Two of the best offensive teams in the majors put on a show in windy Chicago on Friday.
The Chicago Cubs lost a six-run lead in the eighth inning but recovered for a 13-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game series. The visitors will try to get over the wild defeat in time to even the set on Saturday.
The teams combined Friday for 33 hits and seven homers, and each team batted around in the eighth inning.
After the Diamondbacks scored 10 runs in the top of the eighth to grab an 11-7 lead, the Cubs rebounded with six of their own to stop the Diamondbacks’ five-game winning streak.
“It was crazy,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “We gave up 10 runs in an inning and won. It was a wild game, but we kept going. There are 27 outs in a game, and this kind of proves it. And you are happy to get out with a win.”
In the Saturday rematch, Arizona’s Zac Gallen (1-2, 4.64 ERA) will oppose Chicago’s Ben Brown (2-1, 5.09) in a battle of right-handers.
The Cubs lead the major leagues with 137 runs, and the Diamondbacks are second with 115. Arizona led the majors with 886 runs last year.
Arizona leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll, who had two singles and an RBI on Friday, has reached base in all 20 games this season and has 12 RBIs during an active 11-game hitting streak.
Carson Kelly hit two homers for the Cubs on Friday, and Kyle Tucker delivered a go-ahead two-run shut in the eighth. Kelly is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with six homers and 18 RBIs in 11 games this year.
“I made a lot of adjustments, swing changes, in Detroit last year,” Kelly said.
Gallen has made quality starts in two of his four appearances this season. In his most recent outing, he gave up two runs and five hits in six innings en route to a no-decision in the Diamondbacks’ 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. He has 24 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings.
Gallen took a 10-6 loss to the Cubs in the Diamondbacks’ season opener on March 27, when he was not his usual self. He permitted four runs on four hits and four walks in four innings. He has walked 11 this season, and his rate of 4.6 walks per nine innings is a career high, albeit in a short sample size.
“For me, I’m always trying to be in the zone, even though sometimes watching the game, (it) doesn’t appear that way,” Gallen said. “For me, if everything is feeling right, I can command it pretty well.”
Gallen threw a three-hit shutout in 1-0 road victory over the Cubs on Sept. 8, 2023, when he struck out nine and walked one. He is 3-2 with a 3.26 ERA in seven career starts vs. Chicago.
Brown will enter after his best outing of the season, when he pitched six scoreless innings in the 16-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 12. Brown gave up five hits, all singles, and struck out five with no walks.
That outing takes on greater significance as the Cubs look to play through the absence of No. 2 starter Justin Steele, who was lost for the season due to a left elbow injury. Brown went 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 15 games, eight starts, as a rookie in 2024.
Brown has faced Arizona once, getting a no-decision in Phoenix on April 15, 2024. He gave up one run on one hit with two walks and four strikeouts in six innings.
–Field Level Media
