Gore pitches 7 sparkling innings as the Nationals beat the Cubs 5-1 to stop a 5-game slide

CHICAGO (AP) — MacKenzie Gore struck out nine in seven sparkling innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Saturday.

Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer for Washington, which had dropped five in a row. José Tena had three of the Nationals' 12 hits.

Washington played without All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, who was demoted to the minors earlier in the day. Abrams isn't expected to play for the big league team again this season.

“I just want it to be known, it wasn’t performance-based — it’s an internal issue,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I’m not going to give specifics or talk about specifics because I need to keep these guys and everything on the down low. ... I’m going to support CJ. He’s a big part of our Nats family, and he will be. At this point, for me, it’s the right thing to do.”

Gore (10-12) earned his second straight win. The 25-year-old left-hander was working on a no-hitter before Patrick Wisdom connected for his eighth homer with one out in the seventh inning.

Jose Ferrer got three outs before Kyle Finnegan finished the two-hitter for Washington.