A top-five offense in baseball came out to play on Tuesday night. A back-and-forth game, the Chicago Cubs used the longball to their advantage in a close game.
The Philadelphia Phillies sent rookie Mick Abel to the mound for his third MLB game. In his first start, he dominated against a terrible Pittsburgh lineup. In game two, he found success against a Blue Jays’ offense that ranked in the top half of the league.
On Tuesday, Abel had to face a Cubs team that entered the game with a team .775 OPS (third in baseball). They entered the day tied fourth for most homers hit.
Mick Abel struggles
Abel had entered the game having not allowed any walks. He quickly gave up his first to Kyle Tucker. After a single in the first, he escaped an early jam with a 4-6-3 double play.
The homers started flying in the second inning. Dansby Swanson led off with a solo shot to give the Phillies the early lead.
That didn’t last long as Max Kepler broke out of his slump with a 2-run homer to right field, scoring JT Realmuto, who had singled.
The Cubs got another leadoff home run from Ian Happ in the third inning and a third solo homer in the fourth from Michael Busch. Abel would be done after four innings. He started to lose control of his fastball late but used his curveball to strike out Kyle Tucker with the bases loaded.
Phillies’ bullpen blows lead
In the bottom of the 5th, the Phillies fetched the lead back. Brandon Marsh led off with a double, which Trea Turner followed with a single. After Turner stole second for his 18th of the season, Alec Bohm singled both home, tentatively giving them a 4-3 lead.
Brandon Marsh was removed from the game in the sixth with left elbow soreness. Johan Rojas entered as his replacement.
That lead lasted just half an inning as Ian Happ hit his second homer of the night. The 2-run shot came off Taijuan Walker. 5-4 Cubs.
Things got progressively worse in the 8th. Three singles, a double, and a walk led to 3 additional runs. 8-4 Cubs. All 3 runs were earned by Joe Ross in his second inning of work.
The Phillies recorded just two hits from the 6th inning onward. The loss pushed their record to 38-29. Alec Bohm went 3-4 in the loss with 2 RBI.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
