PHOENIX _ The Cubs were held to five hits through eight innings Saturday night in a 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field that dropped them into a tie for first place with the rival Cardinals. The Diamondbacks snapped a scoreless tie with four runs in the sixth off Cubs left-hander Jon Lester, who was working with catcher Alex Avila for the first time since Willson Contreras was lost indefinitely because of a moderate right hamstring strain.
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At the plate
Cubs manager Joe Maddon put Albert Almora Jr. at the leadoff spot because of his past success against left-handers, and Kyle Schwarber got a start against left-hander Patrick Corbin. But the Cubs were held to five hits in 62/3 innings against Corbin, who was tagged for eight runs on 10 hits in three innings of a loss at Wrigley Field on Aug. 1.