Field Level Media
Jul 22, 2022
Nelson Velazquez hit two home runs and drove in five runs, Willson Contreras hit a solo home run and double and the Chicago Cubs crushed the host Philadelphia Phillies 15-2 on Friday.
Seiya Suzuki added four hits, including a two-run homer.
Ian Happ contributed four hits and two RBIs, Nico Hoerner added a two-run double and Christopher Morel had three hits and an RBI for the Cubs.
The Cubs, who had lost nine of 10 before the All-Star break, accumulated 19 hits.
Cubs starter Justin Steele tossed five solid innings and gave up four hits and one run. Steele (4-6) walked four and struck out two.
Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run for the Phillies, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. The Phillies swept a three-game series on the road against the Miami Marlins before the All-Star break.
Darick Hall homered with two outs in the ninth inning.
Phillies starter Kyle Gibson (5-4) lasted only 4 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and six runs to go along with three walks and no strikeouts.
The Phillies went ahead 1-0 in the first inning, with Schwarber blasting the first pitch he saw from Steele for a home run to right. It was Schwarber's 30th homer of the season.
In the fourth, Contreras ripped a solo homer to left -- his first since June 29 -- to tie the game at 1.
The Cubs took a 3-1 advantage in the fifth when Morel hit an RBI double to left and then scored on a throwing error by Rhys Hoskins. Happ soon followed with an RBI single, Hoerner added a two-run double and Patrick Wisdom contributed an RBI double as Chicago pulled ahead by six runs.
Velazquez, pinch-hitting for Rafael Ortega, produced a two-run homer in the eighth off JoJo Romero for a 9-1 advantage. Happ made it 10-1 with an RBI single three batters later.
Velazquez added a three-run homer off position player Garrett Stubbs in the ninth. Suzuki then hit a two-run blast for a 15-1 advantage.
--Field Level Media