Carson Kelly crashes grand slam as Cubs thrash Blue Jays

Carson Kelly belted his second career grand slam to highlight his six-RBI performance, fueling the host Chicago Cubs to a 16-2 romp over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday afternoon.

Kelly belted his grand slam to highlight a seven-run first inning for the Cubs. He had an opportunity for another grand slam in the sixth, but settled for drawing a bases-loaded walk. Kelly also legged out an RBI infield single in the seventh.

Pete Crow-Armstrong collected an RBI single among his three hits and reached base in all five of his plate appearances. He has hit safely in nine consecutive games and 21 of his last 22.

Staked to an early lead, Ben Brown (4-2) allowed two runs on four hits in six innings to improve to 3-0 in his last four starts. Toronto starter Kevin Gausman (4-5) lasted just two innings and surrendered seven runs on seven hits and four walks.

Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman walked to open the first before Seiya Suzuki's double to right field plated them both to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. Ian Happ and Matt Shaw walked to load the bases before Kelly launched Gausman's first-pitch slider 428 feet into the left field bleachers.

Kelly's homer was his fourth of the season. His previous grand slam came on July 3, 2024, to help the Detroit Tigers to a 9-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Cubs were not done, however, as they produced three consecutive singles -- the last by Bregman -- to cap their seven-run first.

The Cubs banged out 18 hits en route to winning for the sixth time in eight games. Outfielder Justin Dean, making his major league debut as Armstrong's sub, ripped a three-run triple to highlight a five-run seventh.

George Springer had an RBI single in the third inning and a solo homer in the sixth for the Blue Jays, who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.

Springer's RBI single to left put Toronto on the scoreboard in the third. He then sent a 2-2 curveball from Brown over the wall in left to lead off the sixth, boosting his homer total to eight with his third in his last seven games. It marked Brown's first home run allowed since March 26, a stretch of 68 innings.

--Field Level Media