Game Recap: Cubs blank Phillies

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 7 hours ago

CHICAGO - Who said a little bit of rain is bad for baseball? After waiting out a nearly two-hour rain delay at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs (17-10) and Philadelphia Phillies (13-13) took the field for what is expected to be a great weekend series. Already with four wins in their first five games on this homestand, one more win for the Cubs guarantees at worst a 5-3 homestand, which is all you can ask for against the teams they were up against.

Looking to keep his hot start to the season going, right-hander Colin Rea took the ball as he faced off against the upstart Taijuan Walker. Whatever has gotten into Rea this season, the Cubs are hopeful it can continue, as he has been a pleasant surprise since taking over for Justin Steele. After tossing five more innings of seven strikeout and no run baseball, Rea lowered his ERA to 0.98 for the season as the Cubs took care of the Phillies 4-0.

As good of a start as Rea had, it did take him a little while to settle in as he walked a pair of batters in the first inning before getting out unharmed. Those were the only walks of the game for Rea, as the lengthy delay could've been the main reason why it took him some time to settle in. The same could be said for the Cubs, as a leadoff double from Ian Happ set the Cubs up, while the Kyle Tucker single put runners on the corners with no outs.

Chicago would wind up loading the bases on a Michael Busch walk later in the inning, but couldn't come through with the big hit. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on in the second as the red-hot Pete Crow-Armstrong led things off with a single as the Cubs had their best base runner on base. Two batters later, it was Jon Berti coming through as he erased his 0-4 four-strikeout game on Wednesday with an RBI double to put the Cubs in front 1-0.

Had this been the only run of the game, the Cubs would've won, but given how potent the Phillies' offense can be, the Cubs knew they were going to need more than just one run to get the job done. With Rea now dialed in, retiring seven of the next eight hitters he faced, the offense did their part to back him as Seiya Suzuki led off the bottom of the third with a double.

Busch added another walk later in the inning to put a pair of runners on before the Nico Hoerner single doubled the Cubs' lead 2-0. It took the Phillies four innings to put Rea in a tough spot, and it came with two outs in the inning as Max Kepler kept the inning alive with a single. That was followed by the JT Realmuto double to put a pair of runners in scoring position, only to have Rea get through another inning with no runs allowed as the Cubs remained in front 2-0.

Despite allowing just two runs through three innings, Walker saw his pitch count touch 80, and that was enough for Rob Thompson to go to the pen as he called on Tanner Banks. Talk about a rude welcome for Banks as Berti led the bottom of the fourth off with a single before racing home on an Ian Happ single to put the Cubs in front 3-0.

In what was a battle of the bullpens in the sixth, it was up to Caleb Thielbar and company to hold the lead as he worked around a two-out double to keep the Cubs in front 3-0. Brad Keller followed that up by working around a pair of hits to begin the seventh as Craig Counsell had the Phillies right where he wanted them late.

Apart from the rough start for Banks, the Phillies' bullpen matched the Cubs' pen, but with Dansby Swanson leading off the bottom of the seventh with a double, it was the Cubs again in a position to strike. Swanson would advance to third on a Hoerner grounder and then hustled home on a Crow-Armstrong bunt that saw the Cubs open up a 4-0 lead late.

That would be the game's final run for either side as Drew Pomeranz and Daniel Palencia took care of the final two innings and secured the Cubs' 4-0 win. Chicago had 11 hits in the win, with Happ, Suzuki, and Berti leading the way with two. The Cubs will look to clinch the series on Saturday as they turn to Ben Brown to face Jesus Luzardo.