Game Recap: Cubs fall in finale against Red Sox, now tied atop NL Central

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 6 hours ago

CHICAGO - When you looked at this weekend's pitching matchups against the Boston Red Sox (54-47), Sunday was the one game where Boston had the advantage. Still, the Chicago Cubs (59-40) had a chance at a weekend sweep as they entered Sunday's contest, winning the first two games of the series.

Despite Garrett Crochet laboring through his six innings of work, he still managed to limit the damage as the Cubs held a 1-0 lead through six innings. It was at that moment when the game changed as the Red Sox used a trio of late-game homers to avoid the sweep and salvaged the series finale 6-1.

Knowing that he needed to be at his best if he wanted to take down Crochet, Cade Horton did what he had to do as he was making his first start of the second half. Although far from perfect, especially from a command side, Horton grinded it out for 5 2/3 shutout frames, allowing just two hits. He walked three and struck out four, as that continues to be an issue, but this was a start the Cubs can live with from him.

One of the biggest reasons why the Cubs have won four straight and five of their last six has been their ability to not only score first, but also lead during the entirety of those five wins. With Pete Crow-Armstrong leading off the bottom of the second with a double, the Cubs were on the verge of doing that yet again as an Ian Happ single put the Cubs on top 1-0. That was the only run of the afternoon for the Cubs, but with the Cubs' pitching staff keeping the Red Sox scoreless for nearly 20 innings, one run was looking to be enough.

Still trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Red Sox had an opportunity to pull even as a leadoff walk from Wilyer Abreu set the offense up, only to have Carson Kelly gun Abreu down trying to steal. That proved costly later in the inning with Marcelo Mayer tacking on a single, but once again it was Horton finding a way to escape trouble as Kyle Tucker hauled in a nice sliding catch to end the inning.

With Crochet far from his best, this was one of those games where the Cubs knew they had to capitalize, and they were looking to do that in the bottom of the fifth as a two-out Nico Hoerner single kept the inning alive for the Cubs. From there, it was all about patience, as back-to-back walks to Tucker and Seiya Suzuki loaded the bases, which was the key sequence to the game. Needing a big hit to potentially deliver the knockout blow, it was Crochet who had the last laugh as Carson Kelly grounded out to end the frame as the Cubs clung to a 1-0 lead.

Not only did the Cubs waste that scoring chance, but they wasted another chance in the sixth as Crow-Armstrong led off the sixth with a hustling double, only to be left standing on second when the inning ended. Given how well the Cubs' bullpen has pitched over the past week, you had to like the position they were in late as they continued to lead 1-0 in the seventh.

However, one of the biggest cardinal sins in baseball is the leadoff walk, and with Ryan Pressly walking Trevor Story to start the seventh, it marked four consecutive innings where the Cubs walked the leadoff man. That is not a recipe for success, but up until this point, the Cubs managed to avoid damage, which is why they still held the lead.

Sometimes it only takes one mistake to flip the game on its head, as Pressly fell behind Abreu only to watch him turn on a heater for his first of two late-game homers to give the Red Sox their first and only lead of the series, 2-1. That was only the start for what was a rare rough night for the Cubs' pen as the Red Sox continued to go to work against Drew Pomeranz in the eighth, as another leadoff walk to Jurren Duran gave the Red Sox a baserunner.

A Roman Anthony single followed up that walk as Boston had two on and no outs. Hoping to get a double-play ball to end the inning, Alex Cora called on Alex Bregman to pinch-hit, which immediately put Pomeranz in a tough spot. Despite making a good pitch to Bregman with a curveball low and inside, the all-star third baseman pulled his hands in and lofted one into the left field seats to break the game open 5-1.

Abreu would tack on his second homer in as many innings two batters later to push the Red Sox's lead to 6-1 before the Boston pen locked things down from there. With the loss, coupled with the Brewers' sweep of the Dodgers, Chicago now finds itself tied for first place in the NL Central, having held the lead by itself since April.

Chicago had eight hits in the ballgame, with Dansby Swanson, Crow-Armstrong, and Hoerner leading the way with two hits. Next up for the Cubs is a three-game series with the Royals, which starts tomorrow night.