Joe Musgrove allowed two early runs and struck out a season-high nine over seven innings to remain undefeated, and Manny Machado had three hits with an RBI, as the surging San Diego Padres completed a four-game road sweep of the reeling Chicago Cubs with Thursday’s 6-4 victory.
Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar each homered for San Diego, which outscored the Cubs 41-15 for its first sweep at Wrigley Field since 2010 — also a four-game set. Chicago has lost a season-high 10 in a row, including six straight at home, after enduring a skid of 12 games overall in 2021.
Meanwhile, Musgrove (8-0) overcame some early struggles to continue this stellar season while giving up five hits and a walk for the Padres, who have won 11 of 14 and are off to the franchise’s best start (41-24). Musgrove is the first starter since Andy Hawkins in 1985 to go 8-0 for the Padres, who’ve won seven straight on the road for the club’s longest single-season run since 2006.
Hawkins won his first 11 decisions during his strong start.
Musgrove had not allowed a run in 16 consecutive innings — and one over his previous four starts. However, Christopher Morel (two hits) opened the bottom of the first with a drive into the right-center field bleachers for a 1-0 Cubs’ lead.
Mazara put the Padres ahead 2-1 in the second with a two-run homer off Cubs rookie starter Matt Swarmer (1-2). Later in the inning, Jake Cronenworth added a run-scoring double into the right-field corner.
Chicago got a run back in the bottom of the second on Andrelton Simmons’ RBI single. Meanwhile, Swarmer’s day ended after 3 2/3 innings, and he was charged with four runs, four hits and walked five while striking out four.
Scott Effross inherited two of Swarmer’s runners in the fourth, and allowed an RBI single to Machado, who went 7-for-18 with a homer and six RBIs in the series. The Padres added a run in the fifth on
Austin Nola’s sacrifice fly and Profar’s eighth-inning homer made it 6-2 — until Ian Happ’s RBI double and Frank Schwindel’s run-scoring groundout occurred late for Chicago.
–Field Level Media
