Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (Simulated Game 24): Cubs 4, Padres 9 – Cubs Homered to Death in Loss
The Chicago Cubs (14-10) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday as they fell behind early and lost to the San Diego Padres (12-11) by a score of 9-4, via MLB The Show 20. It was a battle of left-handed starters, with Joey Lucchesi coming out on top over José Quintana.
The game was scoreless for the first two innings, but outfielder Juan Lagares got the Padres on the board against Quintana with a solo home run to lead off the top of the 3rd. The major damage, however, would come in the following inning. Quintana surrendered four runs in the 4th, with the key hits being two-run singles by both Lagares and Fernando Tatís Jr.
Now down 5-0, the Cubs offense came to life in the bottom half of the frame. David Bote walked and moved to third base on a single by Steven Souza Jr. A sacrifice fly by Josh Phegley made the score 5-1, and, after Souza stole second base, Ian Happ drove him home to make it 5-2. After Quintana struggled to gut through the 4th inning, throwing 35 pitches, manager David Ross went with Kyle Schwarber to pinch-hit for his starter against the left-handed Lucchesi.
Schwarber’s line-drive home run to left field brought the Cubs to within 5-4, but that’s as close as they’d get. Meanwhile, Quintana went just four innings and allowed five earned runs on eight hits with two walks, five strikeouts. Lucchesi wasn’t much better, giving up four earned over five innings on seven hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.
But San Diego held the lead, which was all that mattered. The Cubs bullpen didn’t fare too well, allowing four more runs over the next five innings. Alec Mills pitched two innings and allowed a run, Ryan Tepera pitched two innings and gave up solo homers to Tommy Pham and Manny Machado, and Casey Sadler served up one more solo shot to Pham to make it 9-4. That was be the final score, as the Cubs couldn’t muster a rally in the bottom of the ninth.
Notes: Schwarber’s pinch-hit home run is the second of his career, with the first coming against Colorado Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles back in 2017 … Lagares’ homer is his first of the season … Pham now has eight career home runs against the Cubs, which is the most he’s hit against any one team … Craig Kimbrel got his second day off in the last three days and told reporters that he would be available to pitch on Thursday, if needed.
Key Players:
Schwarber – 1-for-1, HR, 2 RBI
Contreras – 2-for-3, BB
Happ – 3-for-4, 2B, SB, RBI, R
Lagares – 4-for-6, HR, 4 RBI
Tatís – 2-for-5, 2 RBI
Pham – 4-for-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Machado – 2-for-4, BB, HR, RBI
Winning Pitcher – Lucchesi (4-1)
Losing Pitcher – Quintana (1-2)
Save – none
Home Runs – Schwarber (3), Lagares (1), Machado (3), Pham 2 (4)
