Cubs 9, Giants 2: The offense resumes its onslaught

And the Cubs got solid pitching from Matthew Boyd again.

After being shut out Sunday for only the second time this year and then losing Shōta Imanaga for an indefinite time with a hamstring injury, you could have forgiven the Cubs if they had entered Monday’s game in a bit of a down mood.

No matter. The Cubs opened a brief three-game homestand with an onslaught of runs, including two home runs, and defeated the Giants handily, 9-2.

The top of the first was scoreless, but with a visitor on the field (Bluesky link):

The goose was chased away by the grounds crew before the bottom of the inning, to loud cheering [VIDEO].

The first two innings were scoreless, with Matthew Boyd helped in part by this nice diving catch by Ian Happ in the second:

After Boyd threw a 1-2-3 third, the Cubs bats got to work in the bottom of the inning. Dansby Swanson led off with a double down the left-field line, and one out later, Happ sent a ball into the bleachers [VIDEO].

Milestone accomplished. From BCB’s JohnW53:

Ian Happ’s two-run homer in the third inning was the Cubs’ 7,000th at Wrigley Field against National League opponents.

The lead didn’t last very long. Luis Matos hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to tie the game. The inning could have been worse if not for this slick play by Nicky Lopez [VIDEO].

But the Cubs went quickly to work getting the lead back. After Michael Busch and Carson Kelly struck out to begin the bottom of the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong reached on a rare error by five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. You could see Chapman try to rush the play due to PCA’s speed — yet another way PCA’s speed can make things happen.

Nico Hoerner followed with a single, sending PCA to third. Nico stole second without a throw, putting both runners in scoring position.

Swanson’s single made it 4-2 Cubs [VIDEO].

That’s where the score stayed until the bottom of the sixth. Boyd, meanwhile, was striking out lots of Giants, seven in all, and allowed only two baserunners after Matos’ home run. Overall it was another fine outing from Boyd, whose only real mistake was the home-run ball. Here are Boyd’s seven K’s [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Boyd’s outing [VIDEO].

The Cubs blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth. Carson Kelly was, entering the game, the only MLB player with at least seven home runs who had more HR than strikeouts (six). His K in the fourth evened up that number.

Well, we can’t have that! [VIDEO]

Kelly’s eighth made it 5-2 and reached another team milestone. From BCB’s JohnW53:

Carson Kelly’s solo shot in the sixth was their 7,500th at home against all opponents since 1901, first year of the Modern Era.

Through Kelly’s homer, the Cubs have hit 8,177 at home since 1876, which is 53.7 percent of their 15,238 total homers.

PCA followed the homer with a single up the middle and Nico reached on a fielder’s choice, with a throwing error by Giants shortstop Willy Adames allowing the runners to get to second and third. Yet another error by Chapman on a grounder by Swanson loaded the bases.

That brought up Lopez [VIDEO].

Happ made it 7-2 Cubs with this sac fly [VIDEO].

Kyle Tucker walked to re-load the bases and Seiya Suzuki made it 9-2 with this single [VIDEO].

After that, things quieted down. Caleb Thielbar threw an uneventful scoreless seventh and Gavin Hollowell, recalled to take Imanaga’s roster spot (for now), finished things off with two scoreless innings. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

This was a satisfying win, with a varied offense, two homers plus a selection of other RBI hits, walks and the sac fly. Every starting player reached base at least once, and six different Cubs scored runs. Swanson continued to dig out of the hole he dug early in the year by going 3-for-4, and the homers were hit on a chilly night with the wind blowing in. The Giants helped out — they have a reputation as a good defensive team, but made four errors on the night and only three of the Cubs’ nine runs were earned.

A note on this game from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs are 6-0 in first games of series at Chicago. They have never started a season that way before. (They are officially 6-1 in series openers at home, as they were the home team for the games vs. the Dodgers in Tokyo.)

This was the ninth time already this year that the Cubs have scored at least nine runs in a game, in 36 games. They did so 20 times all of last year.

Here are some postgame remarks from Swanson [VIDEO].

And here are Craig Counsell’s comments after the game [VIDEO].

The Cubs will go for yet another series win Tuesday evening at Wrigley Field. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Justin Verlander gets the call for the Giants. Game time is again 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.