Since we last saw the Phillies play, two players on their active roster were shipped off to two playoff contending ballclubs. Both John McDonald and Michael Young are no longer in Chicago with the team, but there was still a rubber match to be played against the Cubs. It would be Kyle Kendrick taking the mound with the task of giving the Phillies the series win. Making his fifth start of the season for the Cubs would be Jake Arrieta, who was traded from Baltimore earlier this season.
Darwin Barney laced a single into center field with one away in the bottom of the first inning. Anthony Rizzo followed up with a walk. After Nate Schierholtz struck out, Ryan Sweeney came through with and RBI single into center field. The Cubs would take the early 1-0 lead.
The Cubs would score again in the third. After beginning the inning with a soft ground ball to Jimmy Rollins at short, Starlin Castro advanced to second on Darwin Barney's groundout to second. With a runner on, Anthony Rizzo doubled into the right field ivy after Darin Ruf had a tough collision with the brick outfield wall. A 2-0 lead for the Cubs.
Apparently the collision with the ball had no impact on Ruf, who came up and mashed a solo homerun the following inning. The Chicago lead dropped to just one, a 2-1 game. However, they'd gain it right back, and then some, in the home half of the fourth.
Daniel Murphy singled to start the frame, and Brian Bogusevic doubled to put two in scoring position with nobody out. It gave Wellington Castillo the chance to strike, and he did. A double into the right field gap brought home both runners, and pushed the score to 4-1. After hitting Castro with a pitch, Kendrick allowed Barney to hit a sac fly into right field that scored Castillo and gave the Cubs a 5-1 lead. Three walks and a botched double play for J.C. Ramirez allowed two more Cub runs to score, making it 7-1.
That would be the end of the scoring for either squad, as the Cubs take the final two games of the series to win it. Kendrick was once again shaky in his outing, much different from his first two months of the season. After an exciting streak of games, the Phillies have now lost three of their last four ballgames. They'll come home tomorrow night to take on the Washington Nationals at 7:05, when the Nats' Stephen Strasburg will battle the Phils' Cole Hamels.
