CHICAGO -- Starlin Castro got the ball back from his long drive in the fourth inning.
They used to keep his home-run balls in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. Not so much anymore.
Castro drove in three runs against his former team, Aaron Hicks tied a career high with four hits and the New York Yankees pounded Brett Anderson and the Chicago Cubs 11-6 on Saturday night.
"To come back here and hit a homer is pretty fun," Castro said. "It feels really good to come in here and compete against my ex-team."
Hicks connected for a three-run homer in the eighth inning as the AL East leaders (19-9) earned their fourth straight win, extending their surprising start. Jordan Montgomery (2-1) pitched into the seventh for his first road win in his fifth major league start.
"As guys come in, they're doing the job," manager Joe Girardi said. "We don't ever know where the offense is going to come, but you feel it'll come from more than just one spot in the order."
Castro, a three-time All-Star with the Cubs before he was traded to the Yankees in December 2015, hit an RBI double in New York's five-run first. He drove a 3-1 pitch from reliever Felix Pena deep into the bleachers in left for a two-run shot in the fourth, giving the Yankees an 8-0 lead.
As per the custom on visiting home runs at the Friendly Confines, a fan threw the ball back on the field.
"I spent really good times in Chicago, now I feel good," Castro said. "I feel good here."
Castro finished with three hits in his fifth straight multihit game, running his AL-best batting average to .381. Hicks has 10 hits in his last 20 at-bats.
Anderson (2-2) allowed hits to six of his first seven batters before he was pulled with one out in the first with lower back tightness. He also committed a throwing error that brought in a run.
There were a few boos from the crowd of 40,735 as Anderson walked off the mound with a trainer. The left-hander has recorded just five outs over his last two starts, allowing 12 runs and 13 hits.
"The last two starts here at home have been embarrassing from my perspective," he said.
Manager Joe Maddon said Anderson is likely headed for the disabled list. He mentioned Eddie Butler at Triple-A Iowa and Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery as possible candidates for Anderson's spot in the rotation.
The inconsistent performance by Chicago's starting pitchers led to a costly move right before the game, with the World Series champions designating reserve outfielder Matt Szczur for assignment to make room for another reliever.
Rob Zastryzny, who was promoted from Triple-A Iowa, pitched four innings, but Szczur likely is headed for a new team. He was drafted by the Cubs in 2010 and made his major league debut in 2014.
"Putting the pieces together, having to move Szczur out of here today because this may occur, that was the tough part of the day," Maddon said. "That's the part that lingers with you organizationally, as a manager, as a GM, as a president, that's the part that lingers.
"It's a lost ballgame, you throw it away, but when you have to lose a guy like Matty, that's the most difficult part of today."
The move underscored Maddon's concern about the stress on his bullpen. He also had backup catcher Miguel Montero work the ninth in his first pitching appearance since July 3 and the second of his career.
Montero threw one near the head of Chris Carter, patting his chest to acknowledge his mistake as he took a few steps toward the plate. Montero walked two and the Yankees had runners on second and third when Rob Refsnyder flied out to end the scoreless inning, drawing a big cheer from what was left of the crowd.
"Put a zero on the board. An ugly one, but a zero," a grinning Montero said.
NICE JOB, ROOK
The 6-foot-6 Montgomery walked four for the second straight start, but allowed just three runs and three hits in a career-high 6 2/3 innings.
"My changeup was the best it's been," he said. "It was good to have it back the way it's been most of my life. I threw it 3-2 counts, 2-0 counts, 1-2 counts. Basically any count, I threw it. It was good."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: OF Jacoby Ellsbury could return to the lineup for the series finale Sunday night. He bruised a nerve in his left elbow on Monday. "The plan is to shoot for tomorrow," Ellsbury said. "It's feeling a lot better, even from yesterday to today." Ellsbury walked as a pinch hitter and scored in the ninth inning of Friday's 3-2 win over the Cubs.
Cubs: OF Jason Heyward was out of the starting lineup with a sore knuckle on his right hand from a dive in the series opener.
UP NEXT
Jon Lester (1-1, 3.67 ERA) makes his 30th start against the Yankees in the series finale. The left-hander, who began his career with Boston, is 13-6 with a 3.78 ERA against New York. Luis Severino (2-2, 3.86 ERA) gets the ball for the Yankees after he was charged with five runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to Toronto on Monday.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap




Final
Series: Game 2 of 3

Yankees 11

(19-9, 7-6 away)

Cubs 6

(16-14, 7-8 home)





7:15PM,EDT,May 6,2017
Wrigley Field, Chicago,Illinois 

123456789 R H E
NYY 501200030 11 14 1
CHC 000020130 6 7 2
W: J. Montgomery (2-1)
L: B. Anderson (2-2)





View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-PitchInning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
New York - Top of 1stSCORE
Brett Anderson pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Gardner doubled to right.00
Hicks reached on bunt single to pitcher, Gardner scored on throwing error by pitcher Anderson.10
Castro doubled to right, Hicks scored.20
Judge struck out swinging.20
Sánchez singled to shallow left, Castro scored.30
Gregorius singled to left, Sánchez to second.30
Headley doubled to right, Sánchez and Gregorius scored, Headley to third advancing on throw.50
Peña relieved Anderson.50
Carter popped out to second.50
Montgomery struck out swinging.50
5 Runs, 6 Hits, 1 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 1stSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Zobrist struck out swinging.50
Bryant flied out to right.50
Rizzo grounded out to second.50
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 2ndSCORE
Felix Pena pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Gardner struck out looking.50
Hicks singled to left.50
Castro lined out to center.50
Hicks stole second.50
Judge popped out to second.50
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 2ndSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Russell lined out to center.50
Contreras lined out to right.50
Almora Jr. singled to left.50
Báez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Almora Jr. out at second.50
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 3rdSCORE
Felix Pena pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Sánchez reached on infield single to pitcher.50
Gregorius singled to right, Sánchez to second.50
Headley struck out swinging.50
Carter grounded into fielder's choice to third, Sánchez scored on error by third baseman Bryant, Gregorius to second.60
Montgomery grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Carter out at second.60
1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 3rdSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Peña walked.60
Jay lined out to left.60
Zobrist grounded out to catcher, Peña to second.60
Bryant grounded out to shortstop.60
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 4thSCORE
Felix Pena pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Gardner grounded out to pitcher.60
Hicks doubled to deep right.60
Castro homered to left (386 feet), Hicks scored.80
Judge grounded out to pitcher.80
Sánchez grounded out to shortstop.80
2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 4thSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Rizzo struck out swinging.80
Russell fouled out to first.80
Contreras struck out swinging.80
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 5thSCORE
Rob Zastryzny pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Zastryzny relieved Peña.80
Gregorius flied out to left.80
Headley grounded out to shortstop.80
Carter grounded out to second.80
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 5thSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Almora Jr. walked.80
Báez doubled to deep right, Almora Jr. to third.80
Zastryzny flied out to center.80
Jay grounded out to shortstop, Almora Jr. scored, Báez to third.81
Zobrist safe at second on throwing error by shortstop Gregorius, Báez scored.82
Bryant walked.82
Rizzo grounded out to second.82
2 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors
New York - Top of 6thSCORE
Rob Zastryzny pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Montgomery walked.82
Gardner lined out to center.82
Hicks grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Montgomery out at second.82
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 6thSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Russell flied out to left.82
Contreras flied out to center.82
Almora Jr. lined out to right.82
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 7thSCORE
Rob Zastryzny pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Castro walked.82
Judge flied out to center.82
Sánchez fouled out to shortstop.82
Gregorius walked, Castro to second.82
Headley struck out swinging.82
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 7thSCORE
Jordan Montgomery pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Báez grounded out to second.82
Zastryzny grounded out to pitcher.82
Jay walked.82
Zobrist tripled to left, Jay scored.83
Clippard relieved Montgomery.83
Bryant flied out to center.83
1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 8thSCORE
Rob Zastryzny pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Carter flied out to right.83
Refsnyder hit for Clippard.83
Refsnyder walked.83
Gardner singled to shallow left, Refsnyder to second.83
Hicks homered to left center (391 feet), Refsnyder and Gardner scored.113
Castro singled to left.113
Judge grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Castro out at second.113
3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 8thSCORE
Tommy Layne pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Layne relieved Clippard.113
Refsnyder at second base.113
Rizzo grounded out to pitcher.113
Russell tripled to left.113
Contreras walked.113
Almora Jr. grounded into fielder's choice to catcher, Contreras out at second.113
Báez singled to shallow left, Russell scored, Almora Jr. to third.114
Montero hit for Zastryzny.114
Báez to second on passed ball by Sánchez.114
Montero reached on infield single to second, Almora Jr. and Báez scored.116
Warren relieved Layne.116
Jay doubled to left, Montero to third.116
Zobrist struck out swinging.116
3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors
New York - Top of 9thSCORE
Miguel Montero pitching for ChicagoNYYCHC
Montero relieved Zastryzny.116
Sánchez walked.116
Gregorius grounded into fielder's choice to first, Sánchez out at second.116
Headley lined out to second.116
Gregorius to second on wild pitch by Montero.116
Carter walked.116
Refsnyder flied out to center.116
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 9thSCORE
Adam Warren pitching for New YorkNYYCHC
Torreyes at second base.116
Bryant flied out to right.116
Rizzo struck out swinging.116
Russell struck out swinging.116
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors





New York Yankees

HittersABRHRBIBBSO#PAVGOBPSLG
Gardner LF52200119.255.358.468
Hicks CF53430021.355.468.710
Castro 2B42331017.381.421.584
0000000.000.000.000
0000000.000.000.000
Judge RF50000122.320.416.773
Sánchez C42211020.179.258.286
Gregorius SS41201019.344.382.406
Headley 3B50120230.297.388.475
Carter 1B40001023.212.276.327
Montgomery P20001110.000.400.000
0000000.000.000.000
a-Refsnyder PH-2B
1100106.000.333.000
0000000.301.311.411
Totals391114965187   
a-walked for T Clippard in the 8th
BATTING
2B: Gardner (5, Anderson); Castro (5, Anderson); Headley (9, Anderson); Hicks (4, Peña)
HR: Castro (6, 4th inning off Peña 1 on, 1 Out); Hicks (6, 8th inning off Zastryzny 2 on, 1 Out)
RBI: Castro 3 (19), Sánchez (3), Headley 2 (11), Hicks 3 (15)
GIDP: Montgomery, Hicks, Judge
Yankees RISP: 5-14 (Sánchez 1-1, Headley 1-3, Refsnyder 0-1, Montgomery 0-2, Hicks 2-2, Carter 0-2, Castro 1-1, Judge 0-2)
Team LOB: 7
BASERUNNING
SB: Hicks (4, 2nd base off Peña/Contreras)
FIELDING
E: Gregorius (1, throw)
PB: Sánchez.

Game Notes

SP ANDERSON (LOWER BACK TIGHTNESS) LEFT TOP 1ST

Game Information

StadiumWrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Attendance40,735 (99.5% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time3:19
Weather50 degrees, clear
Wind10 mph
UmpiresHome Plate - Alan Porter, First Base - Joe West, Second Base - Hunter Wendelstedt, Third Base - Ryan Blakney