Home runs once again doom the Miami Marlins as Cubs take series at Wrigley Field
There was no need for late-inning theatrics at Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon.
The Chicago Cubs took advantage of two opportunities off Miami Marlins starter Trevor Richards to make sure of that.
Home runs by Kris Bryant in the first and Stoneman Douglas alumnus Anthony Rizzo in the fifth powered the Cubs to a 4-1 series-clinching win over the Marlins. The Cubs (22-13) won three straight — including two on walk-off home runs on Tuesday and Wednesday — to close out the four-game series after the Marlins (10-27) rallied to win the series opener. Chicago hit seven home runs over the course of the series and the Marlins have now allowed at least one home run in nine consecutive games.
The first home run felt like a given. Richards misplaced a first-pitch fastball to Bryant, who quickly took capitalized and sent it 416 feet to left field.
The home run from Rizzo, however, was more luck. Richards threw an 80 mph curve ball low, a pitch that has generally induced weak ground balls when hitters try to make contact. Rizzo got just enough barrel on it to not only get the pitch in the air, but send it 422 feet to center field.
“The one to Rizzo wasn’t a bad pitch,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Maybe just been kind of trying to get ahead of him with offspeed throughout the series and weren’t able to do it too much.”
Nevertheless, the two early home runs on Thursday — along with an RBI single from Hialeah native Albert Almora Jr. in the first — gave the Cubs more than enough of a cushion over the Marlins, who scored their only run on an RBI single by Rosell Herrera in the fourth despite drawing six walks in the first four innings and having at least one runner in scoring position with less than two outs in five innings over the course of the game.
The Marlins finished with four hits and 11 strikeouts despite knocking Cubs starter Yu Darvish out of the game after just four innings by getting into long at-bats that ultimately went nowhere.
But Mike Montgomery held the Marlins at bay, throwing a career-long five scoreless innings of relief to keep the Marlins at bay.
“We just weren’t able to get anything going,” Mattingly said.
Richards, meanwhile, gave up four runs on seven hits — including the two home runs — in five innings of work to drop to 0-5 through seven starts. He struck out six and walked two. His ERA jumped to 4.46.
“I thought he was on a good roll after the first,” Mattingly said. “[He] hung in there.”
Richards added: “The last couple weeks there has been some frustration personally. I feel like the last two outings have been a step in the right direction. After that first inning, I felt good. I felt like I threw the ball where I wanted it. I settled in.”
The Marlins now prepare for a three-game road series against the New York Mets, which begins at Citi Field on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.
This and that
▪ The Marlins stole a season-high four bases on Thursday, a feat they last accomplished on Sept. 24, 2016 against the Atlanta Braves.
▪ Wei-Yin Chen, moved to the bullpen this year after being a starter for his whole career, threw his fourth consecutive scoreless outing on Thursday and has now gone six innings without giving up a run. His ERA, which was as high as 24.75 early in the season, has dropped to 9.69.
▪ Second baseman Starlin Castro went 5 for 15 over the four-game series in Chicago and busted out of an 0-for-29 slump with an infield single in the sixth inning on Tuesday.
This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 5:21 PM.
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