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

The Cubs finished the road portion of their 2024 schedule by giving up too many homers in a defeat. Nico Hoerner had himself a day, though.

Nico Hoerner homered twice Wednesday in Philadelphia, the first multi-homer game of his career.

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

The top of the first contained a curiosity. Isaac Paredes singled with two out. With a 2-2 count on Cody Bellinger, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto thought he had strike three and began to walk off the field. The pitch (pitch 5) probably was a strike:

... but plate umpire Dan Bellino called ball three. Meanwhile, Paredes had taken off for second and was credited with a stolen base, just 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 true, that’s something that Paredes ought to pay more attention to.

Anyway, the inning ended with no Cubs runs scoring when Bellinger flied out, and then the Phillies started hitting balls out of the yard off Javier Assad. Trea Turner homered with one out, and then after a walk to Bryce Harper, doubles by Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott made it 3-0 Phillies.

In the second, Hoerner flashed some glove [VIDEO].

Nice play, too, by Bellinger, who hasn’t played much first base this year (just 12 starts).

Castellanos homered in the third off Assad to make it 4-0.

The Cubs got on the board in the fourth and made a game of it, for a time. Paredes singled and on an attempted force play on Bellinger, Stott made an error and both runners were safe.

One out later, Nico hit his first homer of the game [VIDEO].

Well. That made it 4-3 and this is a game again. Unfortunately, one more homer, this one by Clemens, made it 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

The Cubs came right back with a run in the fifth. The first two Cubs were routine outs, then Dansby Swanson walked. Paredes singled, his third hit of the game, with Swanson taking third. Swanson then scored on this single by Bellinger [VIDEO].

Assad got in trouble in the bottom of the fifth, though. With one out, two singles and a walk loaded the bases. At 90 pitches, Assad was removed for Keegan Thompson, who’s been reasonably effective this year.

Not this time. Thompson got behind in the count 2-1, then threw a cutter that Brandon Marsh smacked for a bases-clearing double to make the score 8-4 Phillies.

Assad didn’t pitch all that well but he didn’t deserve those three extra runs tacked on to his record. That’s the most runs (eight) he’s allowed in any start in his career, which made his final season ERA 3.73. Even so, I think Assad is a perfectly cromulent fifth starter, which is what he should be, and what he will be in 2025 if the Cubs can sign or trade for a top starter (who would replace Kyle Hendricks in the rotation).

The Cubs did not quit in this game, though. Hoerner led off the sixth with his second homer of the game [VIDEO].

That made the score 8-5, but a run off Ethan Roberts in the seventh made it a four-run Phillies lead.

The Cubs gave it a shot in the ninth. With one out, Kevin Alcántara, just called up from Triple-A Iowa and making his first MLB start, hit this slow roller for his first MLB hit [VIDEO].

One out later, Alcántara scored his first MLB run on this double by Swanson [VIDEO].

That put the tying run on deck, but Paredes, batting with a chance to have a five-hit day, lined out to left to end the game.

The Cubs produced some good offense in this game — Hoerner’s two homers, Paredes’ four-hit game, nine hits and two walks in all — but the pitching couldn’t hold the powerful Phillies down. The Phillies clinched a first-round bye with the victory.

The Cubs finish the season with a 39-42 road record, which isn’t great but after they were swept in Cleveland in mid-August, they went 12-6 away from Wrigley Field.

In case you were wondering:

Blue alternate: 20-22
Road gray: 19-20

So, pretty much the same record no matter what road uniform was worn. Also, there’s this curiosity about the final score, from BCB’s JohnW53:

With their loss Wednesday, the Cubs are 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 when they have scored five or more, they are 61-12.

Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].

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

As for me, I’m heading to the South Side this afternoon hoping to see baseball history made as the White Sox 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’s potential baseball history.