Nothing separated the teams on the scoreboard until the third inning, and by then Matt Boyd had already established the tone. The left-hander worked six innings without allowing a run, striking out seven on 93 pitches, and the Chicago Cubs never trailed in a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night at Camden Yards.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| BAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Boyd allowed just three hits and two walks across his six-inning effort, earning his fourth win of the season against one loss, with a 4.31 ERA. The Cubs' bullpen covered the final three innings, allowing two runs, with Trent Thornton recording his second save of the season by working a scoreless ninth.
Alex Bregman provided the offensive backbone, going 2-for-5 with two RBI. In the third, Amaya scored on Bregman's single to center, giving Chicago a lead it would not relinquish. Bregman added another RBI in the fifth when he grounded into a fielder's choice and Amaya scored — a call that was initially ruled differently before the Cubs challenged and had it overturned. Miguel Amaya was a constant presence on the bases, scoring three times in three at-bats while also drawing a walk. Dansby Swanson added a run-scoring single in the eighth as Nico Hoerner crossed the plate to push the lead to 5-2.
Shane Baz absorbed the loss for Baltimore, falling to 4-9. He allowed three runs on six hits over six innings, walking three and striking out three on 100 pitches. The Orioles managed their only offense in the seventh, when Adley Rutschman singled to right and both Blaze Alexander and Samuel Basallo scored to cut the deficit to 4-2, but the Cubs answered with an insurance run in the eighth.
Chicago improved to 51-40 and has won two straight. Baltimore dropped to 42-50, losing for the second consecutive game.