CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong reached five times on two hits and three walks, helping the Chicago Cubs beat Framber Valdez and the Detroit Tigers 11-2 on Tuesday night.
Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly each drove in two runs, and Michael Conforto connected for a two-run homer. Dansby Swanson had two hits and scored three times.
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Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner (2) is greeted by manager Craig Counsell, right, after scoring against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gestures as he makes a pitching change against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson, right, is safe at home plate as Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, left takes a late throw during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, left, greets Seiya Suzuki, right, after they scored against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago collected 11 hits while improving to 23-10 in its last 33 games, bouncing back nicely after losing 8-6 in 10 innings in the series opener on Monday night.
Dillon Dingler hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning for Detroit, which had won three of four. The All-Star catcher went deep twice on Monday night.
Valdez (5-7) recorded just two outs in his first start since July 9. It also was the first outing for the left-hander since a stint on the bereavement list following the death of his maternal grandmother.
Crow-Armstrong tripled and scored on Kelly's two-run single in Chicago's six-run first. Crow-Armstrong also forced home a run with a bases-loaded walk before Valdez was replaced by Ty Madden.
It was more than enough for David Peterson (5-7), who pitched 6 2/3 innings of three-hit ball for Chicago. The left-hander struck out four and walked one.
Peterson was acquired in a June 25 trade with the New York Mets. The lefty surrendered 10 runs in his second start with the Cubs, but he has allowed three runs in 17 1/3 innings over his other three starts with his new team.
Crow-Armstrong added an RBI single in the third, and Conforto hit his ninth homer in the fifth against Brenan Hanifee. It was Conforto’s fourth pinch-hit homer of the year, tying Glenallen Hill in 1999 for the most by a Cubs player since at least 1901.
Madden provided a boost for Detroit’s weary bullpen by pitching 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Infielder Zach McKinstry and catcher Jake Rogers each got three outs for the Tigers.
Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) starts for Detroit in the series finale on Wednesday night, and fellow right-hander Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA) pitches for Chicago.
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Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner (2) is greeted by manager Craig Counsell, right, after scoring against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gestures as he makes a pitching change against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson, right, is safe at home plate as Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, left takes a late throw during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, left, greets Seiya Suzuki, right, after they scored against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a fierce ally of President Donald Trump and former head of the House Freedom Caucus, won the Republican nomination for Arizona governor Tuesday.
Biggs defeated fellow U.S. Rep. David Schweikert in the primary and will face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in what is likely to be one of the closest gubernatorial races in November.
Biggs built a national profile as chair of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s attempt to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6 riot.
During the campaign Schweikert argued that Biggs is unelectable and would continue a decade of backsliding for Republicans in Arizona. The party has nominated a string of Trump loyalists who excited the GOP base but turned off independents and lost general elections, and Democrats now hold both of the state’s Senate seats and the top three state offices.
But Schweikert struggled to raise money and was unable to overcome Biggs’ advantages, including Trump’s endorsement and support from the Turning Point Action conservative group’s grassroots turnout machine.
Biggs said he can unite Republicans going into the general election.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans voted for nominees Tuesday to challenge Democrats who hold top offices as the GOP searches for a path back to power in a battleground state it used to dominate.
U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who represent neighboring districts in metro Phoenix, offered a clash of styles in the race to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, considered the most endangered Democratic governor in the country this election cycle.
With President Donald Trump's endorsement and support from the grassroots turnout machine of the conservative group Turning Point Action, Biggs said he can unite the party going into a general election.
Schweikert said his low-key, pro-business, fiscal conservatism can win back voters turned off by a string of Trump loyalists like Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor four years ago.
Both parties had hotly contested primaries to replace Schweikert in the highly competitive 1st Congressional District.
Republicans were also picking nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, key posts with power over elections in a state that was pivotal for Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in 2020.
Ahead polls closing in the evening, officials in Maricopa County, which includes metro Phoenix and two-thirds of the state's voters, said two polling sites had power outages, and voters were directed to other nearby locations. Several polling places also had technical problems earlier in the day, including connectivity issues with electronic poll books, that were resolved.
Maricopa County has been an epicenter of election conspiracy theories since Trump lost his reelection bid in 2020, and handling of elections is closely scrutinized.
Biggs built a national profile as chair of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s attempt to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
He has always represented safe Republican seats and is a veteran of factional brawls within the GOP. Before going to Congress, he nearly lost his post as state Senate president during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, also a Republican, over her push to expand Medicaid.
In the foothills of McDowell Mountain, just northeast of the Phoenix metro area in Scottsdale, yard signs dotted the entrance to a polling place parking lot
“I want the border secured. I want the police and more money spent in the right places like education,” said Kate Rouleau, a 67-year-old Republican who voted for Biggs. “Biggs has the same quality as President Trump.”
Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, carefully keeping his distance without antagonizing him. That has helped him win a string of tough races in a competitive House district — a track record he says will help him win over swing voters and beat Hobbs — but has left him isolated from Trump's “ Make America Great Again ” base.
Democrats focused their attacks on Biggs, whom they plan to portray as an extremist focused on helping Trump and not Arizonans.
Schweikert’s 1st District is a top battleground in the fight for a congressional majority. Anchored in Scottsdale, it is home to many of the white, highly educated and affluent voters who have soured on the GOP under Trump.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee controversially threw its support behind Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television news anchor who used to be a Republican. Her late husband, Grant Woods, was the Republican attorney general in the 1990s and later became a vocal Trump critic.
Galán-Woods’ chief opponent, Amish Shah, is an emergency medicine doctor and former state legislator who was the nominee in 2024 but lost narrowly to Schweikert.
On the Republican side, former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely had Trump’s endorsement. But he was dogged by criticism for living outside the district — he resides in Biggs’ district and originally was running there until Trump endorsed a rival in that contest.
Feely faced Joseph Chaplik, a former state legislator popular with many of the GOP’s grassroots activists, and businessperson John Trobough.
In Tucson, retired Marine drill instructor JoAnna Mendoza ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination to challenge second-term Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who also had no primary opponent. The seat is perennially competitive in general elections and is a top pickup target for Democrats in November.
Meanwhile, the GOP primary for the safe Republican seat Biggs is vacating turned salacious: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who was endorsed by Trump, came under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of power.
The county attorney cleared him of criminal wrongdoing, and Trump reiterated his endorsement this month. Lamb dismissed the allegations as “slander and lies.”
He faced Daniel Keenan, who owns a construction company.
Associated Press writer Josh Kelety contributed.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Feely.
Former Arizona Rep. Joseph Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, who is running for the Republican nomination for the 1st Congressional District in the upcoming primary election, speaks at the opening of the Arizona legislature, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Jay Feely, left, a Republican candidate for Arizona's 1st Congressional District, shakes hands with a voter at a polling place on Arizona primary election day, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Fountain Hills, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Democratic candidate for Arizona's 1st Congressional Dr. Amish Shah poses, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Marlene Galán-Woods, a Democratic candidate for the 1st Congressional District in Arizona, smiles as she speaks with a campaign volunteer at a voting location as voters cast their ballots on primary election day, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
FILE - Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., debates with his Republican opponents in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections governor primary debate, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool, File)
