It was a big return to the lineup for Willson Contreras as he hit a home run and helped the Chicago Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Wrigley Field.
The win led the Cubs to a season-series sweep over the Mariners and pushed the club back to a season-high 12 games above the .500 mark.
Nicholas Castellanos belted yet another home run, his 12th as a member of the Cubs, and Kyle Schwarber teed off on his 33rd home run of the year to help pace the offensive effort. Castellanos drove in a total of four runs in the contest.
Ben Zobrist, playing for the first time since early May, got a standing ovation during his first plate appearance and scored a pair of runs in the win.
Despite some struggles, Jon Lester pitched six innings of shutout baseball, striking out nine batters and walking four. He picked up the win for the Cubs, who will now head to Milwaukee for a four-game series against the Brewers beginning on Thursday night.
In his first at-bat since returning from the injured list, Contreras launched a home run deep into the left field bleachers. The estimated 450-foot blast put the Cubs in front by a 1-0 margin.
In the third inning, Castellanos added to the lead with a sacrifice fly to right, and in the fifth he struck again as he launched a three-run opposite field home run to right field, making it a 5-0 game.
Chicago Baseball
After Schwarber blasted a home run to the back of the right field bleachers in the seventh, he made a key defensive play in the eighth inning. As Dee Gordon scored on an RBI single by Dan Vogelbach, Schwarber threw to second base, retiring Braden Bishop and ending a potential Seattle rally.
Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick combined to close down the game in the ninth inning, with Wick getting the final two outs in the victory.
