Cubs Slug Past Phillies to Split Series

PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Alex Bregman drove in three runs, Carson Kelly launched a three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rebounded from a lopsided loss to pound the Philadelphia Phillies 10-4 on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

A crowd of 37,426 watched the Cubs amass 15 hits, breaking open a tight game with a four-run sixth inning before Kelly’s blast provided the final margin. The victory evened the season series at one game apiece and brought both teams to identical 8-9 records.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the sixth inning, transforming a narrow 3-2 contest into a commanding lead. The Cubs, having just taken a 3-2 lead in the fifth, immediately went back to work against reliever Tim Mayza. After a groundout, Carson Kelly walked and Pete Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch. Dansby Swanson then reached on a fielder’s choice that turned into a critical error when second baseman Bryson Stott failed to catch Mayza’s throw on a potential force play, loading the bases.

Nico Hoerner promptly singled up the middle, scoring two runs. After a walk to Michael Busch reloaded the bases, Alex Bregman delivered the decisive blow, a two-run single to right field that stretched the lead to 7-2. That four-run outburst effectively put the game out of reach, as the Phillies’ offense, aside from a late rally, was stifled after the second inning.

The Phillies had struck first. In the bottom of the second against Cubs starter Colin Rea, Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto singled ahead of a two-out, three-run homer by Edmundo Sosa that landed in the center field shrubbery, giving Philadelphia an early 3-0 advantage.

Chicago began chipping away in the third. Crow-Armstrong led off with a double and scored on Hoerner’s RBI single. After a single by Bregman, Ian Happ drove a ball to deep left field that was reviewed for a home run but ruled a double, plating another run to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Cubs took the lead for good in the fifth. Swanson walked, and after a strikeout, Busch also walked. Bregman then lined a single to center, scoring Swanson to make it 3-2.

Rea (2-0) settled in after Sosa’s homer, earning the win. He worked six innings, allowing three runs on six hits, striking out four and walking none. The Chicago bullpen, led by scoreless outings from Riley Martin and Caleb Thielbar, navigated through most of the late innings, though Jacob Webb surrendered a run in the eighth.

That Phillies run came on an RBI single by Trea Turner, scoring Sosa, who had doubled. Philadelphia loaded the bases later in the inning, but Thielbar entered and struck out Alec Bohm on a foul tip to end the threat.

Kelly sealed the victory in the ninth, launching his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to center off Phillies reliever Andrew Bellatti, scoring Seiya Suzuki and pinch-runner Miguel Amaya.

Mayza (0-1) took the loss, charged with four runs, three earned, in one-third of an inning.

Bregman finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs. Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong each had two hits, with Hoerner driving in two. Kelly went 2 for 4 with the homer and three RBIs. For Philadelphia, Sosa had the big three-run homer and a double, while Realmuto collected two hits.

The game, which lasted 3 hours and 7 minutes, featured multiple replay reviews. In the third, the umpires upheld the call on the field that Happ’s drive was a double. In the eighth, the Cubs unsuccessfully challenged a tag play at third base.

The result defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 5-4 Phillies victory, and its ELO system gave Philadelphia a 54.9% probability to win. The Phillies had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite, and the total score of 14 sailed over the posted over/under line of 8.5.

The Cubs arrived having been routed 13-7 by the Phillies just a day earlier. Philadelphia had won its previous game but had been inconsistent offensively, suffering two shutouts in its last six games.

The two teams will conclude the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Cubs will then return home to host the New York Mets for a three-game set starting Friday. The Phillies will remain home to welcome the Atlanta Braves for a three-game series beginning Friday. The clubs are scheduled to meet again for a four-game series in Chicago next week.