Final: Cubs 5, Phillies 1
WP: Jake Arrieta (19-6, 1.99 ERA) LP: Adam Morgan (5-6, 4.60 ERA)
Philadelphia, PA – Playing in their first game without Ruben Amaro Jr. as their active general manager, the Philadelphia Phillies (54-87) fell to National League Cy Young Award candidate Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs (81-58).
Arrieta threw eight strong innings Friday evening in the first game of the twin bill doubleheader, allowing just one earned run on six hits and two walks. The Farmington, Missouri native is the first Cubs starting pitcher to win eight consecutive starts since 1972.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| Phillies | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
The Phillies held a 1-0 lead until the top of the fifth inning, as rookie right fielder Aaron Altherr hit his third career home run over the left center field wall in the latter-half of the second.
Morgan had allowed only two singles and a walk entering the fifth, but soon unraveled to allow what would turn out to be the game-winning run.
With a runner on first and two outs, right fielder Austin Jackson doubled for the fourth time of the season, which subsequently tied the game at one. The next batter, rookie phenom Kris Bryant hit his 23rd two-base knock to bring home Jackson and give the Cubs a 2-1 advantage.
Chicago added another pair of runs in the top of the sixth with the Cubs' third RBI-double of the night. Shortstop Addison Russell, batting ninth, doubled home second baseman Starlin Castro and third baseman Javier Baez for his 45th and 46th runs-batted-in of 2015.
These earned runs were added to the line of Phillies southpaw starter Adam Morgan, even though he was relieved by right hander Hector Neris earlier in the inning.
Morgan surrendered four runs tonight, over five-plus innings, on seven hits and a walk.
Neris remained in the game for top of the seventh. After striking out Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, he surrendered a solo home run to Castro, his eighth of the season and 59th of his six-year career.
In the top of the eighth, RHP Jeanmar Gomez struck out the side for the Phillies. Rookie RHP Colton Murray, making his fourth career appearance in the ninth, allowed a hit but struck out two batters to prevent any further damage.
RHP Justin Grimm recorded the final three outs of the game in the bottom of the ninth. Third baseman Cody Asche got on the base with a single, but catcher Carlos Ruiz and pinch-hitter Andres Blanco struck out and grounded out respectively to end the threat.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Arrieta | 8.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1.99 |
| Adam Morgan | 5.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4.60 |
- Arrieta: W; 112 pitches, 70 strikes; 13 groundouts, 1 flyout; 32 faced batters
- Morgan: L; 98 pitches, 68 strikes; 5 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 24 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Cubs
- Justin Grimm (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.30 ERA
Phillies
- Hector Neris (6th, 7th): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 4.09 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 2.88 ERA
- Colton Murray (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 6.75 ERA
At the Plate
Cubs
- Kris Bryant: 2-5, 2B, RBI, .268 AVG
- Starlin Castro: 2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, .256 AVG
- Addison Russell: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .243 AVG
Phillies
- Jeff Francoeur: 2-4, .273 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 1-4, R, HR, RBI, .246 AVG
- Cody Asche: 1-3, BB, .245 AVG
What's Next:
- Friday, September 11, 2015: vs. Chicago Cubs, Game 2
- RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. RHP Alec Asher (0-2, 10.61 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Saturday, September 12, 2015: vs. Chicago Cubs, 7:05 pm
- RHP Dan Haren (9-9, 3.73 ERA) vs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-3, 4.70 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Sunday, September 13, 2015: vs. Chicago Cubs, 1:35 pm
- TBA vs. RHP Aaron Harang (5-15, 5.02 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
