Cubs eighth – Chicago’s Busch and Suzuki powered a 7-2 win over Philadelphia as the Cubs extended their streak to eight games. Meanwhile, Houston, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and others delivered key wins across the league.
CHICAGO — Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki hit homers as the Chicago Cubs beat a struggling Philadelphia Phillies team 7-2 on Wednesday night, extending Chicago’s winning run to eight straight.
The Cubs didn’t just win—they surged.. Pete Crow-Armstrong finished with three hits and two RBIs. Alex Bregman added three hits. and the offense backed Matthew Boyd’s return from a biceps injury.. Boyd worked 4 2/3 innings. allowing two runs in his first big league start since April 1. giving the Cubs a timely boost both on the mound and in the clubhouse.
For Philadelphia, the loss deepened a slide.. The Phillies dropped their eighth straight, matching their longest slump since a nine-game skid in September 2018.. J.T.. Realmuto missed the game after being placed on the 10-day injured list with back spasms. a meaningful absence for a lineup already struggling to keep momentum.
Chicago’s streak has become the story—and the numbers underline why.. During this run. the Cubs outscored opponents 58-20. a stretch that shows how quickly their approach at the plate and their execution in the field have started to align.. It’s also their longest win streak in April since the club won eight in a row in 1970. adding a historic flavor to a run that feels built on confidence.
From the Phillies’ side, the rotation shuffle didn’t solve the problem.. Former Blue Jay Aijuan Walker took the loss again. surrendering four earned runs and eight hits across four innings. with Kyle Backhus beginning as an opener before Walker came in.. Philadelphia’s challenge now is obvious: they need more consistency from starters. and they need their core lineup to stay available.
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CLEVELAND — Yordan Alvarez continued to pile on momentum with his major league-leading 11th home run, and Houston rode a strong pitching performance from Peter Lambert to beat the Guardians.
Alvarez’s two-run shot in the first inning off Tanner Bibee helped set the tone early. and Houston kept building after a difficult stretch.. Lambert responded with six scoreless innings, limiting Cleveland to three hits in just his second start of the year.. With injuries reshaping the Astros’ rotation. Lambert had begun the season at Triple-A before being called up—Wednesday’s showing was exactly the kind of “next man up” performance teams need when depth is tested.
Lambert also worked through trouble in the fourth by striking out José Ramírez and Kyle Manzardo. and the bullpen closed efficiently with a combined five-hitter.. Alvarez’s rhythm has been a defining feature of Houston’s recent form: he extended his hitting streak to nine games. his on-base streak to 18. and homered again for the fourth time in six games.
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MIAMI — Janson Junk anchored a three-hitter as the Marlins edged St. Louis, combining starter control with bullpen follow-through.
Junk allowed one hit and walked one while striking out two over five innings before handing it over to Andrew Nardi. Anthony Bender. and Michael Petersen. who struck out the side in a perfect eighth.. Miami’s scoring came early with an RBI single from Owen Caissie and more pressure in the second when Jakob Marsee walked with the bases loaded.
Agustín Ramírez added two hits and an RBI, while Javier Sanoja collected three hits as the Marlins gradually turned small advantages into a cushion.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nick Martinez stifled Cincinnati for eight innings, helping Tampa Bay avoid a series sweep and snap its own losing stretch.
Martinez. pitching for a second straight day after the Rays were hammered for 12 runs previously. allowed one run while striking out five.. The result mattered quickly for Tampa Bay’s rhythm and confidence—especially after a three-game losing streak.. The Reds, who had won five of their prior six, tasted their first defeat in that span.
The Rays grabbed an early 3-0 lead after Brandon Williamson issued back-to-back two-out walks in the second.. Ben Williamson singled, Chandler Simpson produced a sacrifice fly, and Yandy Diaz added another run.. Junior Caminero and Diaz both came up with additional run-producing moments. and while Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer got an RBI double in the fifth. the Rays had already done enough to take control.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baltimore’s Coby Mayo continued his power surge with another three-run homer, highlighted by a six-run sixth inning that carried the Orioles past the Royals.
Mayo struck twice in as many days at Kauffman Stadium, with both drives clearing well over the wall in left field. Pete Alonso also went deep for Baltimore, and the Orioles’ offense delivered when it needed to—turning a game into a pitching-and-batting mismatch.
For Kansas City, Michael Wacha struggled through his outing, allowing six runs on seven hits across 5 1/3 innings. Even with Carter Jensen’s team-leading sixth homer and contributions from Vinnie Pasquantino and Kyle Isbel, the Royals couldn’t find enough answers against Baltimore’s timely contact.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout returned with a reminder of his star power, while Jose Soriano’s dominant early work helped Los Angeles avoid a series sweep against Toronto.
Trout launched an eighth homer in the bottom of the fifth. a 428-foot solo shot that tied him with Garret Anderson for the Angels’ franchise record of 796 extra-base hits.. Soriano then did the heavy lifting on the mound. working five shutout innings while allowing three hits and striking out five before leaving with Los Angeles in front.
It’s the kind of performance that changes how a team plays late: with a 3-0 lead, the Angels didn’t just protect an advantage—they controlled the pace. Soriano’s season start has been historically rare, and Wednesday’s outing reinforced why he’s drawing attention league-wide.
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SEATTLE — Josh Naylor delivered the moment Seattle needed, hitting a game-ending single to avoid a sweep as Cal Raleigh homered again.
Naylor lined a first-pitch cutter the opposite way with two outs in the ninth to score Raleigh from second, finishing 3-for-5. Raleigh homered for the third time in as many games, matching the spark Seattle has been searching for in a season that’s too often stumbled into lulls.
Nick Kurtz tied things in the ninth with a fourth homer, but Seattle’s late pressure was the difference. Julio Rodríguez also provided key baserunning and timing, extending an on-base streak to 19 games.
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DETROIT — Casey Mize struck out seven while limiting Milwaukee to one run as Detroit won, with Spencer Torkelson adding a long-awaited spark.
Mize extended a strong stretch with six innings, allowing just three hits.. Torkelson hit his first homer of the season with a two-run blast. and Detroit built on that lead with extra run production across the middle innings.. Kenley Jansen worked through a bases-loaded jam for his sixth save, sealing a bounce-back result after a brief skid.
For Milwaukee, the loss again emphasized how quickly games swing when starters can’t find consistent leverage—especially when young hitters are finally starting to land the right swing.
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WASHINGTON — Atlanta turned a deficit into a statement win as Michael Harris II powered a comeback with two home runs.
Harris began the rally from a 4-1 deficit with a two-run homer, then followed with another to put the Braves ahead. Matt Olson also went deep, and the Braves matched their total of four-homer games from 2025 with multiple additional long balls.
The most important part for Atlanta wasn’t only the distance—it was the timing. Washington’s final homers came late, but the early damage had already been done in the second, third, and fourth innings.
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BOSTON — Max Fried kept New York in control, allowing just three hits over eight scoreless innings, as the Yankees extended their winning streak to five.
Amed Rosario sparked the scoring with a three-run first-inning homer, and Fried’s command helped Boston remain scoreless until the late stages. Jarren Duran ended Boston’s 29-inning scoreless drought against the Yankees with an RBI single in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.
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NEW YORK — Mark Vientos delivered the high-leverage hit that ended New York’s misery, snapping a 12-game losing streak with a tiebreaking single against Minnesota.
The game also carried injury tension. Juan Soto returned from a strained right calf, but shortstop Francisco Lindor left with left calf tightness. Even with two stars dealing with bumps, the lineup kept fighting—Byron Buxton tied it with a leadoff homer, and New York broke through in the eighth.
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Oneil Cruz delivered the hardest-hit homer of the majors this season, powering Pittsburgh to a win over Texas.
Cruz’s three-run shot off the top of the right-field foul pole in the ninth provided the punctuation for a late Pirates surge. Pittsburgh had already turned pressure into a lead in the middle innings, and once they got the advantage in the ninth, they protected it with bullpen efficiency.
This slate had a recurring theme across leagues: momentum swings are arriving faster than teams expect—whether it’s a streak that snowballs. a bullpen that holds firm. or a single swing that flips a game in the last chapter.. For contenders. Wednesday’s results weren’t just wins and losses; they were signals about form—and about who can seize the moment when the margin gets thin.