CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado in a trade with Kansas City that sent left-hander Mike Montgomery to the Royals.

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced the deal Monday night following Chicago’s 6-3 loss to Cincinnati – adding that All-Star catcher Willson Contreras was going on the 10-day injured list with a strain to the arch area of his right foot.

The 32-year-old Maldonado, a Gold Glove winner in 2017 with the Angels, was batting .227 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 74 games for the struggling Royals this season. The Cubs will be the fifth major league team for the nine-year veteran, and Epstein expects him to provide a strong defensive presence behind the plate.

Montgomery, 30, is 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the Cubs this year, and was 14-17 with three saves in 119 games for Chicago over four seasons. He is expected to get a chance to start with the Royals, who drafted him in 2008.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Jakob Junis struck out a career-high 10 and Nicky Lopez drove in a pair of runs and scored twice as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Monday night.

The Royals beat Lucas Giolito for the first time and thwarted his bid for a 12th victory. The right-hander entered the game 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 previous career starts against Kansas City. After an eight-game winning streak, Giolito is 1-3 with a 6.48 ERA in his last five starts.

Junis (5-8) worked seven innings and gave up one run, James McCann’s 10th homer of the season.

Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 13 games (.358, 19 for 53) with a bunt single in the seventh. He leads the majors with 122 hits.

Giolito (11-4) was hit on his glove hand by a wicked line drive off the bat of Lopez. The ball ricocheted into right field and Lopez got a double.

The Royals got to Giolito in the fourth inning. Alex Gordon and Hunter Dozier had back-to-back doubles for the Royals’ first run. Dozier advanced on a wild pitch and scored on single by Cheslor Cuthbert, making the score 2-0.

Giolito was removed after the six innings and 94 pitches.

Junis, who entered with a 6.63 first-inning ERA, walked the first batter he faced. But, he got through five scoreless innings.

In the sixth, McCann pounded a 430-foot solo homer to left field. Jon Jay followed with his third of four hits, a double, but Junis got out of the inning.

Royals closer Ian Kennedy worked a scoreless ninth for his 14th save in 17 chances.

BARLOW RETURNS

Scott Barlow was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Monday to fill the roster spot vacated by pitcher Homer Bailey. Barlow was on the opening-day roster and made 30 appearances (2-1, one save, 6.19 ERA) before he was sent down July 1. He gave up three runs, including two homers, in his last two games for the Royals. He worked three scoreless outings Omaha. “I think the biggest thing was just being comfortable, just getting a little confidence back,” Barlow said.

Barlow relieved Junis in the eighth and gave up a walk and single before a strikeout. Jake Diekman relieved him and the White Sox scored a run on an error before the lefty pitched out of a bases-loaded jam.

MINOR NO-HITTER

Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan pitched a nine-inning no-hitter for the Royals’ Class A club in Wilmington, Delaware, with nine strikeouts and no walks in a 3-0 win over Carolina. One Carolina batter reached on an error in the second inning. Bowlan was a second-round draft choice in 2018.

RENTERIA VIEW ON DEALS

There’s a different feel as the improving White Sox, who lost 100 games last season, approach the trading deadline, according to manager Rick Renteria. “I think we’re in a different mode … We’re starting to settle down a little bit and starting to turn the corner in terms of who we are, in terms of acquisitions and/or moving players.

“I think they’ve gotten better,” he said. “They’re scratching the surface of where they’re ultimately going to be, which may put us in a better position … as an organization moving forward. But, definitely a different situation.”

UP NEXT

The second of the four-game series on Tuesday matches White Sox RHP Dylan Cease (1-0, 5.40 ERA) and Royals RHP Glenn Sparkman (2-5, 5.18 ERA), the first start for each since the All-Star break. “I think it’ll be 12 days in between starts. It’s a long time, but I’m not worried about it by any means,” Cease said. “I’ve been throwing every day, so I’m keeping that feel.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals are planning to extend the netting at Kauffman Stadium to better protect fans.

The decision comes after a young fan was struck by a hard-hit foul ball Sunday during the Royals’ game against the Detroit Tigers.

Spokesman Toby Cook told KSHB-TV the girl was kept at a hospital overnight for observation and expected to be released Monday.

“I didn’t get a good look at it but I think it was a mom and a little girl and what do you do when a ball’s coming in like that? It’s just hard to protect yourself. The best thing that I think Major League Baseball could do and we could do is extend the netting,” Royals manager Ned Yost said before Monday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox. “We don’t want any of our fans coming out and getting hurt. That’s the last thing we want. This is going to be a good thing when they get these nets extended.”

Cook said the club had commissioned a study on how to expand the netting before Sunday’s incident. The timing of extending the netting depends on engineering and design challenges. But he said more netting could be added before the season ends.

Following recommendations from Major League Baseball, the Royals in 2016 extended the netting from the outside edges of the dugouts and raised it behind home plate about 8 feet.

“You hate to say it, but I think since the popularity of cellphones, more people have gotten hit. Because they’re just not paying attention to every pitch like they did before,” Yost said. “It’s not everybody. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes you just can’t move.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeimer Candelario hit a bases-clearing double and Gordon Beckham added a two-run homer during a seven-run third inning, and the Detroit Tigers took advantage of Kansas City’s late pitching switch to beat the Royals 12-8 on Sunday.

Harold Castro had a pair of hits during the marathon frame, when the Tigers trotted 11 batters to the plate against fill-in starter Brian Flynn. The first six reached base safely, and Brandon Dixon and Niko Goodrum also drove in runs before reliever Jorge Lopez finally ended the inning.

Flynn (2-1), who got the start when Homer Bailey was traded to Oakland before the first pitch, was yanked six batters into the third without recording an out. He allowed seven runs on eight hits.

Jordan Zimmermann wasn’t much better for Detroit. He allowed seven runs on eight hits before he was pulled after facing four batters in the fifth inning. He still hasn’t won since last Sept. 5.

Nick Ramirez (4-3) earned the win for Detroit after allowing one run over three innings.

Jorge Soler homered and had three RBIs for the Royals.

The Tigers jumped ahead on Christian Stewart’s RBI single in the first, but it was their big third inning that cracked the game open. Castro and Stewart joined Nick Castellanos on base before Dixon was hit by a pitch to plate a run. Candelario followed with his three-run double.

Goodrum also drove in a run before Beckham’s two-out homer gave the Tigers an 8-3 lead.

The seven-run frame was the Tigers’ highest-scoring inning of the season by a full two runs, and the six hits matched a season-high for an inning set July 4 against the White Sox.

The teams swapped runs in the fourth, and Kansas City plated three in the fifth and another in the sixth to claw within 10-8. But the Royals left a pair aboard to end the inning, and the Tigers answered with two more in the seventh to cap their highest-scoring game this season.

The teams combined for 29 hits while stranding 12 runners on base.

NEW HOME-RS

Bailey, who was 7-6 with a 4.80 ERA, was traded to the A’s for minor league infielder Kevin Merrell, who has been playing this season at Double-A Midland. The 23-year-old former South Florida standout, known for his speed and defense, will report to the Royals’ affiliate at Northwest Arkansas.

“We liked him a great deal out of the draft. He’s the type of player we like,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “Oakland selected him rather high and we never got a chance to select him.”

TIGERS MOVES

Detroit reinstated Victor Alcantara from the injured list after the right-hander had a wisdom tooth extracted. Right-hander Eduardo Jimenez had been sent to Triple-A Toledo after Saturday night’s game.

UP NEXT

Tigers left-hander Daniel Norris (2-8, 4.96 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of a four-game set in Cleveland. The Royals remain home to open a four-game series against the White Sox with right-hander Jakob Junis (4-8, 5.33) trying to build on a solid start to end the first half.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals are sending Homer Bailey to the Oakland Athletics after scratching the veteran right-hander about 45 minutes before his scheduled start Sunday against Detroit.

In return, Kansas City is getting minor league infielder Kevin Merrell. He’s been playing at Double-A Midland and will report to the Royals’ affiliate at Northwest Arkansas.

The 33-year-old Bailey has rebounded this season with the Royals after signing a minor league deal in February. He is 7-6 with a 4.80 ERA, but he’s been especially good over his past seven starts, giving the A’s some additional help as they seek a playoff run in the second half.

They began the day six games back in the AL West, but a half-game ahead of Cleveland for the second wild-card berth.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hometown boy Bubba Starling delivered his first career hit and RBI for Kansas City, Brad Keller outdueled Matthew Boyd, and the Royals held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Saturday night.

Keller (5-9) allowed an RBI single to Harold Castro in the second but otherwise shut down Detroit, allowing four hits over eight innings. He struck out seven without a walk after entering the game having allowed the second-most free passes in the American League this season.

Ian Kennedy worked the ninth to earn his second save in as many nights.

Boyd (6-7) faced the minimum number of batters through four innings before things came undone. He wound up allowing four runs on six hits and four walks while striking out 10.

Cheslor Cuthbert drove in a pair of runs and Nicky Lopez also had an RBI for the Royals, who have won the first two games out of the All-Star break as they continue to build for the future.

Starling might be part of that after more than seven years toiling in the minors. The former No. 5 overall draft pick from nearby Gardner, Kansas, was called up on Thursday and made his big league debut the following night, though he had to wait until the fifth inning Saturday for a hit.

At least half a dozen scouts showed up to watch Boyd, whom the Tigers are expected to shop ahead of the non-waiver trade deadline, and for the first four innings he was just about perfect.

The left-hander gave up a leadoff single to Whit Merrifield, the big league leader in hits, then wiped him out by getting Alex Gordon to ground into an inning-ending double play. Boyd then slapped down the Royals in order the next three innings, striking out six along the way.

The first crack surfaced when Hunter Dozier led off the fifth with sharp double to left.

Jorge Soler walked and Cuthbert flied out to bring up Starling, who walked and scored in his big league debut but was still searching for his first hit. The hometown boy delivered it, bringing Dozier across to knot the game 1-all and producing a raucous standing ovation.

Lopez followed with the go-ahead single before Boyd got another inning-ending double play.

Boyd’s command never returned, either. He walked a trio of batters in the sixth to load the bases for Cuthbert, whose two-out single through the left side of the infield made it 4-1.

Keller escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth before Kennedy finished off the ninth.

UP NEXT

The Royals send right-hander Homer Bailey (7-6, 4.80 ERA), who has won both his starts against the Tigers this season, to the mound in the series finale Sunday. Jordan Zimmermann (0-6, 6.29) tries again for his first win of the season after losing to Boston last weekend.