In Wednesday's rubber match, Ian Happ hammered his second go-ahead home run of the Cubs' series against the A's. (Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports)
Ian Happ crushes go-ahead grand slam as Cubs throttle A's |
by Cole Little
-
Senior Writer
-
Wed Aug 07 17:36:19 GMT-05:00 2019
CHICAGO — After getting pounded into the ground by the Oakland Athletics (65-50) in an 11-4 rout on Tuesday night, the Chicago Cubs (62-52) redeemed themselves in a major way on Wednesday afternoon. Winning 10-1 at Wrigley Field, the Cubs amassed 11 hits and scored nine runs in a span of two innings to take total control of the contest. Cubs starting pitcher Jose Quintana dominated on the mound in his seven innings of work, and a go-ahead grand slam by Chicago's Ian Happ proved to be the winning hit.
Quintana gave up just two hits and issued zero walks while striking out seven en route to collecting the winning decision. He faced off against A's starter Homer Bailey, who used to regularly pitch against the Cubs as a member of the Cincinnati Reds (54-58). Bailey fared well on the bump in the early innings but imploded in the bottom of the fourth before being pulled with 4 2/3 innings under his belt. Receiving the losing decision for his lackluster performance, Bailey gave up seven runs on six hits and one walk.
The A's struck first, though, as Marcus Semien tagged up and scored from third base on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth after leading off the frame with a double. The Cubs came alive in the bottom half of the fourth and plated five runs to go up 5-1. After Kris Bryant notched a 1-out single, Bailey hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch. Javier Baez then put the Cubs on the scoreboard by smacking an RBI single to right field, thus scoring Bryant. Bailey proceeded to walk Kyle Schwarber to load the bases, which set the stage for Happ, who hit an impressive go-ahead blast in the series opener on Monday, to smack a 402-foot grand slam out to left-center.
Bailey remained in the game to pitch the fifth, but he continued to struggle. With one out, Nicholas Castellanos powered a double off the wall in right field. Soon afterward, Rizzo hustled to beat out a throw to first base on a dribbler and reached base safely for a 2-out infield hit. Bailey exited the game at that point, and A's reliever Lou Trivino entered in his wake. Rizzo's baserunning effort paid off, as the Cubs produced a 2-out rally that resulted in them taking a 9-1 lead. For the second time on the day, Baez recorded an opposite-field RBI single, as he poked a base knock out into right-center and scored Castellanos. Schwarber next stepped up to the plate and walloped a 3-run homer to left field. The 375-footer increased the Cubs' advantage to eight runs.
Victor Caratini capped off the high-scoring outing for the Cubs by clubbing a towering solo shot to straightaway center field in the bottom of the eighth. The 2-out round-tripper sailed 433 feet and resulted in the Cubs reaching a double-digit run total. Fresh off the injured list, Cubs reliever Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the deal. As a result of the 10-1 beatdown, the Cubs won the rubber match and took two of three from the A's in the 3-game interleague series.
| Oakland Athletics at Chicago Cubs |
| Aug 7, 2019 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Oakland (65-50) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
| Chicago (62-52) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
- |
10 |
11 |
0 |
| W: Jose Quintana (10-7) L: Homer Bailey (9-8) |
