Cubs outslug D-backs in wild high-scoring affair

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 14 hours ago

CHICAGO - Talk about a strange afternoon at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs (13-9) returned home to kick off an eight-game homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks (12-8) on Friday. When you look at the teams on this homestand to close out this 20-game gauntlet, the Cubs are going to prove to everyone once and for all just how good of a team they are.

What started as a pitcher's duel with the score sitting at 2-1 through six turned into one of the craziest endings in quite a while as the Cubs' bullpen once again had a terrible day. Even after an Ian Happ grand slam helped break the game open 6-1 in the seventh, the Diamondbacks came roaring back as they connected for a Grand Slam in the top of the eighth as part of a 10-run inning.

You heard that right. The Diamondbacks used a 10-run frame to take a 10-7 lead, while Jordan Wicks had a rough season debut. Not to be outdone, the Cubs responded with six runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead for good and held on for the 13-11 win. That makes 16 runs in one inning and 21 over two innings as the offense came to life late.

When you look at the final score in this one, you would've never guessed this is where things would end up, as Colin Rea and Corbin Burnes were locked in early. For Burnes, he allowed two runs in six innings, with both those runs coming on another Carson Kelly homer to keep his hot start going.

Rea, on the other hand, dominated the Diamondbacks through four innings, keeping them scoreless before starting to labor in the fifth. A leadoff Gabriel Perdermo double got things started before the Corbin Carroll single made this a 2-1 game. That single came with two outs and was the start of a two-out rally as the Diamondbacks loaded the bases before coming away empty.

That was the end of the road for Rea as he gave the Cubs five innings of one-run ball, walking none and striking out five. Still holding their 2-1 lead in the seventh, it was now a battle of the bullpens, and given what the fans have seen from Julian Merryweather, Porter Hodge, and Ryan Pressly lately, you had to like the Cubs' chances.

With Ryne Nelson on to pitch for Burnes in the seventh, things couldn't have started much worse for the right-hander as he allowed a pair of singles to Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong to start things off and had the Cubs threatening. Following a walk to Kelly to load the bases, Ian Happ came through with his biggest hit of the season as he touched up Nelson for a Grand Slam and opened up a 6-1 lead.

The Cubs weren't done there, as Kyle Tucker delivered a triple immediately following that homer and raced home on a Michael Busch single, and the Cubs took a 7-1 lead into the eighth. What looked to be Hodge's inning turned into Jordan Wicks' season debut, and it wasn't the debut he was hoping for. Sure, he didn't walk the bases loaded like Luke Little did on Wednesday, but after allowing a trio of singles to Randal Grichuk, Josh Naylor, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr, the Diamondbacks had the bases loaded and no outs.

That was all Craig Counsell needed to see from the left-hander as he was promptly removed for Hodge. Thrown into a challenging situation, Eugenio Suarez made it tougher as he greeted Hodge with a Grand Slam of his own to pull Arizona within 7-5. Suarez has killed the Cubs all season, as this was his fifth homer in five games against the North Side this season.

Far from being done in their half of the inning, the Diamondbacks were just getting started as Hodge struggled to get anything done, allowing a Perdermo single to make this a 7-6 game. Throw in a Grichuk double to put Arizona in front and a Gurriel homer, and it was the Diamondbacks opening an 11-7 lead, using a 10-run inning to take the lead. Ethan Roberts managed to stop the bleeding, but given what had just happened, it would be a tough hill to climb late.

Fortunately for the Cubs, Arizona was down some of their high-leverage relievers, and that alone gave the Cubs a chance to make something happen late. Two batters into the inning, and the Cubs were threatening as a leadoff hit by a pitch to Hoerner was followed by an Armstrong walk. That set the stage for arguably the Cubs' best hitter to start the season, and he came through again as Kelly connected for his second homer of the day and sixth of the season as the Cubs were within 11-10.

Kelly now leads the team with six homers, his second multi-homer game of the year. With Joe Mantiply now on to pitch, the Cubs continued to use their newly found momentum as the one-out single from Happ put the tying run on base. Not only did Happ score later in the inning, but the long ball made the difference as Tucker and Seiya Suzuki went back to back, putting Chicago back on top 13-11.

Chicago continued to keep the pressure on as they loaded the bases off a trio of singles, but were unable to add on as the Cubs took a 13-11 lead into the ninth. That was as close as Arizona would get as Ryan Pressly came in, worked around a two-out double to notch the save, and gave the Cubs a 13-11 win. Chicago pounded 18 hits in the win, with Busch, Happ, and Tucker leading the way with three. Hoerner, Crow-Armstrong, and Kelly added two hits, with Kelly leading the way with five RBIs.