Nico Hoerner had a career-high five RBIs and Shota Imanaga matched a personal best with 11 strikeouts, lifting the visiting Chicago Cubs to an 11-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Hoerner hit an RBI single in the third inning and later scored on a throwing error. He belted a two-run homer in the fifth and ripped a two-run single in the sixth, giving him 19 hits and 16 RBIs in 13 games this month.
Matt Shaw ripped a two-run double and Dansby Swanson launched a solo homer to highlight their respective three-hit performances.
The Cubs finished with 15 hits to win the decisive contest of the three-game series and record a second straight victory for just the second time this season. Chicago has totaled 35 runs on 51 hits over the past four games.
The power surge was more than enough for Imanaga (1-1), who overcame a leadoff homer by Trea Turner to shut down the Phillies. The left-hander allowed one run on three hits and one walk before exiting after six innings. He threw 97 pitches, 67 of them strikes.
Bryce Harper belted a solo homer in the ninth inning for Philadelphia, which mustered just five hits en route to losing for the sixth time in the past eight games.
Turner deposited a 0-1 fastball from Imanaga over the wall in center field to open the scoring.
Hoerner leveled the contest in the third with an RBI single to center field, driving in Shaw, who had doubled. Hoerner advanced to second base on a walk and came around to score after Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto’s attempted throw to third base sailed into left field.
Alex Bregman moved to third on the miscue and scored after Jesus Luzardo (1-3) uncorked a wild pitch, staking Chicago to a 3-1 lead.
In the fifth, Hoerner doubled the advantage by sending a first-pitch fastball over the wall in center field for a two-run homer.
Shaw’s two-run double in the sixth inning drove Luzardo from the game, and Hoerner’s two-run single closed the book on the pitcher. Luzardo permitted nine runs (eight earned) in 5 1/3 innings. He yielded a career-high-tying 12 hits while fanning four and walking one.
–Field Level Media
