Series 18 Padres at Cubs

    Game 1

     A Memorial Day clash began with another player to the IL as Williams had an appendectomy Sunday. That meant the first start for Kohl Stewart as a Cub. He was up for the challenge as he pitched 5 great innings with the only blemish an unearned run in the second inning. The Cubs' offense would back him up with five homers throughout the win to propel the Cubs to the victory. The Padres started the scoring in the second when Baez had a throwing error that Tatis advanced to second on. Myers would single him in and grab the early lead. The Cubs would take the lead in the third when Baez belted his first homer with Bryant on to grab the 2-1 lead. Wisdom would follow with a solo shot of his own in the fourth and then Bryant would smash his own with Alcantra on in the fifth as the Cubs extended the lead to 5-1. The Padres would get a run in the sixth as Tatis blasted his own solo homer. That's all the Padres would manage as Thompson did a great job relieving Stewart. Thompson would pitch 2 1/3 innings and while he gave up his first run of the year he continued his great season. The Cubs would add two more runs as Wisdom had his second homer in the sixth followed by Baez's second homer of the day in the seventh. Chafin and Nance would finish the game for the Cubs as they took control of the division as the Cardinals lost later in the evening.

    Game 2

     The homers kept coming as the Cubs would power there way to a 4-3 win. The Cubs got the scoring going in the third as Wisdom stayed hot with a 2 run homer to left. Hendricks was cruising in this one until the fifth. He would get two outs before Caratini took him deep followed by a single from Weathers and another long ball by Pham. This gave the Padres a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. The Cubs would strike back quickly in the bottom of the inning. Alcantra would single to start and Hendricks would hit into a fielder's choice to set up Contreras. Wilson hit a long 2 run shot to get the lead back for good. Tepera, Chafin, and Kimbrel all pitched a scoreless inning as the Cubs secured another series victory. Tatis would leave the game with right obliques tightness to add injury to insult for the Padres but happily, it seems he's day to day and hopefully no IL stint will be needed. Rizzo being back in the lineup was refreshing for the Cubs as well. He went a solid 2-4 with 2 singles and having his bat and glove back in the lineup will boost this team even more.

    Game 3

     The Cubs would complete the sweep as the offense woke up late and the pitching continued to be solid. Alzolay continued his run of good results as he pitched 5 innings of one-run ball with 7 K's. The bullpen would shut the Padres down as well. The Padres struck first in the fourth as Kim singled home Cronenworth after a single and walk got him in scoring position. The Cubs would respond right away in the bottom of the inning though. Rizzo would score on an error by Hosmer. The Cubs would load the bases after that but leave them that way as the game stayed tied. The Cubs would erase the tie in the bottom of the fifth though. Martini pinch hit for Alzolay and started the rally with a walk. Pederson would walk as well before 2 outs set up Rizzo. Rizzo would double to left-center with a line drive just out of the reach of Profar on a dive. Martini and Pederson would both score as the Cubs took the lead 3-1. The Cubs got a couple of insurance runs in the seventh. Alcantara would start the inning with a triple and scored on an error by Cronenworth. Baez would then go deep to extend to lead to 5 and make it comfortable to finish.

    The good

     Sweeping a top team in the NL couldn't have been better. The pitching is staying hot and we got Rizzo back! Baez and Wisdom both hit 3 homers in the series as the long ball was flying in this series. The stellar start from Stewart was amazing as the rotation needs to keep performing. The players being called into action continue to perform as Alcantara had another good series as well as Wisdom and Stewart mentioned above. This will make for an interesting call as players get healthy. Some of these players are earning a stay so Ross will have some tough calls ahead.

    The bad

     The Tatis injury is unfortunate but at least it doesn't seem serious. Hendricks giving up the runs at the end of his start put a damper on a great start otherwise. The starters could have worked longer into games to give the bullpen a break as well. Honestly not much bad in the series and it's nitpicking but that's a good thing for this team.

    Looking ahead

     The Cubs head out West for 4 games followed by another series with the Padres. The Cubs have a tough June but they have started out in the best way possible. Hopefully, the Cubs stay hot and keep first place during a tough stretch in the schedule.