Phillies 9, Cubs 6: Simply too many home runs allowed

Nico Hoerner hit two home runs in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the first multi-home run game of his career.

Unfortunately, three Phillies (Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and Kody Clemens) all hit home runs against Javier Assad, and that was enough for the Phillies to defeat the Cubs 9-6.

The beginning of the first inning contained a curiosity. Isaac Paredes hit a single with two outs. On a 2-2 count against Cody Bellinger, Phillies catcher JT Realmuto thought he had strike three and began to leave the field. The pitch (pitch 5) was probably a strike:

…but umpire Dan Bellino called ball three. Paredes had by now run off to second base and was credited with a stolen base, only the second (and second attempt!) of his career. On the Marquee broadcast, Jim Deshaies speculated that Paredes might have thought it was a 3-2 pitch. So…if that’s true, that’s something Paredes should pay more attention to.

Anyway, the inning ended with no Cubs runs when Bellinger hit a flyout and the Phillies started hitting balls from Javier Assad out of the yard. Trea Turner hit a home run with one out and after a walk to Bryce Harper, doubles from Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott put the Phillies up 3-0.

In the second, Hoerner showed some glove (VIDEO).

Also a nice game from Bellinger, who hasn’t played first base much this year (only 12 starts).

Castellanos hit a home run in the third inning against Assad to make it 4-0.

The Cubs got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning and made the game a one-out game for a while. Paredes hit a single and on a forced play against Bellinger, Stott made an error and both runners were safe.

One out later, Nico hit his first home run of the game (VIDEO).

Well, that made it 4-3 and it’s a game again. Unfortunately, another home run, this time from Clemens, made it 5-3 in the fourth inning.

The Cubs came back with a run in the fifth inning. The first two Cubs were routine outs, then Dansby Swanson got a walk. Paredes hit a single, his third hit of the game, and Swanson moved to third base. Swanson then scored on that single by Bellinger (VIDEO).

However, Assad ran into trouble in the second half of the fifth inning. With one out, two singles and a walk, the bases were loaded. After 90 pitches, Assad was replaced by Keegan Thompson, who has been quite effective this year.

Not this time. Thompson trailed 2-1, but then threw a cutter that Brandon Marsh hit for a bases-clearing double, making the score 8-4 for the Phillies.

Assad hasn’t pitched particularly well, but he doesn’t deserve the three extra runs he adds to his record. That’s the most runs (eight) he’s allowed in a start in his career, leading to his ERA last season of 3.73. Still, I think Assad is a perfect fifth starter, which is what he should be and what he will be in 2025 if the Cubs can sign or trade a top starter (who would replace Kyle Hendricks in the rotation).

The Cubs didn’t give up in this game, however. Hoerner opened the sixth inning with his second home run of the game (VIDEO).

The score was 8-5, but a run by Ethan Roberts in the seventh inning gave the Phillies a four-run lead.

The Cubs tried it in the ninth inning. With one out, Kevin Alcántara, who had just been called up from Triple-A Iowa and was making his first MLB appearance, hit his first MLB hit with this slow roller (VIDEO).

One out later, Alcántara scored his first MLB run with this double from Swanson (VIDEO).

That tied the game, but Paredes, who was at bat with a chance for a five-hit day, hit a line drive to left and ended the game.

The Cubs had some good offensive performances in this game – Hoerner’s two home runs, Paredes’ four-hit game, nine total hits and two walks – but the pitchers could not contain the strong Phillies. With the win, the Phillies secured a first-round bye.

The Cubs finished the season with a 39-42 road record, which isn’t great, but after getting swept in Cleveland in mid-August, they went 12-6 on the road at Wrigley Field.

In case you are wondering:

Blue alternative: 20-22
Street grey: 19-20

So basically the same result, no matter which away uniform was worn. There is also this curiosity about the final result of BCB’s JohnW53:

With Wednesday’s loss, the Cubs have a record of just 9-5 this year in games in which they have scored exactly six runs. They are 16-2 when they have scored five and 12-0 when they have scored seven. In all games in which they have scored five or more runs, their record is 61-12.

Here are Craig Counsell’s post-game comments (VIDEO).

The Cubs are off Thursday and then open the final series of the 2024 season at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and the Reds do not currently have a starter listed. Game time on Friday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be on Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Reds market areas).

I, for one, am heading to the South Side this afternoon, hoping to make baseball history as the White Sox once again try to avoid their 121st loss of the year. Hey, why not? It’s supposed to be a beautiful day in Chicago today, and it could make baseball history.