Stroman, Amaya dominate in road win against Padres |
SAN DIEGO - Playing out West has been a specialty for the Chicago Cubs (26-32) as they are now 7-2 on the West Coast this season. Coming off a disappointing 6-0 showing on Saturday night to the San Diego Padres (27-32), the Cubs returned to Petco Park on Sunday for game three of a four-game series.
On the mound for the Cubs was their Ace, Marcus Stroman, who has settled into quite an impressive run as of late. Stroman is coming off a dominating complete game in his last start and was back at it again on Sunday as he gave the Cubs six great innings to lower his ERA to 2.39. Stroman was backed by a relentless Cubs offense that gave him plenty of support as they took care of business 7-1. Stroman allowed an unearned run during those six innings while striking out six. He also walked three, but the offensive support the Cubs gave him made up for his minor command issues. Opposing Stroman was Ryan Weathers, who had a night to forget on the mound. Weathers didn't even make it out of the second inning and was charged with five earned runs as the Cubs offense made him pay for some early mistakes. All the offense in the game came in the first four innings, with the Cubs starting the party in the first. Nico Hoerner led things off with a double and then advanced to third on a one-out infield single from Ian Happ. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead on that infield hit as a throwing error by Manny Machado allowed Hoerner to advance 90 extra feet, and the Cubs never looked back. Later in the first inning saw, Patrick Wisdom pick up a single, and it looked like Happ was going to score, only to be tagged out at home. The Cubs elected to challenge that play at the plate, and it was upheld as the inning ended with the Cubs in front 1-0. Following a great start to the game for Stroman, the Cubs offense got right back to work in the second, with Yan Gomes doubling the lead with a leadoff homer. Yan Gomes - Chicago Cubs (7) pic.twitter.com/gNt3RXXFiL
That homer was followed by a Trey Mancini solo shot as the Cubs went back-to-back to make things 3-0. Trey Mancini - Chicago Cubs (4) pic.twitter.com/4NoEfTPbo7
For Mancini, this was his fourth homer of the season and first in almost a month, as he now has half of his season total against the Padres this season. Chicago kept the pressure on in the second inning as the recently called-up Miguel Amaya picked up a single ahead of the Christopher Morel walk to put a pair of runners on with no outs. Two batters later, Dansby Swanson continued his outstanding series as his two-run double extended the Cubs lead to 5-0 and capped off a four-run frame for the Cubs. Looking to battle back in the second, Stroman ran into some trouble as he allowed a two-out single to Matt Carpenter before former Cub Alfonso Rivas moved him to third with a double. Stroman buckled down from there and got out of the second without any damage and kept the Cubs in front 5-0. Already with a big lead, the Cubs continued to play long ball in the second, but first, it was the Gomes single to put a runner on base with one out. Two batters later, it was Amaya connecting for his first major league homer as the Cubs were in complete control at this point, 7-0. Miguel Amaya - Chicago Cubs (1)
Despite this being the final run of the game for Chicago, they had a big lead, and Stroman was given the rare support he desperately deserved. Stroman was far from perfect throughout his outing as he had to wiggle in and out of trouble with a leadoff error to begin the bottom half of the third, putting the Padres in a position to score. That error was followed by a Fernando Tatis Jr single to put runners on the corners, with Juan Soto putting the Padres on the board with an RBI groundout. Like the Cubs, this was the game's final run for the Padres, as the last six innings were dominated by pitching. If the Padres wanted any chance at a comeback, it would have to come in the fourth inning when San Diego put a pair of runners on base again. That was when the momentum shifted in the Cub's favor as Stroman got out of that jam without further damage, which set him up to retire the final eight hitters he faced in the game. Holding a 7-1 lead in the seventh, it would be up to the Cubs pen to finish things off, and that started with a scoreless seventh from Julian Merryweather, who is beginning to become a more trusted reliever. From there, David Ross went to Michael Fulmer in the eighth as he worked around a leadoff walk to send the game to the ninth with the Cubs still leading by six. Brandon Hughes finished things off from there as he closed the game to give the Cubs a 7-1 victory over the Padres. Amaya had his best day as a pro, leading the Cubs' offense with three hits and reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. Gomes and Hoerner added two hits as the Cubs tallied 11 hits in the win. With the victory, the Cubs are 4-2 against the Padres this season and have guaranteed themselves the season series.
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