Game Recap: Royals push Cubs out of first place |
Dustin Riese
· · 7 hours ago
CHICAGO - Boy, are things about to heat up in the NL Central as the Chicago Cubs (59-41) and the Milwaukee Brewers are about to go toe-to-toe for the division crown the rest of the way. As good as the Cubs have been playing, the Brewers are playing even better, having now won 11 straight games to bump the Cubs out of first place for the first time since April 5.
At some point, they will cool off, but until then, the Cubs need to take care of the business in front of them, which starts with the Kansas City Royals (49-52) at Wrigley Field. Coming into the game as the fifth-worst hitting team against right-handers, the Cubs elected to call up Ben Brown as they try to piece together the missing link from Jameson Taillon in their rotation. Although a great thought going into the game, tonight was all the proof you need that the Cubs need another starter sooner rather than later, as the Royals blasted four homers against Brown and Chris Flexen and went on to score 11 unanswered runs to pick up the 12-4 win. That wasn't what the Cubs expected going into the game, and with another loss from the Taillon spot in the rotation, this team needs help and fast. As expected, the Cubs continued to struggle against a left-handed starter, although they did show some early signs of life against Noah Cameron, who struck out seven over six innings. Cameron was tagged for four runs in those six innings, all of them coming in the second inning after the Jac Caglianone homer put the Royals on top 1-0. Chicago didn't waste any time battling back as Carson Kelly tied things up with a solo blast in the bottom of the first, as this was a 1-1. That was only the start of what was a massive inning for the Cubs as a pair of hits from Dansby Swanson and Justin Turner kept the inning alive, which set the stage for Matt Shaw, who connected for his second homer in his last three games to jump in front 4-1. Little did they know, those four runs would be all the Cubs' offense would get, but given how well the Cubs' pitching has been over the past month, you had to like their chances of winning this game. The Cubs had an opportunity to build on their lead in the bottom of the third as a pair of two-out singles from Kelly and Ian Happ kept the inning alive, only to come away empty. Once the fourth inning arrived, it was the beginning of the end for the Cubs as Salvador Perez connected for a two-out, two-run shot that pulled the Royals within a run. Then came the fifth, where things began to unravel in a hurry as Brown continued to struggle when the moments got tough. All it took was a pair of singles from Nick Loftin and Kyle Isbel, and the Royals were not only threatening to tie things up, but also to grab the lead. A Jonathan India double followed those singles to tie things up at 4-4, while an infield single from Bobby Witt Jr put the Royals on top for good, 5-4. Things only got worse from there as Brown and the Cubs' defense began to struggle with a throwing error and a wild pitch, leading to two more runs to give the Royals a 7-4 lead. That would be it for Brown, whose tough season continues, as it was going to come down to Chris Flexen to try and keep things close. For the most part, Flexen was able to do that, allowing a seventh-inning homer to John Rave to extend the Royals' lead, but with the Cubs offense going quiet after the third inning, things weren't looking good for the Northsiders. Still trailing by that 8-4 score in the eighth, the Royals had one more big inning in store as a leadoff double from Maikel Garcia had things in motion, only to have Perez connect for his second homer of the night to push the lead to 10-4. Throw in a Caglianone walk and a Loftin single, the Royals had Flexen on the ropes as Rave delivered the fourth hit of the eighth, making this an 11-4 game. Flexen was eventually able to get through that inning, but with Witt adding an RBI later in the inning, it was the Royals putting together their second four-run frame of the night to open up a 12-4 lead. As we have seen with this Cubs team more often than not, no lead ever seems too large for them, as they put a pair of runners on base in both the eighth and ninth innings. They were unable to capitalize on those scoring chances as they fell out of first place for the first time since April 5, 12-4. Most of the Cubs' damage came from three hitters as Kelly led the offense with three hits. Chicago also had Shaw and Turner pick up two hits, with Shaw driving in three. With the Cubs now looking up in the division, there needs to be a sense of urgency within the organization to add another starting pitcher, as they can't afford to send Brown to the mound anymore in a pennant chase.
