CHICAGO (AP) — Nico Hoerner capped Chicago's five-run eighth inning with his first career grand slam, helping the Cubs beat the lowly Washington Nationals 8-3 on Wednesday night.
Mike Tauchman also homered and drove in three runs as Chicago earned its second straight win after dropping the opener of the three-game series on Monday night. Kyle Hendricks pitched six innings of one-run ball.
Washington tied it at 3 with two runs in the top of the eighth against Julian Merryweather (3-0).
Jeimer Candelario, who could be on the move ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, led off with his 15th homer. Three straight two-out singles by Dominic Smith, Corey Dickerson and Luis Garcia produced another run.
Chicago bounced back in the bottom half. Yan Gomes made it 4-3 when he hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against Mason Thompson (3-3).
After Tucker Barnhart struck out and Tauchman walked, Hoerner greeted Cory Abbott with a drive to left-center for his sixth homer of the season.
Washington right-hander Trevor Williams allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings.
Tauchman drove Williams' second pitch of the game deep to left-center for his fourth homer. He also hit an RBI double in the fourth and another run-scoring double in the seventh against Jordan Weems.
FEELING A DRAFT
The Cubs announced they had agreed to contracts with 10 more players from this year’s amateur draft, including infielder Josh Rivera (third round) and pitcher Will Sanders (fourth round). The team has agreed to deals with nine of its first 10 picks and 17 of 20 overall.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: INF Christopher Morel (neck tightness) returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game. ... SS Dansby Swanson (heel) could return for Chicago’s upcoming series against the St. Louis Cardinals, manager David Ross said. ... INF Nick Madrigal (hamstring) is running the bases. ... RHP Nick Burdi (appendicitis) had a bullpen session.
Nationals: RHP Paolo Espino (finger) was placed on the 15-day injured list, and RHP Rico Garcia was promoted from the minors.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Marcus Stroman (10-6, 2.88 ERA) starts Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series against St. Louis. LHP Steven Matz (0-7, 4.86 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals.
Nationals: Following an off day, RHP Jake Irvin (2-5, 4.96 ERA) starts Friday night against San Francisco.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
