CINCINNATI — Cody Bellinger homered and drove in three runs, rookie Jordan Wicks threw five innings of one-run ball and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday between the contending divisional rivals.

Bellinger had a solo homer in the fourth and drove in two more with a base hit in the sixth. Seiya Suzuki’s solo homer in the eighth and Ian Happ’s two-run shot in the ninth extended the Cubs’ lead.

In the sec0nd game, Noelvi Marte’ s two-out single in the ninth drove in the winning run as Cincinnati earned a split with a 3-2 win.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

GUARDIANS 3, RAYS 2: Rookie Bo Naylor doubled home Gabriel Arias with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Cleveland beat visiting Tampa Bay.

The Guardians trailed 2-1 entering the seventh, but Andrés Giménez led off with a single, stole second and came home on Arias’ single. Naylor followed with a drive to right-center off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow (7-5).

NOTES

YANKEES: New York Yankees Aaron Judge became the fastest player in major league history to reach 250 home runs with a solo shot off Justin Verlander in the fifth inning Friday night against the Houston Astros.

Judge reached the milestone in his 810th career game, besting Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard, who did it in 2010 in his 855th game.

NOTES

PHILLIES: Philadelphia activated left-handed pitcher Ranger Suárez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the injured list.

Suárez has been dealing with a strained right hamstring and last pitched Aug. 13 for the Phillies. Pache, who had irritation in his right elbow, made his last appearance with the Phillies on July 9.

REDS: Right-hander Hunter Greene will miss at least a week after he was among three pitchers placed on the COVID-19 injured list.

The Reds also put right-handed starter Ben Lively and reliever Fernando Cruz on the COVID-19 list.

MAJOR LEAGUE Baseball is keeping the pitch clock the same for the postseason as it was for the regular season, brushing aside complaints from some players.

Following an executive council meeting this week, the commissioner’s office informed the competition committee there will be no change. The competition committee adopted the clock ahead of the 2023 season along with restrictions on defensive shifts and larger bases.