Game Recap: Cubs continue to roll in win over Giants

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 11 hours ago

CHICAGO - It doesn't matter how good of an opponent the Chicago Cubs (22-14) face; they just keep knocking them down. The San Francisco Giants (22-14) were next on that list to find out how good this team can be as they traveled to Wrigley Field on Monday to kick off a three-game set.

Behind another strong performance from Matthew Boyd and an offense showing no signs of slowing down, the Cubs made a massive statement as they took care of business 9-2. That marks the Cubs sixth consecutive series-opening victory at home, which they have never done up to this point.

Everyone has heard by now just how challenging the schedule has been for the Cubs, but it has been Boyd who has gone through the gauntlet, facing the Diamondbacks, Padres, Dodgers, Padres Pirates, and now Giants to open the season. That is a daunting task for any pitcher, but when it comes to Boyd, not only has he held his own, but with a 3-2 record and a 2.75 ERA, he is one of the unsung heroes for the Cubs, thus far.

Monday saw Boyd continue his mastery this season as he handcuffed the Giants through six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a season-high seven strikeouts. Both of the runs he allowed came on a two-run homer as he was dialed in. Considering how Landen Roupp started the game, Boyd had to be on top of his game as the Giants right-hander was more than up for the task against this Cubs offense.

For the most part, Roupp kept the Cubs off balance despite what his final line will show. He was charged with four runs in five innings, but only two runs were earned. Those runs came in the third inning as Dansby Swanson led off the inning with a double down the line and came into score on the Ian Happ homer to put the Cubs in front 2-0. For Happ, this marked his third homer of the season, but his first against anyone else outside of the Diamondbacks as he continues to be the leadoff hitter the Cubs have longed for.

Pitching with the lead is always a good thing, and even with Jung Hoo Lee leading off the fourth with a single, Boyd was on the verge of getting through another inning unscathed. That was until one too many elevated change-ups were turned on as Luis Matos took an elevated change-up deep over the left field fence to bring things back to even 2-2. Those were not only the only runs Boyd would allow but the only offense the Giants would have, as runs were challenging to come by most of the night.

It didn't take the Cubs long to respond as they came storming back in the bottom of the fourth. Leave it to Pete Crow-Armstrong to play a role in that, as his speed forced Matt Chapman into an uncharacteristic two-out that gave the Cubs a base runner and extended the inning. Crow-Armstrong wound up taking third on the Nico Hoerner single before Swanson came through again with a massive two-run single that gave the Cubs the lead for good, 4-2.

Since moving to the No. 8 spot in the lineup, Swanson has gone 12 -26 with three homers and 9 RBIs, and it has gotten to the point where if it isn't broke, don't fix it. With Roupp out of the game after five innings, it was up to Hayden Birdsong to keep things close, and instead, it was the Cubs offense breaking the game open by scoring five times to push the lead to 9-2.

As it has come to be expected, Carson Kelly was part of that big inning as his hot start to the season continued with a solo shot that put the Cubs in front 5-2. Another Crow-Armstrong single followed that homer with his speed forcing a second error that allowed Hoerner to reach base and got PCA to third with no outs. San Francisco continued to shoot themselves in the foot as another error loaded the bases ahead of a bases-loaded Nicky Lopez walk as the Cubs extended their lead to 6-2.

Happ kept the line moving with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 7-2 while another walk to Kyle Tucker loaded the bases yet again as the Cubs were on the verge of blowing the doors wide open. That they did as Seiya Suzuki closed out the massive five-run inning with a two-RBI single to extend the Cubs lead to 9-2.

Those would be the final runs of the night as the combination of Caleb Thielbar and Gavin Hollowell took care of the rest, tossing three scoreless innings to post a 9-2 win. Hollowell was responsible for two of those scoreless innings and has now gone multiple scoreless innings for the Cubs this season. Chicago had nine hits in the ballgame, three coming from Swanson to lead the way as this offense continues to be relentless.

The Cubs will look to take another series on Tuesday as they send the upstart Colin Rea to the mound against Justin Verlander, who is still searching for his first Giants win. The first pitch is set for 6:40 at Wrigley Field.