CHICAGO — The first of four consecutive meetings between the Chicago Cubs (8-2) and the Kansas City Royals (3-8) went the Cubs' way on Monday. Winning 2-0, the North Siders came out on top of a showdown that included solid outings by both starters, as the Cubs' Alec Mills and the Royals' Danny Duffy pitched well.
The two clubs recorded a combined nine hits in an old-fashioned contest that did not feature much explosive offense. A sacrifice fly by Javy Baez that scored Nico Hoerner and a solo jack by Kris Bryant provided the Cubs with their two runs on a windy night at Wrigley Field.
Inning-by-Inning Breakdown:
T1: Mills caught a couple of unlucky breaks out of the gate. A ball that landed just fair down the left field line bounced into the seats for a ground rule double, and a nubber hit onto the infield grass resulted in an infield single that put runners on the corners. However, an inning-ending groundout enabled Mills to escape the jam.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B1: Bryant hammered a leadoff double to center field but did not score.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
T2: Mills allowed two batters to reach base but kept the Royals scoreless.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B2: Duffy walked the leadoff man in a scoreless half-inning that saw the Cubs hit into a few fielder's choice situations.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
T3: Former Cub Jorge Soler drew a leadoff walk. Kansas City did not get on the scoreboard, though.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B3: Other than a two-out base knock by Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs did not do any damage to Duffy in the third.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
T4: Living up to his "El Mago" nickname, Baez pulled off a magical no-look tag to end the top half of the fourth. Adalberto Mondesi walked with two outs and attempted to steal second. Mondesi was tagged out by Baez, who let Mondesi slide right into his glove just as he received the throw from catcher Willson Contreras.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B4: A two-out walk of David Bote was all that the Cubs mustered at the plate in the fourth.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
T5: Mills worked an easy fifth, striking out Soler to end it.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B5: Hoerner walked to kick off the bottom of the fifth. Ian Happ singled after that, and Bryant then walked to load the bases with no outs. An infield popup by Rizzo ensued, but Baez plated the speedy Hoerner with a sacrifice fly to right. Contreras grounded out to end the inning.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 1
T6: Mills continued to flourish, sitting the Royals down in order.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 1
B6: The Cubs also went down in order in the sixth inning.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 1
T7: Bote capped off a scoreless top half of the seventh by bare-handing a bunt and firing an impressive throw to first. Bote made several spectacular defensive plays at third base on the evening.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 1
B7: Reliever Ian Kennedy replaced Duffy before the start of the inning. With two outs, Bryant swung at a first-pitch cutter and sent it just over the center field wall. The 385-foot solo shot marked Bryant's first dinger of the season.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 2
T8: Casey Sadler relieved Mills and combined with Rowan Wick to pitch the eighth. Soler tallied a two-out single that brought in Wick, who then struck a batter out.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 2
B8: Royals fireballer Josh Staumont struck out the side in the eighth, consistently throwing heaters at around 100 mph.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 2
T9: Rowan Wick finished off the Royals, who managed just a one-out single in their last-ditch effort at extending the game.
Final Score: Royals 0, Cubs 2
Statistical Breakdown:
Chicago Cubs: Batting: 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 2-Out RBI, 1 SF, 0-5 RISP, 6 LOB; Pitching: 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP
Kansas City Royals: Batting: 1 2B, 1-7 RISP, 7 LOB; Baserunning: 1 SB, 1 CS; Pitching: 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP
Studs of the Game:
Chicago Cubs: Alec Mills (SP): 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP; Kris Bryant (LF): 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 2-Out RBI
Kansas City Royals: N/A
Duds of the Game:
Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras (C): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K, 0-2 RISP
Kansas City Royals: Maikel Franco (3B): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
Up Next: The second Cubs-Royals tilt at the Friendly Confines will feature a pitching matchup between Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 4.05) and rookie Royals right-hander Brady Singer (0-0, 3.60). Set to begin at 7:15 p.m. CDT, the Tuesday, Aug. 4, matchup is expected to played under clear skies.
Box Score:
| Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs |
| Aug 3, 2020 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Kansas City (3-8) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
| Chicago (8-2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
- |
2 |
4 |
0 |
| W: Alec Mills (2-0) L: Danny Duffy (0-2) S: Rowan Wick (2) |
Highlights:
