Soto delivered his sixth multi-home run game of the season and first three-homer game of his career. He smacked a two-run blast in the third inning and solo shots in the fifth and seventh as New York took a half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East.
Chicago rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon (2-6) surrendered Soto's first two long balls, and he permitted three runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Fraser Ellard yielded the third homer.
Cortes (6-10) limited the White Sox to three hits and no walks while striking out nine. Chicago fell to 2-21 since the All-Star break.
Twins 13, Royals 3
Zebby Matthews pitched five strong innings to win his big-league debut as Minnesota pulled away for an easy win against Kansas City in Minneapolis.
Matthews (1-0), who has shot from Class-A to the majors this season, limited the Royals to two runs on five hits. Max Kepler went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs to lead the Twins, who will go for a three-game sweep on Wednesday.
MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez each hit a solo home run for Kansas City. Michael Massey went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Seth Lugo (13-7) surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in four-plus innings.
Guardians 2, Cubs 1
Veteran Matthew Boyd allowed one run while pitching into the sixth inning of his season debut and rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the bottom of the sixth as host Cleveland beat Chicago.
Boyd made his first major league start since June 2023 after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He allowed three hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter over 5 1/3 strong innings. Pedro Avila (4-1) got the win and Emmanuel Clase earned his 37th save.
Nico Hoerner had two hits for the Cubs but made the final out of the game in a rundown between second and third. Chicago starter Javier Assad yielded one run and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Tigers 15, Mariners 1
Jake Rogers hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs, Kerry Carpenter homered twice in his return from the injured list and Detroit clobbered visiting Seattle.
Rogers' seven RBIs were the most by a Tiger since Ryan Raburn drove in seven against the Chicago White Sox in 2007. Rogers had two doubles in addition to his homer.
The Mariners' George Kirby (8-9) was charged with 11 runs on 13 hits in 3 2/3 innings. He became the first major league pitcher to yield 11 earned runs in a game this year.
