Final score: Phillies 6, Cubs 4
CHICAGO — It won’t be long, but until Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are back, there will be some painful nights for the Phillies offense. In fact, there already have been.
Tuesday night would’ve been one. But with over half a billion dollars worth of bats (those two, plus J.T. Realmuto) sidelined for the time being, it was the Phillies’ other $300 million man who deemed it all irrelevant.
Trea Turner blasted two majestic homers in a 3-for-5, four RBI night that helped the Phillies top the Cubs at Wrigley Field, his insurance runs making the difference in a 6-4 victory.
“It’s that fine line of trying to make an impact but not do too much,” Turner said postgame. “A few days ago I was trying a little too hard, maybe. And now I feel the swing’s getting there.”
Turner’s home runs went a combined 861 feet. The second one found Waveland Avenue beyond the confines of the Friendly Confines.
“I was getting good pitches to hit,” Turner said, “and just not missing them.”
Turner, who also drove in the Phillies’ sixth run with an RBI single, helped pave the way for Michael Mercado’s first major league win. Mercado fired five innings of two-hit, one-run ball, exceeding 95 mph with his four-seamer 22 times in his second big-league appearance overall.
His night started off somewhat uneasily. He allowed a walk, a flyout that would’ve been a homer in Philadelphia and a single before striking out Ian Happ to end the jam.
“I think just, ‘let’s throw some strikes here,'” Mercado said about his mindset amid the first-inning traffic. “I have a lot of confidence in my fastball and I think at that point I was just like, ‘ah, OK. Throw it in the zone and see what happens.'”
“That tells you a little bit about his makeup, his poise,” manager Rob Thomson said postgame. “I thought he was really good.”
Mercado allowed two more baserunners the rest of the night.
“It’s one of those things that you kinda dream about doing at a place so historical,” Mercado said of earning his first career win at Wrigley Field. “We go back to what we’ve always been doing. And for me, that’s pitching. So I think being able to settle in and treat it like any other game is huge.”
He was spotted an early lead in the second, when a pair of doubles by Kody Clemens and Garrett Stubbs, after a leadoff walk, provided a 2-0 advantage.
The Cubs made things a bit more interesting than the Phillies would’ve preferred in the ninth. José Ruiz allowed two singles and a Seiya Suzuki three-run homer, departing before recording an out. Jeff Hoffman, who could’ve avoided throwing twice in three days had that inning gone smoother, put out the fire. The Phillies are 56-29.
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