6/18 Morning Marquee: Cubs fall, Royals move into first place

The Chicago Cubs looked poised to take a second straight contest from the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, but a three-run blast by Garrett Jones in the bottom of the seventh broke the game open and send the North Siders back to the hotel looking for a rubber match win this afternoon.

In other MLB news, the Kansas City Royals moved into first place in a packed AL Central race with their ninth straight win – (the division is separated by a mere 5 1/2 games), Masahiro Tanaka continues to dominate big league hitters, earning his 11th win of the season for the Yankees and Angels outfielder Mike Trout continued his impressive season, clubbing two home runs in a win.

In other Cubs-related news, Jeff Samardzija and the organization are reportedly still talking about a contract extension – but nothing appears imminent.  Top pick Kyle Schwarber spent less than a week at short-season Boise, and was promoted to Class-A Kane County on Tuesday, as well.

Here’s the latest news from around the league:

Trout, Shoemaker lead Angels past Indians – ESPN

Tanaka tops Jays to earn Majors-best 11th victory – MLB.com

Cubs fall 6-5 as Miami rallies late – Cubbies Crib

Carrie Muskat: 6/17 Extra Bases – MLBlogs

Red Sox designate Sizemore for assignment – MLB.com