MIAMI (AP) — Seiya Suzuki homered twice and tripled, Shota Imanaga threw seven innings of two-run ball and the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 14-2 on Saturday.
A day after hitting an inside-the-park home run, Pete Crow-Armstrong went deep with a 437-foot drive into the upper deck seats for the Cubs.
Miguel Amaya had three hits and a walk. The Cubs’ catcher is 8 for 12 over his last three games. Patrick Wisdom also homered for Chicago, which finished with 17 hits.
Imanaga (10-3) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out three. It was the rookie left-hander’s seventh start of seven completed innings.
The Cubs (65-65) are 14-7 since July 31 and reached .500 for the first time since they were 31-31 on June 5.
The Marlins have lost eight of nine and dropped to an NL-worst 46-83.
Chicago struck quickly against Miami starter Valente Bellozo (2-2)-with Suzuki’s solo blast in the first. He drove Bellozo’s fastball over the wall in center.
Suzuki connected again off Bellozo in the third with a 446-foot shot for his third career multi-homer game and 18th of the season.
Crow-Armstrong’s two-run blast in the fifth made it 5-1. Later in the inning, a throwing error by Marlins reliever John McMillon allowed Amaya and Ian Happ to score.
Run-scoring doubles by Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger and Suzuki’s RBI triple in the seventh made it 10-2.
Imanaga retired the first nine until Miami’s Connor Norby homered to lead off the fourth. David Hensley also homered off Imanaga with a solo shot in the fifth.
Bellozo gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked five, struck out one and hit a batter.
Miami infielder Vidal Brujan pitched the ninth and allowed Wisdom’s two-run blast.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: INF Xavier Edwards (lower back discomfort) underwent an imaging test Saturday … Placed LHP Andrew Nardi (left elbow muscle) on the 15-day injured list and recalled RHP George Soriano from Triple-A Jacksonville.
UP NEXT
RHP Javier Assad (6-3, 3.11) will start the series finale for the Cubs on Sunday. RHP Adam Oller (0-1, 9.64) will go for the Marlins.