Bryant scores go-ahead run in 8th, Cubs beat Marlins 4-3
CHICAGO (AP) Kris Bryant showed he can help win games with his legs as well as his booming bat.
Bryant hustled home with two late runs, sliding in safely on Victor Caratini's grounder to the right side in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Caratini wound up with the winning RBI, a few innings after the Cubs catcher got into a heated situation at home plate with Miami's Derek Dietrich.
Bryant, meanwhile, showed he can still be dangerous even when he's not knocking the ball around. He didn't have a hit in this one after belting homers in back-to-back games. But he came through in a big way on the bases.
''He's a great base-runner, he's probably one of the best in the league,'' Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. ''He shows that time and time again. It gets overshadowed because of everything else he does. But his base-running is something every young player should look at.''
Bryant drew a leadoff walk from Kyle Barraclough (0-2) in the eighth, took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on Rizzo's grounder.
With the infield playing in, Caratini hit a grounder to second baseman Starlin Castro, who took his time and threw a bit wide and high to the plate, allowing Bryant to easily score .
Bryant came in with the tying run in the sixth when he got hit by a pitch from Jose Urena and scored when Caratini grounded into a force.
Caratini was in the middle of a tense moment in the fourth, when Dietrich got thrown out by right fielder Ben Zobrist attempting to score from second on Lewis Brinson's single.
Dietrich ran into Caratini after the ball easily beat him to the plate. The two exchanged words as the dugouts and bullpens emptied, but there appeared to be no punches. There were no ejections, either.
Bryant even added some levity to the situation when he tickled Castro, the longtime Cub.
''He was out by 15 feet,'' Caratini said through an interpreter. ''That's just where the play took me. I didn't really like the way he shoved me. That's what I told him.''
Dietrich said they collided because Caratini moved in front of the plate.
''I was surprised we even cleared the benches for that one, but at least I know our guys are ready to roll,'' he said somewhat in jest.
Carl Edwards Jr. (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth, and Brandon Morrow retired all three batters in the ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.
Miami's Justin Bour homered in a three-run first against Jen-Ho Tseng. Chicago's David Bote delivered a pinch-hit two-run double in the second, giving him the second hit and first RBIs of his career.
Called up from Triple-A Iowa with Yu Darvish on the 10-day disabled list because of the flu, Tseng allowed three runs in two innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He gave up four hits and struck out three in his second major league start and third appearance.
Urena gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander is winless in eight starts.
QUOTABLE
''I thought we were aggressive in the first and after that it felt like we were holding on.'' - Marlins manager Don Mattingly.
CUBS MOVES
Besides Tseng, the Cubs also recalled Bote and left-hander Rob Zastryzny while optioning right-hander Cory Mazzoni to Iowa.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: RF Jason Heyward was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list. The five-time Gold Glove winner banged his head against the right-field wall trying to rob Dexter Fowler of a game-ending homer at St. Louis on Sunday. Heyward sat out Monday's 14-2 win over Miami. ... The Cubs held infielder Javier Baez (tight groin) out of the lineup, though he hit a pinch-hit single in the seventh and remained in the game at third.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Wei-Yin Chen (1-1, 4.82 ERA) makes his third start since returning from a strained left elbow. Chen lasted four innings in a loss to Cincinnati on Friday.
Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana (3-2, 4.99) looks to return the favor after getting pounded at Miami for six runs in six innings on April 1. He is coming off a loss at St. Louis after winning his previous two starts.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
