Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/13/26): Phillies 13, Cubs 7 – Schwarber, Phils Smash Assad

The Cubs had a rough evening at Citizens Bank Park Monday night as the Phillies buried them under an avalanche of runs. Starting pitcher Javier Assad was forced to wear it, eventually giving up nine before his outing mercifully ended with the outcome no longer in doubt.

Kyle Schwarber did the early damage for Philadelphia with a solo home run in the 1st inning and a two-run shot in the 3rd that made it 4-0. Chicago cut the deficit in half when Dansby Swanson took Cristopher Sánchez out to right for a two-run homer in the top of the 4th.

The wheels completely came off for Assad in the bottom of the 5th inning as the Phillies scored five runs. The home team had five hits in the frame with the biggest blow coming on a two-run double by Brandon Marsh and the margin was suddenly 9-2.

Left-hander Charlie Barnes made his debut for the North Siders and eventually gave up four more tallies while pitching the final three innings. The road squad made the final little bit more respectable with a five-spot in the top of the 8th but it was a still pretty ugly 13-7. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs had the go-ahead run at the plate with one out in the top of the 5th inning. Ian Happ grounded into a double play to end the threat and the Phillies blew the game wide open in the bottom of the frame.

Why the Cubs Lost

A really good Philadelphia lineup completely swamped the starting pitcher and put the game out of reach.

Stats That Matter

• Assad just did not have it on Monday: 4.1 IP, 9 R, 11 H, 3 K, and 2 BB.
• Moisés Ballesteros had a pair of hits, including a double, after coming in at catcher in the middle of the game.

Bottom Line

Unfortunately, there are going to be games like that when you are going with what is effectively the seventh starter in your rotation. The Cubs have to make sure this result does not carry over into the next game. There is a danger of falling into a hole at the start of the season which is far from impossible to climb out of, but would certainly make things more difficult.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 5:40pm CT. Colin Rea takes on Aaron Nola in a matchup airing on TBS and Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.