Cubs 5, Padres 4: Friars edged out to even series

The Padres offense put together another solid effort today, but the pitching couldn’t hold off the Cubs’ strong bats. Tyson Ross fell to a not very nice 6-9 after giving up three runs in five innings, and the bullpen didn’t do much better. Robert Stock and Jordan Lyles gave up another pair in three innings of relief, and a ninth inning comeback attempt fell flat.

Chicago jumped out to an early lead when Javier Baez hit a leadoff bomb in the second inning. Ross fell farther behind when he gave up a free pass in the third inning. Tommy La Stella drew a one-out walk and went to third when Anthony Rizzo followed up with a single to right field. A Ben Zobrist sacrifice fly brought him home, and the Friars were down 2-0.

Christian Villanueva got the guys back in the game when he hit his team-leading 20th homer of the year in the fourth, but the solo shot was answered in the fifth. It was the same trio as the third, with La Stella and Rizzo singling while Zobrist brought the former home on a fielder’s choice. Rizzo caused even more damage in the seventh when he took Stock yard.

The Padres managed to do some more damage in the eighth when Cory Spangenberg and Travis Jankowski led off with a pair of singles. An error put Manuel Margot on first and scored Spangy, but even with nobody out, they couldn’t bring Jankowski in from second. That run got erased when Javy Baez led off the bottom half of the inning with a triple and scored on a sac fly.

The guys made a strong comeback attempt in the ninth. Freddy Galvis started things with a single, and a walk from Jose Pirela moved him into scoring position. Spangy doubled to plate Galvis, and Pirela went home on a ground out by Jankowski to draw the Pads within one. Unfortunately, Corey’s mad dash for home on Margot’s chopper to third didn’t work out as he was gunned down at the plate. Austin Hedges struck out, and that was the game.

Joey Lucchesi has a stomach bug, so Walker Lockett gets the start tomorrow. First pitch at 11:20 AM.