Game Recap: Phillies top Cubs in extras

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 3 hours ago

CHICAGO - Although it may not have ended the way the Chicago Cubs (17-12) wanted it to, it was an extremely successful homestand nonetheless. Anytime you can go 5-3 at Wrigley Field against teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies (15-13), you have to feel good about yourself and where you're at, as those three teams are going to be battling for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

After beating the Phillies on Friday to clinch a winning homestand, the Cubs took to the field in front of a packed Wrigley Field crowd on Sunday as they looked to win their third series of the homestand. In a matchup between right-handers Aaron Nola and Jameson Taillon, this was one of those games with a playoff feel, and both pitchers delivered seven impressive innings on the mound with limited damage.

In fact, neither team was able to score past the third inning as this was a 1-1 game after nine with extras needed to decide a winner. Unfortunately, that is where the luck ran out for the Cubs as Julian Merryweather struggled to throw strikes in the extra frame, leading to a pair of runs for the Phillies as they took care of the Cubs 3-1 in 10 to claim the series victory.

This was one of those starts where Taillon deserved better, as he gave the Cubs one of his best outings in a Cubs uniform. Sure, with only two strikeouts, there are some concerns due to his high contact rate, but after allowing just one run on five hits in seven innings, he continues to pitch well and is proving to be worth the contract the Cubs gave him three seasons ago.

The same can be said for Aaron Nola, who, despite entering the game with an ERA north of 6.00, is still Nola, and it is only a matter of time until he figures it out. This may be the start. He did that by matching Taillon with seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out six, as both men deserved a winning decision.

It didn't take the Cubs long to score the game's opening run, and it came after the Phillies wasted a leadoff double from Nicholas Castellanos in the second. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Nico Hoerner came through with a double to extend the inning and kept the inning alive for the bottom of the order. His double was followed by Pete Crow-Armstrong's double to push the game's first run across, as those were two of the Cubs' three hits off Nola.

Unfortunately for the offense, that was also the only run they would score in this one, as the hits were tough to come by on both sides, putting all the pressure on the pitching to get the job done. Immediately after falling behind 1-0, the Phillies' offense was battling back in the third. Already with two hits off Taillon in two innings, Bryson Stott delivered a clutch one-out triple to set the offense up and came into score on the Trea Turner single to make this a 1-1 game.

Apart from that, the Phillies' offense wasn't able to do much of anything the rest of the way as Taillon settled in to get the job done. Had it not been for the Miguel Amaya single in the fifth, neither team would've had a baserunner until the seventh, as the starting pitching was as good as it has been for either side in this one.

In what became a battle of the bullpens in the eighth, Porter Hodge took over from Taillon in the eighth and, despite walking the leadoff man, was able to get through the inning without allowing a run. Orion Kerkering matched Hodge with a perfect eighth as Ryan Pressly took over for Hodge in the ninth.

After an ugly start to his Cubs career, Pressly has been locked in for three weeks and lowered his ERA to 2.25 as he got through the ninth with no damage, putting the pressure back on the Phillies' pen. Unfortunately, the Phillies' pen was up for the challenge as Jose Alverado retired the Cubs in order, sending things into extra innings.

It was in the extra frame when the Cubs' pitching finally wore off, and it came via the way of Julian Merryweather. One of the Cubs' most trusted relievers all season, Merryweather didn't have it in this one as he walked the first two batters in the 10th to load the bases before the Alec Bohm sacrifice fly gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.

With one more out to get out of the inning, Merryweather continued to make life difficult for himself as another walk kept the inning alive, leading to a Turner single that put the Phillies in front 3-1. Caleb Thielbar took over from there to finish the inning, but the damage was done as the Cubs had some work to do late.

With Jordan Romano on to pitch for the Cubs, both Dansby Swanson and Hoerner put some decent swings off him, but neither resulted in a hit as Romano retired the Cubs to close out the 3-1 Phillies win.

All three Cubs hits came from the bottom of the order with Amaya, Crow-Armstrong, and Hoerner. Michael Busch also worked a walk to become the only other baserunner.