Cubs cruise past White Sox, 7-3

Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner each went 2-for-3 for the Chicago Cubs in a 7-3 win against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (4-2) gave up three runs on four hits and struck out eight in six innings for the Cubs, who have won the first two of the three-game series.

White Sox starter Sean Burke (2-5) gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

After the White Sox narrowed the Cubs' lead to 4-3 in the top of the fifth, the hosts responded in the bottom half. Swanson leaned into a fastball to send it 433 feet into the center field deck to push it to 5-3 with his 10th home run of the season.

Hoerner singled, went to second when Miguel Amaya reached on a throwing error, and scored on Vidal Brujan's ground-rule double to extend it to 6-3.

They added another in the eighth off reliever Mike Vasil. Swanson walked and stole second, and Hoerner drove him in with a single to make it 7-3.

Trailing by one, the Cubs grabbed the lead in the second. Swanson led off with a single and stole second with Moises Ballesteros at the plate. Ballesteros and Hoerner each drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Amaya put a line-drive single into left field to drive in Swanson and Ballesteros and put the Cubs ahead 2-1. After Hoerner and Amaya advanced on a ground-out, Pete Crow-Armstrong brought them home with a single to the gap in center to make it 4-1.

The White Sox narrowed it in the top of the third. Michael A. Taylor and Chase Meidroth each hit a one-out single and pulled off a double steal with Miguel Vargas batting. Taylor then scored on Vargas' sacrifice fly to left to cut it to 4-2.

Tim Elko pulled them within one in the fifth, sending a fastball over the center-field wall.

Meidroth gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, sending a fastball into the left field stands for his first major-league home run.

--Field Level Media