Miguel Vargas and Edgar Quero each hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 on Wednesday.

Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel also went deep as last-place Chicago won the rain-delayed rubber game of the three-game series. 

Luis Robert Jr. and Mike Tauchman each had three hits, and Mike Vasil (5-3) pitched four scoreless innings.

White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi robbed Bryce Harper of a potential three-run homer with a leaping grab at the wall for the final out of the eighth.

The White Sox improved to 8-4 since the All-Star break.

The White Sox head west for the opener of a three-game set at the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Michael Busch homered on the game's first pitch, Moisés Ballesteros hit a bases-clearing double and the Chicago Cubs trounced the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Milwaukee leads Chicago by one game in the NL Central. The teams meet once more this season, a five-game series at Chicago from Aug. 18-21.

Ian Happ homered, Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3 for 4 with two doubles and Kyle Tucker was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Cubs.

Milwaukee's William Contreras had his fifth career two-homer game. The two-time All-Star had homered just once since May 23.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (8-4) struck out eight, walked none and gave up three runs and five hits in five innings.

Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta (12-5), who had won his last seven starts, allowed a season-high five runs in four innings.

Cade Horton (4-3, 3.67) pitches for the Cubs on Friday in the opener of a series against visiting Baltimore. 

Jesús Sánchez hit a two-run homer in the third inning, Cal Quantrill pitched five innings and the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 on Wednesday night.

The Marlins have won 10 of 13 overall and 17 of their last 22 on the road.

Quantrill (4-8) gave up three hits and two walks and struck out three.

The Cardinals were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

The Cardinals hadn't announced a starter for their game Friday night at San Diego. Nick Pavetta (10-3, 2.81 ERA) was set to pitch for the Padres.

The Chicago Cubs acquired right-hander Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night, adding a veteran starter as they pursue an NL Central title.

Washington received two minor leaguers: infielder Ronny Cruz and outfielder Christian Franklin.

An All-Star in 2019 with Atlanta, the 27-year-old Soroka is 3-8 with a 4.87 ERA this season for the Nationals, who signed him to a one-year, $9 million contract in the offseason. He should provide depth in the Cubs’ rotation behind Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga.

The Canadian is 20-26 with a 3.91 ERA in six major league seasons. He tore his right Achilles tendon on a routine fielding play in 2020, then injured the same tendon while walking into Atlanta’s ballpark the following year. He missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Soroka went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA last season for the Chicago White Sox.

The Cubs trail the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers by one game after beating them 10-3 earlier Wednesday. Chicago gave a contract extension on Monday to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who has assembled an entertaining squad led by breakout star Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Cubs have not won a playoff series since 2017, the year after they won their first World Series in 108 years.

The busy New York Mets remade the back end of their injury-depleted bullpen with two significant trades Wednesday, acquiring Tyler Rogers from San Francisco and Ryan Helsley from St. Louis.

New York landed Helsley from the Cardinals for three minor leaguers: infielder Jesus Baez, right-hander Nate Dohm and right-hander Frank Elissalt.

The trades came five days after the Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto, a two-time All-Star, from Baltimore for two minor league pitchers. New York leads the NL East by a half-game over rival Philadelphia.

The 31-year-old Helsley, a two-time All-Star, is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves this season. He has struck out 41 batters and walked 14 in 36 innings.

Helsley led the majors with 49 saves in 2024 and won the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award. He is 31-15 with a 2.67 ERA and 105 saves in seven big league seasons — all with the Cardinals.

Austin Slater is heading to the New York Yankees, giving them another right-handed bat they can plug into a part-time role down the stretch.

The active Yankees acquired the veteran outfielder from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in exchange for minor league pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.

New York had a pressing need to bolster its outfield ranks with star slugger Aaron Judge sidelined by a flexor strain in his right elbow.

The well-traveled Slater can play all three outfield positions. He spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with San Francisco before being traded to Cincinnati last summer. New York will be Slater’s fifth team in just over a year.

The Yankees will assume $573,925 of Slater’s remaining $1.75 million salary, which also will increase their luxury tax by about $631,000.

The last-place White Sox scratched right-hander Adrian Houser from his scheduled start Wednesday against Philadelphia. But center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — another player who could be on the move ahead of the deadline — was in the lineup.

Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman who became one of baseball’s best all-around players while starring for the Chicago Cubs, has died. He was 65.

Sandberg was surrounded by his family when he died at his home on Monday, according to the team.

Sandberg announced in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. He had chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and then said in August 2024 that he was cancer-free.

But he posted on Instagram on Dec. 10 that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs. He announced this month that he was still fighting, while “looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends.”

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Sandberg “will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise.”

Sandberg was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. He was selected out of high school by Philadelphia in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft.

He made his major league debut in 1981 and went 1 for 6 in 13 games with the Phillies. In January 1982, he was traded to Chicago along with Larry Bowa for veteran infielder Ivan De Jesus.

It turned into one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history.

Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 344 steals in 15 years with Chicago. He made 10 All-Star teams — winning the Home Run Derby in 1990 — and took home nine Gold Gloves.

He was the NL MVP in 1984, batting .314 with 19 homers, 84 RBIs, 32 steals, 19 triples and 114 runs scored. Chicago won the NL East and Sandberg hit .368 (7 for 19) in the playoffs, but the Cubs were eliminated by San Diego after winning the first two games of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field.

Chicago paid tribute to Sandberg and that game when it unveiled a statue of the infielder outside Wrigley Field on that date in 2024.

Sandberg led Chicago back to the playoffs in 1989, hitting .290 with 30 homers as the Cubs won the NL East. He batted .400 (8 for 20) in the NLCS, but Chicago lost to San Francisco in five games.

Sandberg set a career high with an NL-best 40 homers in 1990 and drove in a career-best 100 runs in 1990 and 1991, but he never made it back to the postseason. When he retired after the 1997 season, he had hit the most homers as a second baseman in major league history.

Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, receiving 76.2% of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his third try on the ballot. The Cubs retired his No. 23 that same year.

Sandberg also managed in the minors with Chicago and Philadelphia before he became the third base coach for the Phillies. He was promoted to interim manager when Charlie Manuel was fired in August 2013, and he had a 119-159 record when he resigned with the Phillies in the middle of a difficult 2015 season.

In a game heard on WHOW, Luis Robert Jr. and Colson Montgomery homered to help the Chicago White Sox beat Cristopher Sánchez and the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Monday night.

Davis Martin pitched six-hit ball into the sixth inning as Chicago improved to 7-3 since the All-Star break. Lenyn Sosa had three hits, including a run-scoring single.

The last-place White Sox need two more wins to match their total from all of last year, when they went 41-121 to break the modern major league record for most losses in a season.

Bryce Harper had two hits and two RBIs for Philadelphia, which dropped to 2-2 on a six-game trip. Kyle Schwarber walked three times, and Brandon Marsh finished with two hits.

Sánchez (9-3) allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in his first loss since June 8. The wiry left-hander went 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA in his previous seven starts.

Sánchez was staked to a 2-0 lead on Harper’s two-run double in the third inning. But Montgomery responded with a two-run drive in the bottom half.

Montgomery’s 395-foot shot to right was the rookie’s fourth homer in his last six games. It also was the first homer for a lefty batter off Sánchez this season.

Robert made it 4-2 with his 11th homer, another two-run shot that drifted over the wall in right in the fourth. The center fielder went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts a day after he was hit by a 101.1 mph fastball in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Cubs.

Martin (3-8) struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings in his first win since May 14.

The White Sox tacked on two runs in the eighth on singles by Sosa and Montgomery.

Robert Jr. had a web-gem in the top of the fourth inning.

Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo (8-5, 4.58 ERA) starts on Tuesday night, and right-hander Jonathan Cannon (4-7, 4.48 ERA) takes the mound for the White Sox. Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

In a game heard on WHOW, Colson Montgomery hit a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run double in the eighth, rallying the Chicago White Sox to an 11-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

Kyle Teel launched his first major league homer for the White Sox, who trailed 4-0 after the first and 7-5 through seven. He finished with four hits and scored three times.

Chicago (37-66) took two of three games from the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field to complete a 5-1 trip. Tampa Bay (53-50) has lost 11 of 16.

Montgomery, a rookie shortstop called up to the majors on July 4, connected off starter Taj Bradley for his second big league homer and set a career high with five RBIs.

Tampa Bay opened the bottom of the first with four straight hits off Jonathan Cannon, including two-run homers by Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero.

Handed a 4-0 lead, however, Bradley gave up four runs in the second and didn’t get through the inning. He was optioned to Triple-A Durham after the game.

Chicago trailed 7-5 before scoring six times in the eighth. RBI singles by Mike Tauchman and Chase Meidroth capped the outburst.

Jordan Leasure (3-5) worked a scoreless seventh for the win. Dan Altavilla got three outs for his third major league save and second this season.

Rays reliever Kevin Kelly (0-2) entered with a two-run lead and got only one out. He was charged with six runs, five earned, four hits and two walks.

Cannon regrouped to strike out a career-high nine over 4 1/3 innings, but was tagged for six runs - five earned - and seven hits.

Luis Robert, Jr. had an RBI single in the second to cut the White Sox deficit to 4-1.

The White Sox host the crosstown-rival Chicago Cubs on Friday night, with Adrian Houser (5-2, 1.89 ERA) on the mound. Hear the Sox all weekend on WHOW. 

In a game heard on WHOW, Brooks Baldwin hit a three-run homer, Miguel Vargas added a two-run shot and the Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 on Monday night for their season-high fourth straight win.

Coming off a sweep at Pittsburgh, Chicago has won four consecutive games for the first time since May 8-11, 2024. The White Sox are 15-36 on the road.

Baldwin gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead in the second.

Vargas made it 8-2 with a two-run homer in the fifth. It was Vargas' second homer in two games after a 96 at-bat drought.

Luis Robert Jr. had a two-run single and Chase Meidroth had three hits.

Chicago hasn't named a starter for Tuesday's game. RHP Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 2.86) will pitch for the Rays. Hear tonight's game on WHOW. 

Willson Contreras homered drove in two runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 victory over the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

The Cardinals ended a three-game losing streak after being swept by Arizona while the Rockies marked their 100th game with their 76th loss.

Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado hit doubles and joined Jordan Walker with two hits apiece in a 15-hit night. Masyn Winn and Contreras had three hits each.

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the third, but Contreras hit a solo homer and Winn doubled in Arenado to tie the game in the fourth. Contreras gave St. Louis the lead for good with an RBI single in the fifth.

The Cardinals extended their lead on a single by Pedro Pagés and Donovan's sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Michael McGreevy (2-1), recalled on Monday to make the start, went seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Cardinals RHP Erick Fedde (3-9, 4.83 ERA) faces Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (0-2, 9.97) on Tuesday night.

Salvador Perez homered twice and drove in four runs, Jac Caglianone and John Rave added solo shots and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 12-4 on Monday night.

Chicago’s Matt Shaw and Carson Kelly went deep off Noah Cameron (4-4) in the second, but the rookie lefthander was in control for most of the first six innings. He allowed all four Cubs runs and seven hits while striking out six to help the Royals win their second straight.

Ben Brown (4-7), recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Iowa, replaced opener Ryan Brasier in the second and gave up six earned runs and seven hits while striking out four over the next four innings. Caglianone had a solo shot off Brown in the second and Perez added a two-run homer in the fourth.

Kansas City got RBI hits from Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr. to start a four-run fifth. The two scored on a throwing error and wild pitch, respectively.

The top third of the Cubs’ order - Nico Hoerner, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki - was a combined 0 for 11.

Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (10-3, 2.34 ERA) makes his first post-All Star break appearance Tuesday. Kansas City has not named a starter.

The Lincoln football program is getting a heavy dose of competition this summer during the July 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 competitive seasons.

Coach Matt Silkowski hopes an increase in its numbers this year will somewhat mitigate a largely inexperienced group. He has strong numbers up front with good experience. While he doesn't have the experience in the skill positions and secondary, he is optimistic an increase in athletes this year will create good internal competition. 

Learning is truly the name of the game this summer for Coach Silkowski and his program. He indicates he is very inexperienced and young. He hopes to introduce a lot of that inexperience to what he calls, how high school football works. 

With several more competitions on its schedule this month, the Railsplitters will scrimmage with Pleasant Plains on Aug. 22 before opening the season at Springfield Lanphier on Aug. 29.

The July high school football scrimmage season is in full swing and Clinton High School got its competitive season going this week.

There's a lot to do this month getting ready for the late-August kick-off of the high school football season. Coach Ron Bass has a pretty inexperienced team this year, and on top of that, he is installing a lot of new things with his kids.

On top of doing a lot of teaching of new schemes, Coach Bass says they are also trying to coach up a very young and inexperienced group.

While 7-on-7 competitions are passing-based competitions and Clinton will be a run-first team, Coach Bass believes there's a lot to learn from the experience.

The Maroons opened up the competitive 7-on-7 schedule hosting Lincoln on Monday. They hosted Tri-Valley for an early 11-on-11 competition on Tuesday morning.

Clinton will participate in another 7-on-7 next week at Monticello.

The Maroons host Central A&M to open the football season on Aug. 29.

The Lincoln High School football team made the playoffs for the first time in 40 last fall.

This summer, ninth-year coach Matt Silkowski is hoping to build up some inexperienced players through the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 season. Last night, the Railsplitters were at a two-team event at Sprague Field at Clinton High School.

Coming off last season's excitement, Coach Silkowski indicates his offensive and defensive lines will carry the burden of leading the team this year. The Railsplitters bring back a lot of experience on both lines. 

Because of inexperience in the skill positions, Coach Silkowski is challenging his team this summer through the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 schedule.

Even though it was a two-team event, lineman challenges were going on on the side during the 7-on-7 competition.