Miguel Amaya hit his first career grand slam and drove in a personal-best five runs, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday to win the three-game series.
Justin Steele (4-5) struck out a season-high 10 batters in seven innings, helping the Cubs secure an easy victory as they try to catch up in the race for the National League’s third wild card. They are 11-7 in August.
Amaya made a big impact from the ninth spot in the batting order, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead in the second inning with his home run to left field against reliever Kenta Maeda (2-6). He also added an RBI single in the seventh, although he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “It’s something that I dream of as a kid. To make it happen now feels really good, especially for the team. We’ve been having some ups and downs, but we won the series.”
Amaya had three hits and raised his average by nine points to .221. Since July 12, he has been batting .300 with four home runs, thanks to a midseason change to his stance. He removed a leg kick to improve his timing and make better contact with the ball.
“What comes first — the confidence or the adjustment,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he’s got both going right now. He’s swinging at good pitches. When he gets a pitch to hit, he’s doing some damage with it.
He has the power to do this. This is not, like, fluke stuff. He hits the ball hard and he’s getting some results from it, some good feedback from it.”
Cody Bellinger doubled and scored in the third inning. He also singled in a run in the fourth to make it 6-0.
Steele gave up two runs and four hits, throwing 94 pitches without issuing a walk, helping the Cubs improve to 25-15 in interleague play.
Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Maeda allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings, and the Tigers lost two of three games to Chicago after winning six of their previous seven.
