Kris Bryant’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Chicago Cubs to a 9-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Monday night. Colorado had taken an 8-7 lead in the ninth inning on a two-run home run by Carlos Gonzalez, but Bryant hit the second pitch he saw from John Axford (3-4) over the wall in left-center to give Chicago a dramatic victory and snap a three-game skid. Trailing 7-4, the Rockies scored four times in the ninth to move ahead. Jason Motte started the ninth by allowing a pinch-home run to Daniel Descalso, a single to Charlie Blackmon and a double to D.J. LeMahieu. Rafael Soriano (1-0), added to the roster July 20, then came on and gave up Troy Tulowitzki’s run-scoring grounder before Gonzalez roped a two-run home run into right to put Colorado in front.

Across the Majors Monday:

It was another winning night for Missouri’s Major League Baseball teams as Kansas City and St. Louis both expanded their respective division leads.

— The Royals are an American League-best 60-38 after Eric Hosmer went 3-for-5 with a four RBIs and three runs scored in a 9-4 rout of Cleveland. Hosmer put Kansas City ahead to stay with a three-run homer in the top of the first, one inning before Omar Infante hit his first round-tripper of the season. Kendrys Morales added a two-run double and an RBI single in the Royals’ third straight win. Edinson Volquez improved to 10-5 with help from Joe Blanton, who picked up a three-inning save. The outcome puts the AL Central Division-leading Royals eight games ahead of Minnesota.

— The Cardinals were 4-1 winners over Cincinnati as Kolten Wong launched a grand slam in the fourth inning. Lance Lynn improved to 8-5 by winning for the fifth time in his last six decisions, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings. Lynn and the Cardinals’ bullpen blanked the Reds following Jay Bruce’s sacrifice fly in the third. Trevor Rosenthal picked up his 31st save as the Redbirds stretched their lead in the NL Central to 6 1/2 games over Pittsburgh.

— Alex Rodriguez homered on his 40th birthday and the New York Yankees earned their third straight win by downing the Rangers 6-2 in Texas. Rodriguez joined Ty Cobb, Rusty Staub and Gary Sheffield as the only major leaguers to homer both as a teenager and in his 40s. Didi Gregorius smacked a two-run homer and had a career-high four RBIs for the Yanks, who pace the AL East by seven games over Toronto and Baltimore.

— The Orioles beat Atlanta 2-1 on Matt Wieters homer leading off the bottom of the 11th. The O’s tied it on J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice fly in the ninth, a half-inning after Adonis Garcia homered for the Braves. The Birds’ third consecutive win puts them back at .500.

— NL Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Heston improved to 11-5 by limiting Milwaukee to two runs and five hits in seven innings of San Francisco’s 4-2 win against the Brewers. Brandon Crawford smacked a two-run homer to put the Giants ahead 3-0, one batter after Brandon Belt lifted a sacrifice fly. The Giants’ sixth straight win puts them within a half-game of the NL West-leading Dodgers.

— Curt Casali homered twice and had three RBIs in Tampa Bay’s 5-2 verdict over Detroit. Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer and an RBI single as rumors swirl that he and teammate David Price could be moved before Friday’s trade deadline. The reigning AL Central champs are 12 ½ games behind Kansas City.

— The Chicago White Sox made it five straight wins as Adam Eaton had three hits and two RBI’s in a 10-8 decision over Boston. Tyler Flowers also had two RBIs, including a run-scoring single that snapped a 7-7 tie in the seventh inning. David Ortiz homered for the third time in two games, but his Red Sox still lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

— Arizona beat Seattle 4-3 on Jake Lamb’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt scored the winning run and raised his average to .346 by going 1-for-2 with a solo homer and three walks. The Mariners extended the game on Mike Zunino’s RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth.