OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Hendricks pitched into the eighth inning for his fifth win since June and the Chicago Cubs beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler both homered off A's starter Sean Manaea (3-7). Bryant's home run was his 27th this season, one more than the two-time All-Star had in 2015 when he was the NL's rookie of the year.
The Cubs' seventh straight win improved them to a major league-best 69-41 and marked their 10th series sweep this season. That topped their mark from a year ago, and increased their lead in the NL Central to 11 1/2 games over St. Louis.
Hendricks (11-7) was dominant against an A's team that had dropped seven of eight going into the day. Chicago's right-hander allowed three hits over 7 1/3 innings, struck out four and retired 17 straight before Marcus Semien's one-out home run in the eighth.
Hendrick lowered his ERA to 2.17, second-lowest in the majors among qualifiers behind the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw
Pedro Strop retired two batters and Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his third save since arriving in a trade from the New York Yankees on July 25.
Bryant and Soler finished with two hits apiece for the Cubs. Bryant homered leading off the sixth while Soler — who homered in the series-opener Friday after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day — hit his seventh home run this season leading off the seventh.
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Anthony Rizzo added an RBI double in the eighth.
The A's had not scored in 19 consecutive innings before Semien hit his 23rd home of the year, a towering solo shot that ended Hendricks' day.
Menaea bounced back from a rough outing against the Angels but remained winless since June 29. The rookie left-hander allowed two runs over six-plus innings, struck out four and walked two.