Bote's bat, Montgomery's arm lift Cubs past Royals

[August 08, 2018]  David Bote drove in three runs and Mike Montgomery pitched six-plus scoreless innings as the visiting Chicago Cubs defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Bote had a two-run triple in the first inning and a run-scoring grounder in the fifth for his first career three-RBI game. He also scored a run in the eighth inning on an Ian Happ sacrifice fly.

Montgomery (4-4) won a start for the first time since June 29, going 0-3 with two no-decisions in that stretch. The left-hander gave up five hits with two walks and four strikeouts, and was replaced after giving up a single to Adalberto Mondesi to lead off the seventh.

Carl Edwards Jr., Jesse Chavez and Justin Wilson each pitched an inning in relief to complete the shutout. The Royals had six singles Tuesday after collecting eight singles Monday against Cubs pitching.

The Cubs have the best record in the National League and moved to a season-best 19 games over .500 at 66-47 after reaching 18 games over on six different occasions.

Royals rookie starter Brad Keller (4-5) gave up four runs on seven hits with three walks over six innings. He struck out four batters one outing after recording a career-best nine strikeouts.

The Cubs' Ben Zobrist doubled and scored a run on Bote's first-inning double and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Zobrist was playing in just his second game at Kansas City since winning the World Series with the Royals in 2015.

Cubs third baseman David Bote (13) hits a two run triple in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Bote, who is in his fifth stint with the Cubs this season, went 2-for-3 on Tuesday and is 15-for-35 (.429) over his last 14 games with an at-bat. He has played just 29 games for the Cubs this season.

The Royals lost their sixth consecutive game and have lost eight times in the last 10 games. The Royals are 0-2 on a season-long 10-game homestand that also includes matchups with the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Cubs improved to 10-4 against the American League this season and 14-9 all-time against the Royals, going back to 1997.

Montgomery made his 13th start to join fellow lefties Jon Lester and Jose Quintana with at least that many starts. It is the first time in Cubs history a trio of left-handers has made at least 13 starts in consecutive seasons, going back to 1876.

--Field Level Media

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