Blake Snell, Padres blank Cubs, earn series split

Blake Snell pitched six scoreless innings for a second straight start and Gary Sanchez opened the scoring with a two-run homer as the San Diego Padres defeated the visiting Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Monday to gain a split of a four-game series.

Four San Diego pitchers combined on the four-hit shutout.

Snell (2-6) gave up two hits and three walks while striking out eight. The left-hander threw a season-high 109 pitches (67 strikes) and stretched his scoreless streak to 16 innings. Snell retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

Steven Wilson, Nick Martinez and Tim Hill each worked one inning to complete the Padres' fifth shutout of the season.

Sanchez gave Snell all the support he needed with his 375-foot, line-drive homer to left off Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks in the second. It was Sanchez's third homer in seven games with San Diego and his first at home in a Padres uniform.

Manny Machado opened the San Diego second with a single -- the first of his three hits. After Jake Cronenworth flied out to right, Sanchez connected on a 2-2 changeup.

The Padres added a third run on the inning on back-to-back doubles by Matt Carpenter and Ha-Seong Kim. San Diego made it 4-0 in the third on a two-out Machado double and an RBI single by Cronenworth.

Hendricks (0-2) gave up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings. He retired the last 10 Padres he faced.

San Diego added a fifth run in the eighth against Cubs reliever Javier Assad. Machado opened the inning with a single, giving him his first three-hit game since May 7. Assad loaded the bases with a pair of walks before Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to the wall in center that fell a few feet short of being a grand slam.