Phillies top Cubs despite Hoerner's two homers |
Philadelphia - When you talk about a model of consistency, look no further than Chicago Cubs (81-78) right-hander
Javier Assad. Assad has been one of the Cubs most consistent starters, making his final start of the season and 29th overall, as 24 of his 29 starts have seen him allow three runs or less.
There is a reason his ERA has been in the low 3s most of the season, as he continues to show why he deserves a spot in their 2025 season. Then came Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Ballpark, where Assad not only had his worst outing of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies (94-65) but possibly the worst outing of his career. Assad was awful, pitching into the fifth before coming out after 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with eight runs on eight hits, three of which were homers, in the Phillies' series-clinching 9-6 win. Whenever your starting pitcher allows eight runs, it is very difficult to win games, but that task becomes even tougher when Christopher Sanchez is on the mound. The Phillies left-hander has been one of the bigger surprises on the pitching front this season, but for some reason, he has struggled against this team. Although his outing was terrible, he only lasted 4 2/3 innings and was charged with four runs (3ER). Sanchez was given some instant support in the bottom of the first as the Phillies opened up a big lead and never looked back. All it took was a Trea Turner solo shot two batters into the game as the Cubs trailed for the third straight day 1-0. His homer was followed by a Bryce Harper walk and a pair of doubles from Nicholas Castellanos and Bryson Stott as Stott brought home two more runs to make this a 3-0 game after one. That was just the start for the Phillies, as the long ball continued to play a role in this game, with Castellanos taking Assad deep the opposite way to push their lead to 4-0 after three. It took the Cubs offense a little while to settle in, but with one big inning against Sanchez, this was a one-run game. Isaac Paredes had arguably his best game as a Cub, picking up four hits (all singles), including one in the fourth to set the tone. He would eventually advance to second on a Cody Bellinger fielder's choice as the Cubs had their best scoring chance of the day. Needing a massive hit, Nico Hoerner delivered as he ended one of the longest homerless droughts of his career for the first of two homers in the game as the Cubs pulled within 4-3. Big knock from Nico and we're within one! pic.twitter.com/CEl6BUSAjT With Kody Clemons taking Assad deep for the Phillies third homer in the fourth, Chicago found themselves down 5-3 and continued to battle back. All it took was a mini-two out rally for the Cubs to keep things close as Dansby Swanson worked a walk ahead of a pair of singles as the Bellinger single brought the Cubs within 5-4. Belli's RBI single brings us back within one! pic.twitter.com/QxCf8jF3qa After retiring the first batter in the fifth, things got out of control quickly for Assad as a pair of singles from Castellanos and Stott put a pair of runners on while a JT Realmuto walk loaded the bases. That was the final batter Assad would face as Craig Counsell made the move to the pen and called on Keegan Thompson. Looking for a double play ball to end the inning, Brandon Marsh had other ideas as he emptied the bases with an RBI double and broke the game open for an 8-4 lead as that hit went down as the game-winning hit. Down, but not out, the Cubs kept things close with Hoerner taking Jose Ruiz deep to begin the sixth as the Cubs pulled within 8-5. Nico knocks out his second home run of the night. pic.twitter.com/DmtMNOAC3t In what was now a battle of the bullpens, Thompson was near perfect in his 1 2/3 innings before yielding to Ethan Roberts and Nate Pearson for the final two innings. Despite those two combining to strikeout four, the Phillies did manage to add another run as a Realmuto single stretched their lead to 9-5 entering the eighth. Still trailing by that score in the ninth, Carlos Estevez was called on to pitch as he continued to build himself into postseason form. Two batters into his outing, the Cubs had a base runner as the No. 6 Cubs prospect Kevin Alcantara picked up his first career hit with an infield single to third. First career hit for Kevin Alcántara. Alcantara was promoted earlier in the day after Miles Mastrobuoni was optioned, and he is expected to be in the lineup for the rest of the way. Two batters later, Alcantara scored his first run as Swanson laced an RBI double to center field and brought home the game's final run in the Phillies 9-6 win. Chicago had nine hits in the game, with Paredes leading the way with four. Hoerner added two hits with his four RBIs, as this was his first multi-homer game of the season. Chicago will now enjoy their final day off before closing the season with three-afternoon games against the Reds at Wrigley Field. "I feel so grateful for being here."
Welcome to The Show! pic.twitter.com/SAfoe4Sqej
Kevin Alcántara on his first career MLB start. pic.twitter.com/r2NKRdvHsV
