Each night in the 2016 baseball season, we'll run down the top news, facts and highlights from action around Major League Baseball.
Day in and day out, the Cubs are finding different ways to win, with many different heroes thanks to the most talented lineup in the majors.
Thursday night, a familiar hero, Anthony Rizzo, took the spotlight. The first baseman drew a bases-loaded walk off Cards reliever Zach Duke with two outs in the bottom of the 11th to score Willson Contreras and give the Cubs a 4-3 victory.
MORE: The 10 greatest Cubs players of all time
That extends the Cubs' season-long winning streak to 10 games.
But if not for Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery, Rizzo never would have had the chance for his heroics. Montgomery came out of the 'pen and pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four, to earn the victory.
The Cubs trailed 2-0 before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Cards tied it at 3 in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Rizzo's — and Montgomery's — extra-inning heroics.
MORE: SN's MLB scoreboard | Updated standings
The Cubs are now 72-41 on the season, the best record in the majors, and have a 13-game lead on the second-place Cardinals in the National League Central. If you're the gambling type, the prediction site fivethirtyeight.com rates the Cubs as favorites to win the World Series, with a 19 percent chance, followed by the Nationals (15 percent), and the Blue Jays and Indians (9 percent).
Player of the Day
Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates — Pittsburgh's highly touted rookie has lived up to his billing so far. In his 10th MLB start Thursday against the Padres, Taillon threw eight shutout innings, giving up only three hits and two walks and striking out four. Taillon is now 3-2 after the Pirates finished out the 4-0 victory. In 38 innings pitched over his last six starts, Taillon has a 1.89 ERA, which has lowered his season ERA to 2.85.
Highlight
Chris Coghlan asked for time, didn’t get it, and swung wildly at the last minute. It worked.
Three things to know
— Rockies left fielder David Dahl tied a 75-year-old MLB record when he extended his hitting streak to 17 games. That's the longest hitting streak to start a career since the Reds' Chuck Aleno hit in 17 straight in 1941.
— The Brewers became just the 16th team in MLB history to score in every inning in an 11-3 blowout of the Braves at Miller Park.
— The Astros ripped a season-high 19 hits, including four hits apiece by Jose Altuve and Marwin Gonzalez, to bash the Twins 15-7 in the first game of their doubleheader. Houston banged out 16 more hits in Game 2, a 10-2 victory.
What's next
Rays (46-67) at Yankees (58-56), 7:05 ET — After 22 major league seasons, 696 career home runs and plenty of tabloid headlines, this is it for Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod will face Chris Archer (6-15, 4.26 ERA) in his final (maybe) MLB appearance. His record is mixed against Archer; he has only two hits in 15 career at-bats — but they were both homers. CC Sabathia (6-9, 4.18 ERA) will get the ball for the home team.
Orioles (64-50) at Giants (65-49), 10:15 p.m. ET — The Orioles lead the majors in home runs. No park has seen fewer home runs this year than San Francisco's AT&T Park, which is allowing only 1.43 homers per game. Giants right-hander Matt Cain (4-6, 5.16 ERA) will try to keep the O's under wraps. Dylan Bundy gets the start for Baltimore. He's 5-3, with a 3.05 ERA, but has given up only two earned runs in his last 13 innings over two starts, both victories.