CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking two-run home run for his first major league hit, and the Chicago Cubs swept the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.
Nico Hoerner had three hits and Mike Tauchman went 1 for 1 with three walks as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Hayden Wesneski (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win in relief of Javier Assad.
Houston has lost a season-high five in a row and eight of nine overall. At 7-19, it is off to its worst 26-game start since it was 6-20 in 1969.
First-year Manager Joe Espada was ejected by plate umpire Jansen Visconti in the top of the ninth.
"I just did not agree with his strike zone all day," Espada said after his first ejection as a big league skipper.
Crow-Armstrong was recalled from Class AAA Iowa when Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with two fractured ribs. The 22-year-old outfielder, who is considered one of the team's top prospects, made his big league debut last year and went 0 for 14 while appearing in 13 games.
He picked a perfect time for his first major league hit.
Houston had a 1-0 lead before Dansby Swanson scampered home on a fielder's choice grounder for Miguel Amaya in the sixth.
Espada then replaced Rafael Montero (0-1) with Bryan Abreu, who threw a wild pitch with Crow-Armstrong trying to sacrifice Amaya to second. Crow-Armstrong then drove his next pitch deep to right, delighting the crowd of 29,876 at Wrigley Field.
"It felt good to get it out of the way and it came at a great moment," said Crow-Armstrong, who was mobbed by his teammates when he returned to the dugout. "That was by far the best part -- getting to embrace the people who've been in my corner."
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 7, PIRATES 5 Gary Sanchez hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift Milwaukee to a win over Pittsburgh and a series split. Sanchez drove an 0-2 sinker from Aroldis Chapman (0-2) 371 feet to right with two outs, putting the Brewers ahead 6-5.
DODGERS 2, NATIONALS 1 Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six shutout innings, and Los Angeles defeated Washington to complete a three-game sweep. Teoscar Hernandez homered for the Dodgers, who matched a season high with fourth consecutive wins. Joey Meneses had three hits for Washington, which was swept for the first time this season.
PHILLIES 5, REDS 0 Bryce Harper homered in his return to the lineup following the birth of his third child, and Philadelphia beat Cincinnati for their second shutout win in splitting a four-game series. Zack Wheeler (2-3) allowed one hit in six innings. He struck out eight and walked four, extending his scoreless steak to 13 1/3 innings.
ROCKIES 10, PADRES 9 Elias Diaz capped Colorado's six-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking RBI double, and the Rockies beat San Diego. Elehuris Montero and Hunter Goodman homered for Colorado, which earned a split of the four-game series. Brenton Doyle and Brendan Rodgers each had three of the Rockies' 14 hits.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ATHLETICS 3, YANKEES 1 Mason Miller retired Aaron Judge with a runner on for his first four-out save, and Oakland beat New York for a four-game split. Nick Allen and Tyler Nevin homered in the third inning off Nestor Cortes (1-2), and Alex Wood (1-2) escaped bases-loaded trouble in the first and fourth innings.
GUARDIANS 6, RED SOX 4 Jose Ramirez belted his sixth career grand slam and had three hits, Will Brennan had a home run and Cleveland beat Boston. Cleveland has the best record in the American League at 18-7 and matched the second-best mark in franchise history through 25 games.
ROYALS 2, BLUE JAYS 1 Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run in the first inning, Cole Ragans (1-2) held Toronto in check long enough for the rain to arrive, and Kansas City beat the Blue Jays in a game called after five innings and a long weather delay.
TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 3 The Chicago White Sox dropped to 3-22, wasting a two-run lead and stretching their losing streak to a season-high seven with a defeat to Minnesota as Edouard Julien hit two of the Twins' five home runs.
Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez (13) celebrates with Vinnie Pasquantino (9) after they scored on Perez's two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Fans shelter from rain as they watch from a concourse during the third inning of a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Chicago outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong reacts Thursday after hitting a two-run home run — his first major league hit — that turned out to be the game-winner in the Cubs’ 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (AP/Nam Y. Huh)