The Philadelphia Phillies were starving for a victory before feasting on the Chicago Cubs’ pitching on Saturday.
Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola also is hungry for a win, and he’ll look for his first of the season on Sunday night in the rubber match of a three-game series in Chicago.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Nola said. “Absolutely. I’m 0-5 with a (6.43 ERA). It’s pretty brutal.”
Brutal is an accurate assessment, especially considering Nola has been generous with the long ball. He allowed two homers for the third time this season in a 5-4 setback to the New York Mets on Monday.
Perhaps facing the Cubs is a promising sign for the 31-year-old Nola, who has a 7-2 record — albeit with a 4.52 ERA — in 10 career appearances (all starts) against them.
As for the Phillies as a team, they rebounded from being shut out in the series opener on Friday by lashing out for 10 runs on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak. Philadelphia benefited from a six-run fourth inning and went 7-for-13 with runners in scoring position to halt the Cubs’ three-game winning streak.
Max Kepler homered among his three hits and joined Bryce Harper and former Cubs player Kyle Schwarber in driving in a pair of runs in Saturday’s 10-4 victory. The Phillies’ 10-run outburst came on the heels of scoring a total of 13 runs during their five-game skid.
“If we keep getting guys on base and we keep finding ways to get guys into scoring position, things are going to start going our way,” Schwarber said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s not always going to be a homer, right? The good thing about our team is that I feel that we can score runs many different ways.”
Chicago right-hander Jameson Taillon (1-1, 4.73 ERA) will look to keep the Phillies in check on Sunday night.
Taillon recorded his third straight no-decision last Sunday after allowing one run on three hits in five innings in his team’s 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Taillon, 33, is 2-4 with a 7.41 ERA in eight career appearances (all starts) versus Philadelphia.
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki followed his two doubles in a 4-0 win in the series opener by driving in three runs on Saturday to boost his total to 23 RBIs in his past 19 games.
Jon Berti had two hits in the series opener and three on Saturday. He has provided a positive at third base, considering Matt Shaw was demoted to Triple-A Iowa and Gage Workman was designated for assignment and traded Saturday to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations.
Veteran Justin Turner drove in a run and went 1-for-4 on Saturday. He’s batting just .163 for the season, however.
“One thing I’m interested in is that this is the first time he’s been in a little more of a part-time role, which is pretty good when you’re 40 years old, for that (to be) the first time it’s happened,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, per the Chicago Tribune. “It just shows nobody is immune to it, too.”
–Field Level Media
