The Chicago Cubs battered San Diego to the tune of a 23-3 score that would have seemed more appropriate for an old Bears-Chargers matchup.

Then, in their very next game, they lost to St. Louis 17-1.

The Cubs have been a tough team to figure out this season. By May 9 they already had two separate 10-game winning streaks and were 15 games over .500. Then a week later they began a 10-game losing streak. Chicago now is 10 games over .500 but trails the Milwaukee Brewers by six games atop the NL Central.

Dansby Swanson hit three home runs with eight RBIs as the Cubs produced their most runs at home since 1977. San Diego catcher Rodolfo Duran pitched the final two innings, allowing eight runs.

After a day off, Chicago looked like a completely different team, when David Peterson allowed 10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Cardinals.

Perhaps it simply was a case of Chicago facing two opponents heading in different directions. The blowout loss was part of an eight-game losing streak for the Padres. Meanwhile, the Cardinals took two of three at Wrigley Field and have won five of their last seven overall.

The Cubs have been one of baseball’s better offensive teams despite a quiet season from new addition Alex Bregman. Pete Crow-Armstrong has 19 homers, 23 steals and a .910 OPS.

Trivia time

Crow-Armstrong is tied for the major league lead in homers plus stolen bases with 42. Which player is he tied with, and who led the majors in that stat last year?

Late dramatics

The Cubs lead the majors with 10 walk-off victories this season, and the crosstown White Sox are second with seven. But two of the biggest walk-off wins came against Chicago.

Brayan Rocchio hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Cleveland a 6-5 victory over the White Sox. Then Kahlil Watson hit a game-winning RBI single the following night in the 10th for a 4-3 triumph.

The first-place White Sox have been one of the game’s biggest stories this year, but even after Chicago took the last two games of the four-game set, Cleveland only is a game behind in the AL Central.

Performance of the week

Eury Pérez pitched seven perfect innings, then was pulled by Miami manager Clayton McCullough. The move nearly blew up in McCullough’s face, but the Marlins held on to beat the Athletics 9-8 after almost squandering an 8-0 lead.

Part of McCullough’s explanation was that he was thinking long term, with the Marlins hoping to play beyond the regular season. And it probably is time for the rest of baseball to take Miami seriously as a playoff contender. The Marlins are percentage points behind St. Louis for the third wild card, and they have the second-best run differential in the NL East.

Pérez has allowed two runs in 17 innings since returning from a leg injury.

Comeback of the week

The Houston Astros rallied from a 7-2 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-8. Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win it. That snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Rays, who now lead the New York Yankees by four games atop the AL East.

Houston is 45-47 but just 2 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West and one game out of a wild card.

Trivia answer

Bobby Witt Jr. has 12 home runs and 30 steals.

Last year’s leader was Juan Soto (43 homers, 38 steals).

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ranger Suarez was unable to pitch in the 2024 All-Star Game because of back stiffness, and there is a chance the Boston Red Sox left-hander will miss the July 14 event in Philadelphia because of a groin injury.

Suarez, named an American League All-Star, left a 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels because of left-adductor tightness, an injury he said he suffered on a pitch to Jo Adell with two outs in the third inning.

Suarez probably aggravated the injury when he jumped for Adell’s chopper over the mound, a ball that went for an infield single. Interim manager Chad Tracy and a team trainer came to the mound, where Suarez threw one warmup pitch to test the leg before immediately heading for the visiting dugout.

“With that pitch that I threw, I felt a big pinch around the groin area,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “I tried to throw another pitch, but I still felt it, so I came out.”

Suarez, who signed a five-year, $130-million free-agent deal with the Red Sox last winter, said he could not recall suffering a similar injury. He underwent treatment during the game but said the injury “felt the same” by the time he spoke to reporters 2 1/2 hours later.

Is the injured list a possibility?

“Yeah, it’s only been two hours,” said Suarez, who is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA this season. “The training staff wants to see how I feel tomorrow and the next day, and then we’ll make a decision on where we go from there.”

Tracy said the team will wait to see how Suarez feels in the next day or two before sending him out for an MRI test.

“Any time you see adductor, groin tightness, you’re always concerned,” Tracy said. “Sometimes things like this will pop up, then you check the next day, and they get better quickly. It’s hard to say right now until we see how he feels coming out of it.”

If Suarez goes on the injured list, Red Sox teammate Sonny Gray, who was not named to the All-Star team despite his 10-1 record and 2.61 ERA, could be added to the AL club.

“Right now, I’m not thinking about that,” Suarez said. “For me, the most important thing is to be as healthy as possible for the second half. I’m not thinking about anything other than that.”

SEATTLE — Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer could make his return from the family medical emergency list, manager John Schneider said.

The four-time All-Star went on the paternity list, welcoming the birth of his third child. The paternity leave expired, so the Blue Jays moved him to the family medical emergency list. But Schneider confirmed everything was well and the move was to give their leadoff hitter more time.

He is expecting Springer to be available for its road trip to San Francisco.

“I think he’s going to travel tomorrow,” Schneider said after Toronto’s 4-0 loss to Seattle. “That was the tentative plan. So, just got to confirm that with him.”

Springer, 36, is slashing .221/.308/.373 with eight homers and 21 RBIs.

Right-hander Max Scherzer was in Seattle after making a rehab start in High-A Vancouver. Schneider confirmed that the 41-year-old three-time Cy Young winner will make another rehab start or two before being activated off the 15-day injured list since June 17 because of back spasms.

CLEVELAND — White Sox rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte, the slugger’s final step before rejoining Chicago’s lineup after being out with a right hamstring injury.

Murakami has been sidelined since suffering a Grade 2 strain on May 29, when he got hurt trying to beat out a double play grounder against Detroit. At the time of his injury, Murakami was tied for the AL lead in homers and was first in runs.

He’s been traveling with the White Sox and following a 7-6 win over the Guardians, manager Will Venable said Murakami will leave to play with the Knights. If all goes well, it’s possible he could be back with Chicago before the All-Star break.

“I’m just really happy that I am able to get back to playing baseball,” Murakami said through an interpreter.

The 26-year-old Murakami is batting .240 with 20 homers, 43 runs and 41 RBIs in his first season with the White Sox, who signed the Japanese free agent to a two-year, $34-million contract in December.

Chicago has been one of baseball’s biggest surprises this season and the White Sox managed to stay near the top of the AL Central without Murakami. In splitting the four-game series with Cleveland, Chicago moved back into first by one game.

“It took a lot,” Venable said after the White Sox won the weather-delayed series finale. “There was a lot going on in that game.”

The White Sox went 17-15 without Murakami, but will soon have him back to bolster the middle of their batting order.

“There’s a possibility that he plays for us before the break, for sure,” Venable said. “We need him back obviously on the field, but just his presence, it means so much to have him in the lineup, what that does for you.”

LOS ANGELES — Edwin Díaz still is on track to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers following the All-Star break after throwing his first live batting practice since elbow surgery.

Díaz faced hitters at Dodger Stadium before the back-to-back World Series champions hosted the San Diego Padres. The high-priced closer has been sidelined since late April because of loose bodies in his elbow.

Díaz only has made seven appearances for the Dodgers, who signed the longtime New York Mets closer to a three-year, $69 million deal as a free agent. He will go on a rehab assignment next, but he is on schedule to return around the time when the break ends in two weeks.

Díaz wasn’t his usual dominant self to begin his first season with Los Angeles, posting a 10.50 ERA in only six innings with noticeably lower velocity. After his live batting practice, Díaz said he feels “way better than early in the season.”

Among the batters who faced Díaz was Kiké Hernández in his first live at-bats since going on the injured list in late May with a left oblique strain.

Díaz has 257 saves over 11 major league seasons with the Mariners, Mets and Dodgers.

WASHINGTON — Konnor Griffin put on quite a show for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A single, a stolen base, two spectacular plays in the field — and finally, a bases-loaded hit that put his team ahead to stay.

“He’s a complete player,” manager Don Kelly said. “He’s going to help us win for a long time.”

Pittsburgh’s 11-5 victory over the Washington Nationals may have looked lopsided at the end, but it was tight much of the way — and Griffin repeatedly made big contributions. The 20-year-old shortstop, who received a nine-year, $140 million contract in April, showed the many ways he can impact a game.

Griffin’s defensive day stood out in particular. There was a diving stop on a grounder in the third, but Curtis Mead beat it out for a single. In the fourth, Keibert Ruiz hit a popup to shallow left field, and Griffin had to deal with the sun while making a diving, backhanded catch.

“Had my glasses on my head, because sweat was just dripping down my lens,” Griffin said. “Took the chance of fighting the sun, and luckily it worked out.”

Down 4-3, the Nationals loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth. CJ Abrams lifted a popup onto the outfield grass, and Griffin made a sliding backhanded grab on that one as well. And he nearly got up quickly enough to throw James Wood out at the plate after the Washington slugger tagged up at third. Wood beat Griffin’s bouncing throw, but that was the only run the Nationals got that inning.

“I felt like I could get there,” Griffin said. “I was hoping I could finish the play off at home. Just a weird grip, came out weird.”

The game was still tied at 4-4 when Griffin came up in the eighth with the bases loaded and hit a single to right on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Two runs came home, and the Pirates never looked back.

“He has that ability. Being 20 years old and a rookie, he’s way mature beyond his years,” Kelly said. “He is going to have huge moments like that, yes, and also understanding that he’s 20 and learning, and for him to have that type of at-bat in that situation, fouling off those pitches, and to be able to break the tie, that was unbelievable.”