The Chicago Cubs put on a power display against the host Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Detroit will look to strike back in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
Seiya Suzuki led a five-homer barrage with a pair of solo shots. Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw also homered in a 6-1 victory.
“I think it speaks to just a different way to win a game,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We hit some homers today — didn’t do much else. But the homers are good. When you hit five homers, that’s a pretty good day. The guys did a good job getting the ball in the air and getting some pitches to drive.”
That made life easier for starting pitcher Jameson Taillon.
“It’s a really deep lineup,” Taillon said. “We can beat you by hitting homers. We can beat you by stealing bases, taking the extra base, working counts. Some days we’re aggressive when that’s the game plan. Some days we’re letting pitchers come to us a little bit and getting guys out early in games. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”
The Cubs flexed their muscles against the team with the top record in the American League.
“They are a high-contact team and they have power and all five homers were off secondary pitches,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “They did the opposite of what we did. They were on at least one speed of pitches and we couldn’t keep the ball in the ball park. They say the solo home run can’t beat you. It can when you give up a bunch of them.”
Meanwhile, one of the Tigers’ top power hitters has been flailing away. Outfielder Riley Greene, who is hitting .272 with 13 home runs for the season, has struck out six times without a hit in eight at-bats during the first two games of the series.
“He’s swinging and missing on pitches he’s taking really big swings on,” Hinch said. “I didn’t talk to him after the game. We’ll leave him alone for 24 hours and let him come back ready to hit in the middle of our order tomorrow. He has these stretches. Sometimes it’s about (pitch) selection. Sometimes it’s about approach.”
“He will be back in there tomorrow and he’ll be just fine,” Hinch added.
Jack Flaherty (4-6, 3.72 ERA) will try to cool off the Cubs’ bats in the series finale. The veteran right-hander has delivered three consecutive quality starts and two straight wins. He limited the Chicago White Sox to one run and four hits in six innings on Monday.
Flaherty is quite familiar with the Cubs as a longtime member of the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s faced them 17 times, including 15 starts, posting a 3-4 record and 3.67 ERA in 68 2/3 innings.
He will be opposed by rookie Cade Horton (3-0, 3.51), who has impressed in five career outings, including four starts. The right-hander has allowed only four earned runs in his last three appearances, most recently against Washington on Tuesday.
The Nationals did score three runs off him in 5 1/3 innings but two of the runs were unearned.
–Field Level Media
