Cody Bellinger had a standout performance with a triple, two singles, and four RBIs, helping the Chicago Cubs cruise to a 10-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
Despite Kyle Schwarber hitting his 38th home run and Bryce Harper notching his 30th for the Phillies—who just clinched their first NL East title in 13 years—Philadelphia’s regular lineup (minus J.T. Realmuto) fell short. Manager Rob Thomson kept his core players in as the team pushes to lock down home-field advantage for the NL playoffs.
“You want to keep winning, but it didn’t work for us tonight,” said Schwarber. “The focus is now on finishing strong in these next four games.”
The Phillies (93-65) have four games left and need to at least tie the Brewers to earn a first-round bye. Milwaukee’s win over Pittsburgh moved them within 2 1/2 games of Philadelphia. The Phillies are also eyeing home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series by finishing tied with or ahead of the Dodgers, who were 93-63 entering the night.
Harper gave Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead in the first with his 30th home run of the season, but the Phillies faltered in the second inning when Tanner Banks (2-3) and Taijuan Walker combined to allow six Cubs runs.
“We had a really strong inning,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
Walker, signed to a four-year, $72 million deal before the 2023 season, came in with the bases loaded and one out but struggled, walking two batters in a row to bring in runs. The frustration from Phillies fans grew louder when Seiya Suzuki added a two-run single.
Philadelphia’s weak spot throughout the season, especially in the second half, has been their No. 5 starter, who won’t be needed for the rest of the season.
Garrett Stubbs brought in a run for the Phillies with an RBI bunt single in the bottom of the second, avoiding Bellinger with an athletic headfirst slide into first.
The Cubs extended their lead in the sixth with a four-run inning, capped by Bellinger’s bases-clearing triple to right field.
“We kept getting runners on base all night,” said Counsell.
Drew Smyly (4-8) tossed a scoreless inning in relief of Cubs starter Justin Steele, who gave up two runs over four innings.
“Solid all-around from the pitching staff,” Counsell added.
Dansby Swanson contributed two doubles for Chicago, while Pete Crow-Armstrong added three hits. Schwarber closed the scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: First baseman Michael Busch left the game before the bottom of the second inning due to a right triceps contusion after being hit by a pitch earlier. Seiya Suzuki did not take his at-bat in the eighth inning after spraining his ankle while running the bases.
Phillies: Left fielder Austin Hays rejoined the lineup, playing for the first time since being out with a kidney infection since September 1. Hays went 1-for-4 in his return.
UP NEXT
The teams will conclude their three-game series on Wednesday night, with Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (7-5, 3.34 ERA) taking the mound against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (11-9, 3.25 ERA).
