Field Level Media
Jul 23, 2021
Javier Baez clubbed a three-run homer and Robinson Chirinos went deep twice as the Chicago Cubs rolled to an 8-3 win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday afternoon.
Baez also doubled and Chirinos had three hits for Chicago, which earned a needed win after dropping four of its previous five games.
Zach Davies struck out a season-high eight while pitching into the sixth inning. Davies (6-6) was one strikeout from matching his career high, and overcame seven hits and two walks while being charged with two runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Daulton Varsho had a two-run double in the sixth inning and a solo homer in the ninth for the Diamondbacks, who had won four in a row.
Zac Gallen (1-5) matched a career high by allowing seven runs on six hits in four innings for Arizona, which lost for the 31st time in its last 33 road contests.
The Cubs wasted no time getting to Gallen in the first inning.
After Kris Bryant walked and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch, Baez drove the ball into the heart of the left-center field bleachers for his 22nd home run of the season.
After loading the bases in the third inning against Gallen, the Cubs extended their advantage to 4-0 when Rizzo scored on a wild pitch. Nico Hoerner padded the lead with his two-run single down the right field line. Chirinos' first homer of the day made it a 7-0 game in the fourth inning.
Davies exited after allowing two of the first three Arizona batters to reach in the sixth inning. Adam Morgan came on and yielded Varsho's two-run double.
In the bottom of the sixth, Chirinos again drove one into the left-field bleachers for his third homer in 11 games with the Cubs. It was the seventh time Chirinos homered twice in a game.
Baez, meanwhile, has four home runs and 15 RBIs in his last 13 games. Six of those RBIs have come in four games versus Arizona.
--Field Level Media