Searching for a four-game sweep of the reeling Philadelphia Phillies, the host Chicago Cubs will have an opportunity to extend their winning streak to nine games on Thursday afternoon.
Should that be the case, the Cubs will have their longest such run since they won 11 in a row from July 31-Aug. 12, 2016.
Manager Craig Counsell’s club hasn’t allowed more than four runs in any of the eight wins, and the offense has recorded back-to-back seven-run outputs. Pete Crow-Armstrong had three hits in Wednesday’s 7-2 victory to increase his batting average 22 points to .247, while Michael Busch connected on his first home run after going deep 34 times a season ago.
“I think that’s what makes you a good offense,” Counsell said. “You’re never going to have all nine guys rolling at the same time. If you have enough good hitters in there, you expect a group of them to be seeing it well and swinging it well at one time. Some of the guys that are off to a little bit of a slower start had big nights (on Wednesday). That’s how I think a good offense should work.”
Hoping to finish the homestand at 7-0, right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-0, 2.38 ERA) will look to continue to make a good impression in his fifth start with Chicago. After a January trade from the Miami Marlins, Cabrera has allowed just six earned runs in 22 2/3 innings for his new club.
Cabrera went six innings last time out, surrendering three runs on eight hits in a 12-4 victory over the New York Mets. Cabrera has leaned on his changeup as a go-to pitch, throwing it 36.6% of the time through four starts.
“The changeup has to start in the zone for him,” Counsell said of Cabrera. “It doesn’t have to finish in the zone, but it’s got to start in the zone. That’s when he’s really good. It’s not always a strike, but getting that changeup over the plate is important, because he’s going to get swings out of the zone on it.”
Cabrera is 2-2 with a 3.57 ERA in eight career starts against the Phillies.
Philadelphia, which has been outscored 19-7 in the series, saw its losing skid extend to eight games on Wednesday, It’s the Phillies’ longest such streak since 2018.
Despite sharing a spot with the New York Mets (8-16) for the worst record in the National League, the Phillies are far from ready to throw in the towel.
“Baseball is a long season and we’ve got a long way to go,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I think there’s a lot of frustration here, but at the same time, these guys know we have a talented group. We just have to stay after it and keep fighting. This is a talented group.”
Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (2-2, 1.59) will make the start for Philadelphia, bringing the NL’s third best ERA and second most strikeouts (39) into action.
Despite a dazzling start to his sixth big-league campaign, Sanchez suffered his second loss in his past three appearances against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Sanchez allowed three unearned runs in six innings in a 3-1 setback, a duel with Sale.
Sanchez has faced the Cubs three times, compiling a 1-1 record and a 7.36 ERA in the matchup. He threw six innings of six-hit, two-run ball in a 13-7 win over the Chicago Cubs on April 13.
–Field Level Media
