Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/7/23): Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 2 – Pham Slaps Pair of Homers

The Cubs had their four-game winning streak snapped by the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field Thursday night. Javier Assad wasn’t quite as sharp as he has been and Chicago’s offense could get nothing going against Arizona.

Tommy Pham put the D-Backs ahead with a solo shot to center in the top of the 1st inning. Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer off Assad in the 3rd and the road team was up 3-0.

The Cubs hit several balls hard against Ryne Nelson but they went without a hit the first four frames. Seiya Suzuki finally broke up but no-no with a triple in the 5th and would score on a sacrifice fly by Jeimer Candelario.

Things stayed at 3-1 all the way until the 8th inning when Pham smacked another homer, this time a two-run shot that put Arizona in front 5-1. Both teams traded tallies in the 9th and Chicago went down to a 6-2 defeat. (Box score)

Key Moment

Both of the Diamondbacks’ early home runs barely made it over the fence while several Cubs’ drives died on the track. It was just one of those nights for David Ross‘s team.

Why the Cubs Lost

They failed to do any significant damage against a very shaky starting pitcher. At the same time, their starter had a rare off night.

Stats That Matter

• Assad was not on his game but it’s not like the results were horrible: 5.1 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 0 K, and 1 BB.
• Nico Hoerner was the only Cubs player with more than one hit on Thursday.

Bottom Line

The Cubs just didn’t have it on Thursday night and they didn’t really have any golden opportunity to win the game or come back. These kinds of games happen sometimes and the important thing is how you bounce back from it.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Friday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Jameson Taillon gets the start against D-Backs ace Zac Gallen with coverage available on MLB Network (out of market only), Marquee, and 670 The Score.