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Musgrove Wins 8th As Padres Sweep Cubs to Stand Alone Atop NL West

SportsMusgrove Wins 8th As Padres Sweep Cubs to Stand Alone Atop NL West

National League MLB BaseballJoe Musgrove moved into a tie for the MLB lead Thursday with his eighth win of the season. Photo credit: @Padres, via Twitter

The Padres completed their ambush of Chicago Thursday, sweeping their four-game series with the Cubs to give them sole possession of first place in the National League West.

With their 6-4 win to finish the series, they gained a half game on the idle Los Angeles Dodgers to break a first-place tie.

The victory followed games Tuesday and Wednesday in which the Friars put 31 runs on the board, including a 19-5 barrage.

Every player in the lineup Wednesday save José Azocar had a hit and an RBI, but things calmed down Thursday as Joe Musgrove posted his eighth win of the year.

With the victory, he joined four other pitchers – including Dodgers Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin – for the Major League lead. The El Cajon native went seven innings, striking out nine and giving up two runs.

Closer Taylor Rogers, though he gave up a run in his inning of work, also regained the MLB top spot for saves with 20.

The Cubs held a brief lead, 1-0 following a first inning homer from Christopher Morel, but the Padres answered with three runs in the second. Nomar Mazara homered and Jake Cronenworth doubled to drive in Trent Grisham and Jurickson Profar.

They added runs in the fourth and fifth, and in the eighth, Profar hit a solo shot to make the score 6-2. The Cubs crept closer, but it wasn’t enough, as the Padres swept Chicago in four games for the first time since August 2010.

“I think the [offense is] finally clicking,” Luke Voit told MLB.com. “It’s summertime. It was just a matter of time.”

The Padres move on to Colorado where MacKenzie Gore, Nick Martinez and Blake Snell are set to start. The team returns home June 20.

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