Backed by plenty of run support, including an RBI of his own in the fourth, Aaron Nola cruised to his first major-league victory with 7 2/3 solid innings in an 11-5 win for the Phillies over the Cubs, completing a three-game sweep in Chicago.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 0 |
| Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
WP: Aaron Nola (1-1, 2.45 ERA) LP: Jason Hammel (5-5, 3.20 ERA)
The Phillies opened the scoring with a three-run first inning. The first three hitters reached and scored as Odubel Herrera tripled home Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco belted a two-run home run to left.
The Cubs trimmed the lead in the first with a long sacrifice fly by Kris Bryant to right, plating Dexter Fowler, and again in the third as Fowler blasted a solo shot to right.
From there, it was all Phillies.
Three more runs would score in the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Domonic Brown and Cameron Rupp and an RBI single by Nola.
Two runs scored on Brown's RBI triple in the fifth. Another scored in the sixth on an RBI double by Franco.
The Phillies capped the scoring in the seventh, as Ryan Howard belted a two-run home run to left-center for his 352nd career home run, passing Dick Allen on the Phillies all-time list.
Addison Russell put the Cubs back on the board with a two-run home run in the eighth. David Ross, who pitched the top of the ninth, led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run off Hector Neris.
After getting no offensive support in his debut, Nola had more than enough to work with in this start, as he dealt a gem for his first major-league win. Over 7 2/3 innings, Nola allowed four runs on five hits while walking two and striking out six.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Nola | 7.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3.29 |
| Jason Hammel | 3.2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.20 |
- Nola: W; 92 pitches, 63 strikes; 7 groundouts, 5 flyouts; 28 faced batters
- Hammel: L; 85 pitches, 53 strikes; 4 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 19 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Elvis Araujo (8th): 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.86 ERA
- Hector Neris (9th): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 4.15 ERA
Cubs
- Travis Wood (4th-5th): 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 4.50 ERA
- Yoervis Medina (6th): 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 4.71 ERA
- David Ross (9th): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
At the Plate
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 2-5, R, 2B (17), HR (11), 3 RBI (38), SO, .285 AVG
- Domonic Brown: 3-5, R, 2B (5), 3B (1), 3 RBI (11), .246 AVG
- Ryan Howard: 2-4, 2 R, HR (18), 2 RBI (53), BB, .226 AVG
Cubs
- Dexter Fowler: 1-2, HR (9), RBI (26), BB
- Kris Bryant: 0-2, RBI (56), 2 SO
- Addison Russell: 1-3, R, HR (6), 2 RBI (24)
What's Next:
- Tuesday, July 28, 2015: at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m.
- LHP Adam Morgan (1-2, 4.28 ERA) vs. LHP Felix Doubront (1-0, 4.34 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Kevin Durso is editorial assistant for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
