longer than usual. I began to think of my mate back home, F

HOUSTON -- On a night when Jake Arrieta did not have his best stuff, the Chicago Cubs offense offered more than enough support.Jorge Soler and Addison Russell homered to lead Chicago to a 9-5 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night, moving the Cubs closer to clinching the NL Central.Soler hit a solo home run as part of Chicagos four-run third, and Russell hit a two-run shot -- his 20th of the season -- in the fourth as the Cubs built a 9-0 lead.We came out ready to play, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. We always do, but there was a little bit of juice about the whole game. Everybody was really raring to go and I thought we did a wonderful job of getting on top like we did.Chicago extended its lead in the NL Central to 16 games over St. Louis.I think it all comes back to our goals and what we need to accomplish as a team, Russell said. You come out with team wins like we did today, you saw the defense today and offense today and great pitching today as well. Keep that rolling, and we should be good.Houston fell 9 1/2 games behind Texas in the AL West and 3 1/2 back of Toronto and Baltimore in the wild-card race.Arrieta (17-6) allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He leads the NL in wins, and his 11 road victories is tops in the majors.Arrieta said he was feeling ill starting Saturday, and he knew he would have to conserve his energy as best as he could.From the first pitch, I was pretty much running on empty today, Arrieta said. It was just one of those things where I went out there and gave everything I had and then just really ran out of everything completely in the sixth to try to battle through it.Arrieta cruised through the first five innings, allowing a solo home run to Jose Altuve in the fourth to go with a walk and single but ran into trouble in the sixth.Alex Bregman hit an RBI double and came around to score on Arrietas wild pitch to cut the lead to 9-3 in the sixth. The Astros then loaded the bases with one out, but Justin Grimm induced pop-ups by Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus to end the threat.Disappointing obviously to fall that far behind, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. We had a chance in the sixth, got a couple runs, could of had a bigger inning.Kris Bryant had an RBI double in the first, and David Ross had a sacrifice fly before Javier Baez scored on a wild pitch by Mike Fiers (10-7) in the second.Baez added an RBI single, and Albert Almora hit a two-run single as part of the third.Yulieski Gurriel and Gattis hit back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth as the Astros lost for the fourth time in five games.Fiers was tagged for seven runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander had won two straight and allowed three runs or fewer in each of his previous four starts.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: SS Carlos Correa was back in the lineup after missing four games with inflammation in his left shoulder. Correa singled in the second and was replaced by pinch hitter A.J. Reed in the fourth.WEB GEMSAlmora ended the fifth with a diving catch coming in on Marwin Gonzalezs falling pop fly. Jake Marisnick then robbed Almora of a hit in the eighth, coming in and making a diving grab on Almoras pop fly.RUSSELL IN ELITE COMPANYRussell became the second shortstop in Cubs history to have 20 home runs and 90 RBI joining Ernie Banks. His 90 RBI are the most by a Cubs shortstop since Banks 117 RBI in 1960.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (14-7) starts the first game of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. Hendricks leads the majors with a 2.07 ERA. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 19 straight starts.Astros: RHP Doug Fister (12-11) starts the first of a three-game series against Texas on Monday. Fister will look to bounce back after allowing six runs in 4 1/3 innings in his last start at Cleveland on Wednesday. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg.A fundraising campaign set up for Freddy Tylicki is on the way to £200,000 in donations in less than 48 hours. Tylicki has been told by doctors he has a T7 paralysis, meaning he has movement in the upper half of his body but not the lower, after he sustained spinal injuries in a fall at Kempton on Monday.At The Races TV presenter Matt Chapman set up the GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/freddie-tylicki) and has been thrilled by the level of support, with Sky Bet, BetVictor, Coral/Ladbrokes and William Hill all promising a further £10,000 donation each.Racing figures such as Tylickis former boss Richard Fahey, Luca Cumani, Bill Gredley, Sheikh Fahad Al Thani and champion jockey Jim Crowley, who was also involved in the Kempton incident but escaped with a broken nose, have all donated.Speaking from California where he has been working at the Breeders Cup, Chapman said: The response has been overwhelming.I originally set a target of £20,000, not really knowing what to put as I was very conscious that we met the target. My hope was that by starting something straight away, people put their hands in their pockets.(Owner) Bill Gredley was amazing, he put a big donation in, as did Sheikh Fahad and Andrea Atzeni, but what is just as crucial are the smaller donations. One person donating £100,000 is the same as 100,000 people donating £1. It all adds up.The heartbreaking thing about Freddys situation is that he had just made the breakthrough into the big time with those two Group Ones in France.Hes not a young lad (30), hes had to work hiis way to the top, but it finally looked like he was where he wanted to be.ddddddddddddrom that point of view its so annoying and I think that is why its touched so many people, that and the fact he was so well liked, everybody loves being in his company.Leading jockey Frankie Dettori was quick to mention Tylicki following his Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf success on Queens Trust at Santa Anita on Saturday evening, and has urged the rider to keep fighting as he continues his recovery process.Dettori told his Ladbrokes blog: In the immediate aftermath of the race I had plenty of time to reflect on my good fortune as the post-race formalities seemed to take a little longer than usual. I began to think of my mate back home, Freddy Tylicki, and how fickle this game can be.Although Breeders Cup wins are amongst the most coveted prizes in the sport, Id have gladly swapped them all to have heard that things werent as bad as they seem to be for Freddy. Im reminded again how cruel this job can be and Freddys news has really shaken me.The weighing room is ferociously competitive and I love that sense of battle, but its also where my best mates are too, so when the chips are down for one of our own, we rally round in the best possible way.The way racing is coming together to support Freddy is inspiring. On the biggest stages, like Santa Anita, weve still got to get our priorities right.My Breeders Cup win was for Freddy. Keep fighting mate. Also See: Live results service Full racecards ' ' '