The Cubs’ road trip ended on a sour note.
After Ben Brown’s last two excellent outings, one with an opener and one without, there were high hopes for him to continue along those lines.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. Brown was touched up for three runs in the first inning and the Phillies cruised to a 7-2 win over the Cubs, taking the three-game series (and the season series, in case that might matter later on).
Before I get to the details of this game, it was suggested by Jim Deshaies on the Marquee broadcast that Brown might start many games too amped up, and that has led to some issues for him in the first inning. Thus, perhaps going forward it might be a good idea to have an opener for his games. Brown’s next turn would come up in the series opener next Tuesday against the Brewers at Wrigley Field, so we’ll see which way Craig Counsell wants to go.
Brown’s first inning might have been better. He did manage to get two outs with runners on base, but a two-run double by Max Kepler gave the Phillies the lead, and then Nico Hoerner couldn’t handle a ground ball by J.T. Realmuto that might have ended the inning. Instead, a third run scored.
About that three-run first, from BCB’s JohnW53:
Until the Phillies scored three runs in the first inning, the Cubs had not allowed more than two in 131 consecutive innings: the last four at Cincinnati on May 25, then all 127 in their 14 games through Tuesday night.
They had allowed two runs in 10 innings and one run in 16, for a total of 36 runs.
A fourth Phillies run scored on a solo homer by Kyle Schwarber in the third. Right after that, Dansby Swanson made this slick play [VIDEO].
The Cubs got on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, Carson Kelly doubled and took third on an infield out. Kelly scored on this double by Nico [VIDEO].
The Phillies put the game out of reach in the fifth. Otto Kemp led off with a single, but a bunt attempt was caught by Justin Turner.
A fly ball by Trea Turner then went in the direction of Kyle Tucker. It was not an easy attempt, but Tucker did have the ball in his glove. Instead it glanced out. Turner was given a double, with Kemp stopping at third.
Brown then struck out Schwarber, which would have ended the inning with the score still 4-1. Instead, Alec Bohm singled in both runners to make it 6-1.
Brown was asked to throw a bit more than expected in a game like this, probably to save the bullpen. He completed 5⅔ innings, allowing eight hits and six runs (all earned, though that ball that went out of Tucker’s glove could have been called an error). Brown did strike out five. He threw 100 pitches, of which eight were changeups [VIDEO].
More on Brown’s outing from BCB’s JohnW53:
Cubs starting pitchers have allowed at least six earned runs in seven games this season. Ben Brown was the starter in four of them: eight in 4⅓ innings on May 25 at Cincinnati and six in 3⅔ at home vs. the Phillies April 26, in 4⅔ at Miami on May 19 and in 5⅔ today at Philadelphia. Colin Rea gave up six runs twice and Jameson Taillon once.
Génesis Cabrera relieved Brown and completed the sixth with no further damage, but then allowed a home run to Bohm leading off the seventh to make it 7-1.
The Cubs scored a consolation run in the top of the eighth. Ian Happ led off with a double and took third when Johan Rojas misplayed the ball. He scored on a ground out by Tucker [VIDEO].
But that was that, and this one goes into the books as a loss, and the Cubs wind up with a 4-5 road trip.
Which is not a complete disaster, and the Cubs did play two very good teams in their home parks, where both the Tigers and Phillies play well. At the time this recap posted, both the Cardinals and Brewers were losing, so if those scores hold up, the Cubs will return home still leading the NL Central by five games over the Cardinals and 5½ over the Brewers. (The Reds lost earlier Wednesday and are 6½ games back.)
The Cubs will open a 10-game homestand, the longest of the 2025 season, Thursday evening at Wrigley Field, when they begin a four-game series against the Pirates. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and Andrew Heaney will go for Pittsburgh. Game time Thursday is 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.