Morning Marquee: Cubs win series vs Nats; Javier Baez injured

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After dropping two-of-three games to the Miami Marlins to begin this road trip, the Chicago Cubs were able to take three-of-four from the Washington Nationals, defeating them by the score of 6-3 Sunday afternoon.

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With yesterday’s win, the Cubs picked up win No. 30 and kept them close to the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates and first-place St. Louis Cardinals. Joe Maddon‘s boys were all about playing small ball in the victory, recording a handful of RBI singles while Anthony Rizzo scored on a wild pitch that was delivered by Blake Treinen.

Kyle Hendricks – a man who has had some ups and downs to begin the year – worked six solid innings, holding this dangerous lineup to only three runs, two earned with four strikeouts and one home run. The lone home run of the series finale was a two-run shot by Ian Desmond during the bottom half of the second, giving Washington the 2-1 lead.

Meanwhile, some rather disappointing news broke about infield prospect, Javier Baez. Baez picked up his fifth start at third base for the Iowa Cubs while taking on the Memphis Redbirds and reportedly suffered a fractured finger while sliding on a steal attempt.

The 22-year-old slugger was on a bit of a tear with the Triple-A affiliate prior to the injury. In 137 at-bats, Javier recorded 44 hits, seven doubles, eight home runs, 29 RBI but has struck out 40 times while slashing .314/.386/.536.

He’s expected to miss anywhere between 4-to-8 weeks which should delay his return to the big league club. Chicago is lacking that extra power bat in either their lineup or on the bench since trading catcher Welington Castillo to the Seattle Mariners not too long ago.

Hopefully, he’s able to get right back on track once it fully heals and is called up sometime in mid to late-August.

So far this season, we’ve witnessed the debut’s of some of the biggest prospects in baseball history. In Chicago, you have both Kris Bryant and Addison Russell, Joc Pederson in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, Joey Gallo in Texas with the Rangers – now the Houston Astros will get a taste of the spotlight after calling up shortstop Carlos Correa.

Houston is currently on a four-game losing streak, dropping a series finale to the Baltimore Orioles last Thursday, only to fall three games to none while visiting the Toronto Blue Jays.

Here’s more from around the league:

Greinke Dominates, Bullpen Struggles, Dodgers Lose to Cardinals‘ – Lasorda’s Lair

Mariners Analysis: Who’s Hot And Who’s Not‘ – SoDo MoJo

Cubs Injury News: Javier Baez will miss significant time‘ – Cubbies Crib

Houston Let’s Celebrate Carlos Correa Is Joining Astros‘ – Climbing Tal’s Hill

Draft arrives as future stars set to make mark‘ – MLB.com

Next: A Look At Bullpen Options