and David Bote resulted in Heyward crossing the plate in the second.

Contreras led off the bottom of the third with a 416-foot no-doubter hit out to center field. Later in the inning, Baez cranked a three-run blast into the left field bleachers, scoring Bryant and Joc Pederson. Baez committed a throwing error in the fifth that was followed by Sean Kazmar Jr. grounding into a double play in his first big league game since 2008. Rizzo hit a leadoff single in the bottom half of the fifth, and Bryant followed that up with a two-run dinger to left off Jesse Biddle.

Jacob Webb got taken deep by David Bote in the fifth, with the three-run jack to center scoring Pederson and Heyward. Williams was pulled with no outs and the bases loaded in the ensuing inning. Then, a double play groundout hit into by Travis d'Arnaud ushered Acuna home, getting the Braves on the scoreboard. Rizzo collected his third hit of the contest with a leadoff triple in the sixth. He hustled around the basepaths and reached third after Acuna slipped and fell while attempting to field the ball in right.

After Rizzo's three-bagger, Bryant tallied his second homer and third hit of Saturday's action by plowing a two-run bomb to left, providing the Cubs with a lopsided 13-1 advantage. Ehire Adrianza led off the seventh with a triple given up by Shelby Miller. Austin Riley scored Adrianza via a sacrifice fly and Marcell Ozuna went on to drive home Acuna and Pablo Sandoval with a two-run base knock. The score held the rest of the way, with the Cubs cruising to a 13-4 victory.

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