KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yu Darvish pitched seven sharp innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the skidding Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory.
Javier Báez drove in two runs for the Cubs (10-2), who handed Kansas City its sixth consecutive defeat. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits and scored twice.
Darvish (2-1) was in midseason form for the second straight outing. He gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one.
With the score 2-1, the Royals’ best chance to tie the game came in the sixth when Whit Merrifield was on third with one out. Darvish struck out Ryan O’Hearn and retired Salvador Perez on a grounder, ending the threat.
Royals RHP Brad Keller makes his season debut Thursday night after returning from the IL due to COVID-19. RHP Tyler Chatwood (2-0, 0.74 ERA) will start for the Cubs, 6:05 in KC.