Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 10, Phillies 1 - May 19, 2023
Now THAT is how you come out of an off-day, which followed the worst loss of the year, which followed a terrible month. Blowing the doors off the Phillies tonight doesn’t mean the Cubs are fixed, but it sure as heck felt good.
From the start, the Cubs’ bats were humming, making Ranger Suarez work. And yet I still had the nerves.
The Cubs had Suarez completely on the ropes, with two on and nobody out and four already scored in the inning. The Phillies were letting him grind, even as his body language looked terrible and he was approaching 30 pitches in the inning and 60 in the game. That was the opportunity to end the thing. But Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Patrick Wisdom struck out in succession to end the inning. (Wisdom missed a three-run homer by about 15 feet foul, but it still goes down as a strikeout.)
I had some concerns. I still felt burned by Wednesday night’s loss, and I worried that I was just being set up for more disappointment.
I’m glad I was wrong. Not only did the Cubs’ pitching staff make this one hold up just fine, but the offense poured it on from there. Multi-hit/walk nights up and down the lineup, and even a Christopher Morel blast for good measure:
Christopher Morel has hit six home runs in nine games played this season 💪 pic.twitter.com/cNs25R9ATJ — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 20, 2023
The only sour note is that the homer was under 400 feet. I hope Morel is OK.
It was low-leverage, but Julian Merryweather looked pretty good over his multi-inning appearance. I’m still not sure he’ll get higher-leverage looks yet, but with Keegan Thompson optioned out, maybe the path opens up slightly more. Nick Burdi got the 9th, which included striking Kyle Schwarber out on elevated 101 mph. I nearly lost it.
And, of course, there was Marcus Stroman. Great bounce-back start; and pretty much just Stroman doing as he does.
Let’s call this the start of a new stretch for the Cubs. Refreshed roster – both in terms of rest and bodies – and the Cubs start it with a win.
Full box score.
Source: bleachernation.com
