Box Scores: Cubs 8, Diamondbacks 1, White Sox 9, Royals 8
By Rob Winn in News on Jul 14, 2012 2:30PM
The Cubs picked up right where they left off in their first game back from the All-Star break, beating the Diamondbacks 8-1 Friday. Alfonso Soriano led the way with two home runs, two doubles, and five RBIs. After a nearly four-hour rain delay, the Cubs cruised to victory behind another strong outing from Paul Maholm, who picked up his third straight win. He gave up only one run and six hits through seven innings. As Maholm’s win streak continues, he has also been rumored to be on the trading block. Anthony Rizzo also carried his strong bat through the All-Star break and went two for four. The Cubs have now won 10 of their last 15 games.
Kevin Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly on the 14th pitch of his at bat in the 14th inning to lead the Sox to a 9-8 victory over the Royals. Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Dayan Viciedo all homered in the winning effort. Both teams blew chances to win earlier in the game, Royals closer Jonathan Broxton blew the save in the ninth inning and Sox closer Addison Reed did the same in the 12th. The White Sox used nine pitchers in the game that lasted 5 hours, 23 minutes and stretched until early Saturday morning. Dylan Axelrod got the win as he worked through trouble in the 13th and closed out the 14th inning to earn the win.