Cubs pound Mariners behind 3 homers

Nicholas Castellanos hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber added solo shots, and the Chicago Cubs cruised to a 6-1 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. Contreras went deep in his first game back from a stint on the injured list because of a right hamstring strain. Ben Zobrist also enjoyed a successful return to the Cubs as he went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs in his first appearance since leaving the team in early May because of personal reasons.

Chicago wrapped up a two-game sweep against the Mariners and finished with a 12-8 record in interleague play this season. Seattle loaded the bases in the first, fourth and sixth innings but failed to score each time. The Mariners were outscored 11-2 during the series and have lost seven of their past nine games.

Cubs left-hander Jon Lester (12-9) pitched in and out of trouble to win his second straight start. He gave up six hits, walked four and struck out nine across six scoreless innings. Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (1-5) allowed two runs on two hits in three innings. He walked four and struck out five.

The Cubs opened the scoring in the second on Contreras' mammoth home run to left-center field. He turned on a 1-1 curveball and drove it an estimated 450 feet for his 20th homer, which is one shy of his career high. Castellanos added a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 2-0. He scored Zobrist, who led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third base on a double by Schwarber.

In the fifth, Castellanos struck again with a three-run shot to push the lead to 5-0. Zobrist reached on a bunt single and Schwarber singled to center before Castellanos went deep for his 23rd homer of the season and his 12th since Chicago acquired him July 31. Schwarber clubbed a homer to right field to lead off the seventh. It was his 33rd homer, adding to his career high. The Mariners avoided a shutout when Dee Gordon scored on Daniel Vogelbach's single in the eighth.

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