Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Seiya Suzuki connected on a two-run homer on Wednesday, helping the Chicago Cubs earn a 7-2 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, securing their eighth straight win.
Ian Happ also drove in two runs and Alex Bregman tallied three hits for the Cubs, who outhit the Phillies 13-9. Making his first start since returning from a stint on the 15-day injured list with a left bicep strain, Matthew Boyd threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking none. Ben Brown (1-0) tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames in relief, striking out five.
After Philadelphia’s Kyle Backhus allowed a first-inning run as an opener, Taijuan Walker (1-4) surrendered eight hits and five runs (four earned) across four innings. Walker struck out one and walked one for the Phillies, who dropped their eighth straight game. Philadelphia has lost eight in a row for the first time since a nine-gamer in September 2018.
Nico Hoerner and Bregman began the bottom of the first with consecutive singles, before Happ’s RBI groundout gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
After Felix Reyes and Alec Bohm singled in the second, Edmundo Sosa’s run-scoring double and Justin Crawford’s groundout put the Phillies ahead 2-1.
Walker spelled Backhus in the bottom of the second. Miguel Amaya reached on Crawford’s two-out fielding error, before scoring the tying run on Crow-Armstrong’s double.
Bregman tripled and Happ singled to return the lead to the Cubs in the third. Two batters later, Michael Busch connected on his first homer of the season to extend Chicago’s advantage to 4-2.
Bregman reached on his third hit in as many at bats in the bottom of the fifth, before Suzuki’s two-run homer doubled the Cubs’ lead.
Crow-Armstrong’s eighth-inning RBI single off Alan Rangel put the Cubs ahead 7-2, stamping Chicago’s offensive outburst.
