Carson Kelly homers as the Cubs beat the Padres 7-1 for their 5th straight win
CHICAGO (AP) — Carson Kelly homered and drove in four runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.
Dansby Swanson also went deep as Chicago improved to 7-2 since it dropped its first two games in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nico Hoerner had two hits and drove in a run.
Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-0) pitched six innings of five-hit ball in his first career start at Wrigley Field. He was struck by Jackson Merrill’s comebacker on the final out of the sixth, but he said after the game that he was fine.
It was San Diego’s second straight loss after opening the season with seven consecutive victories.
The Padres scored their only run on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-out RBI single in the seventh. They also managed just one run in the series opener on Friday.
Kelly hit a run-scoring single off Nick Pivetta (1-1) in the second. He connected for a three-run shot with two out in the sixth, lifting Chicago to a 7-0 lead with his second homer of the season.
Kelly agreed to an $11.5 million, two-year deal with the Cubs in December. He hit for the cycle against the A’s on Monday night.
Pivetta permitted three runs and six hits in three innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Key moment
The Padres had some tough luck in the fifth. With Elias Díaz aboard after a one-out single, Tatis lined right to Michael Busch at first. Busch then stepped on the bag for the inning-ending double play.
Key stat
Ian Happ played in his 1,000th major league game — all with the Cubs. He robbed Gavin Sheets of extra bases with a terrific catch in left in the seventh.
Up next
Padres left-hander Kyle Hart (1-0, 3.60 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (1-1, 5.87 ERA) take the mound for the series finale on Sunday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
By JAY COHEN
AP Baseball Writer
