Cubs hit homers, beat Pirates 8-3
(CHICAGO) - After struggling prior to the All-Star break, the Chicago Cubs have started the second half clicking on all cylinders. Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Schwarber hit home runs and the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep. The NL Central leaders posted their first series win since taking all three from St. Louis on June 7-9. The Cubs were 10-16 in the 26 games before last week's break. They outscored Pirates 22-10 in the series and manager Joe Maddon credited the rest during the break as the major factor behind the turnaround. Robel Garcia had a pair of doubles and Anthony Rizzo added two hits as Chicago improved to 32-16 at Wrigley Field. Cubs starter Jose Quintana (7-7) allowed three runs on six hits in six innings to win his third straight start. The left-hander struck out four and walked two. Bryan Reynolds got two hits and drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which has dropped five of seven. Trevor Williams (3-3) took the loss for the Pirates.

OTHER N.L. SCORES
Philadelphia 4 – Washington 3
NY Mets 6 – Miami 2
San Francisco 8 – Milwaukee 3
St. Louis 5 – Arizona 1
Colorado 10 – Cincinnati 9
Atlanta 4 – San Diego 1