A Tip of the Recap- 5/27 (Cubs 4, Phillies 1)
Cubs Record: 33-14 (1st in NL Central)
W: Kyle Hendricks (9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 7 K)
L: Jerad Eickhoff (6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 7 K)
MVP: Kyle Hendricks
Four in a row! Cubs finally got back home yesterday to start a three game series with the Phillies. After winning yesterday’s game 6-2 thanks to a bunch of long balls, the Cubs continued their winning ways by beating the Phils today, 4-1.
The scoring started in the bottom of the first when Dexter Fowler led off the game for the Cubs with a solo shot. Up next was Jason Heyward who smacked a double to right field. Two outs later, Ben Zobrist doubled in Heyward and put the Cubs up 2-0. They scored again in the bottom of the 2nd inning on another double by Jason Heyward that scored Addison Russell.
The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the 6th where the Cubs added on a tally. They had based loaded with only one out and Miguel Montero grounded out to drive in a run and put the Cubs up 4-0.
The only Phillies run came in the 9th after a dropped third strike and fielder’s choice.
The Good
Kyle Hendricks pitched unbelievably well. On a pitching staff with guys like Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester, it’s easy to be overshadowed. However, Hendricks absolutely shut the Phillies down in pitching a complete game. He was so close to his second career shutout but he lost that with two outs in the ninth. He was still able to log his second career complete game, though, and the Phillies never had a chance. Hendricks is a naturally quick worker and he rhythmically pitched his way to a win.
Not only did Hendricks pitch an amazing game, his teammates backed him with four runs. The Cubs got runs on a solo home run by Dexter Fowler and RBI doubles by both Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist. Speaking of Zorilla, he has put together a very nice 14-game hitting streak. So far in the first two games of this series, th Cubs have nine extra base hits while the Phillies have only one. That’s how you win ballgames!
The Bad
The Phillies got only one run in the game and it was a fielders choice RBI in the top of the 9th. The only reason I chose this moment to be the bad in this recap is because it ruined Hendricks’ shutout.
The Ugly
There wasn’t much ugliness in this game from either side. Well, I mean if you’re a Phillies fan, you might have cringed at the pure ugliness Kyle Hendricks delivered in the form of pitches. The five hits the Phillies got were so scattered that they never had a chance to put runs together.
Coming Attractions
Sunday at 1:20 CT, Cubs will try to get their fifth straight win. It’ll be John Lackey for the Cubs and he is pretty good at home. Lackey has a 2.12 ERA in four starts at Wrigley and is holding opponents to a .182 batting average. For the Phillies, it’ll be Vince Velasquez, who is coming off of his shortest start of the year. He was pulled after four innings after giving up three runs on nine hits.