Phillies Losing Streak Hits 7 Games After Yet Another Loss to the Cubs

The Phillies have lost their seventh straight game and the season series against the Chicago Cubs. 

They lost 7-4 in another disaster class from the offense and a blowup from the bullpen. The Phillies walked 10 batters and gave up 12 hits, while the Cubs left 17 runners on base. The Phillies scored in three innings, which hasn’t happened since last Monday.

Getting the start for both teams was a rematch between Jesus Luzardo and Shota Imanaga, who had faced off the previous Tuesday. Luzardo didn’t give up eight runs this time, but did not make it through five innings as the Cubs were able to get runners on every inning and work up his pitch count. Imanaga was once again fantastic for the Cubs, pitching seven innings and allowing only three hits and one run. In his two starts combined against the Phillies, he gave up just two runs in 13 innings. 

The Phillies’ offense was once again the defining factor of the game. Although Luzardo was getting out of jams, the offense wasn’t backing him up whatsoever. They had only one base runner through three innings and two hits through five. It was like a repeat of last week, when Imanaga struck out 11 Phillies over six innings. 

The story is that Luzardo, out of the stretch, has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball, and the stats tell it, and through the first three innings, it looked a lot like it. After a single in the first, Alec Bohm made a great stop on a ball hit by Seiya Suzuki, saving an extra base hit. In the second inning, with another base runner on, Matt Shaw hit another ball, which Bohm stopped, which would’ve been an extra base hit. Shaw beat out the throw as Luzardo got Pete Crow-Armstrong to strike out to end the inning.

The third inning looked like it was going to be another blowup for both Luzardo and the Phillies. After back-to-back walks to Alex Bregman and Ian Happ and Suzuki getting hit by a pitch, Bryce Harper made a fantastic behind-the-back catch on Carson Kelly, sliding in foul territory to make the catch and save what would’ve been two runs. Luzardo then got Michael Busch to ground out, ending another Cubs threat. 

Once again, the same problems came up in the fourth for Jesus. After a walk and a single by Crow-Armstrong that put runners on first and third, Nico Hoerner popped out, and Bregman put a charge on a fly ball to center field, which Brandon Marsh leaped up to make another spectacular grab, saving the Phillies once again. Once again, the Phillies defense saved them even more runs.

And Luzardo did it one more time. After another walk and single put runners on first and third again, but a groundout by Carson Kelly and a strikeout of Busch ended Luzardo’s night at 100 pitches. But it was about time the Cubs were going to break the scoreless tie at some point. Orion Kerkering came in after Luzardo and walked Dansby Swanson to load the bases, and with all of Wrigley Field coming to their feet, he walked in Moises Ballesteros for the first run of the game. 

But the Phillies finally responded right after the bases-loaded walk. Kyle Schwarber connected on a high and in fastball out into the right field bleachers for his eighth home run of the season, tying the game up at one. But it wouldn’t be long for the Cubs to retake the lead, as that would come in the bottom of the inning.

Tanner Banks came in and gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases, and Busch swung on the first pitch and dropped a little bloop single to center field to break the tie again and make it 3-1 Cubs. Banks walked the bases loaded again before he got former Phillie Scott Kingery to fly out and stop the bleeding.

With Tim Mayza coming in the bottom of the seventh, trying to limit the damage, he gave up three runs on two home runs to Hoerner and Suzuki, basically putting the game out of reach with the way the offense has been for the Phillies. In Mayza’s last four outings, he has given up eight runs. If Mayza doesn’t give up those runs, the game would’ve been tied. Harper hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth, cutting the lead down to three, giving the Phillies life again.

But that didn’t last. Jose Alvarado got into more trouble and gave the Cubs an insurance run on a wild pitch after getting multiple runners on and only recording one out. He was then pulled after he was experiencing discomfort and left the mound with trainer Paul Buchheit. It was confirmed that he left with a mid-back spasm.

The Phillies tried to rally in the ninth inning, with Adolis Garcia and J.T. Realmuto both reaching before Bohm drove in Garcia on a sac-fly and Marsh singling to bring the tying run to the plate. The last two hitters would be retired in order for the Phillies, giving the Cubs the 7-4 win.

The Phillies will try to snap their seven-game losing streak Wednesday night with their third game of the four-game set against the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM EST. 

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: