CHICAGO โ The Cubs had the bases loaded with nobody out in the third inning and came away with nothing. Then they loaded them again in the eighth and came away with nothing again.
Spencer Arrighetti threw five shutout innings for Houston, the Cubs went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and the Astros beat Chicago 4-2 on Friday at Wrigley Field to open a three-game interleague series. The Cubs have now lost six straight and ten of their last twelve. They came into this game as heavy favorites against a team that was 21-31 and had scored six runs in its previous four games combined. It didn't matter.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
The Third Inning Was the Game
Hoerner walked to lead off the third. Busch was hit by a pitch. Bregman was hit by a pitch. Bases loaded, nobody out, and Arrighetti already looking like he had nothing. The crowd was into it. The Cubs had him.
Arrighetti struck out Happ on three pitches. Suzuki popped out to short. Conforto grounded out to short. No runs.
That was it. That was the whole game. Everything that came after โ Taillon's struggles, Christian Vรกzquez's homer, Pete Crow-Armstrong's two-run shot in the sixth โ all of it happened in the shadow of that inning. The Cubs had Arrighetti on the ropes with his worst command of the afternoon and produced nothing. He walked four and hit two batters on the day, and the Cubs still couldn't score until he was already out of the game.
Taillon's Rough Day
Jameson Taillon needed a good start. The Cubs had just been swept at home by Milwaukee, the rotation was short with Cabrera dealing with a finger blister, and Chicago needed a performance that at least kept the game close while the offense found something. He gave them 4โ innings, eight hits, four earned runs, and a Vรกzquez homer in the third that started the whole thing.
The fourth inning did the real damage. Swanson ranged to his left and got the force at second, but the throw to first wasn't in time to complete the double play. Two runs scored on a fielder's choice and a Vรกzquez single, and suddenly it was 3-0 before Taillon could get out of the inning. He allowed a fifth run in the fifth before Hoby Milner came in to stop the bleeding โ the run was still Taillon's. His ERA is now 5.20. In his last two starts combined, he has allowed 12 earned runs in 9โ innings.
The Cubs' bullpen was fine. Ethan Roberts threw two clean innings, Webb had a clean eighth. Four runs over nine innings is a number this lineup should be able to match โ they just haven't been.
Crow-Armstrong Reminds Everyone What He Can Do
Pete Crow-Armstrong had been hitting .108 over his last eleven games โ one extra-base hit, a whole lot of nothing โ and that was the story heading into Friday. Then in the sixth, Miguel Amaya pinch-hit a single to lead off, and Crow-Armstrong ran a two-strike count against Steven Okert and turned on a fastball and sent it 406 feet to right-center. A two-run shot, just like that. Cubs down 4-2 with three innings left.
They couldn't do anything with it. Swanson went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Suzuki was 0-for-4 and stranded three runners with two outs in the late innings. The eighth inning produced another bases-loaded situation โ the Cubs' second of the afternoon โ and Bryan King came in and got the final out to end it. King threw the ninth for his fifth save.
Eleven runners left on base. Zero hits with runners in scoring position. One swing for two runs and that was all.
Lineup Notes
Crow-Armstrong's homer was the only Cubs hit with any real consequence. Hoerner went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base โ his tenth of the season. Bregman, still working through a rough stretch, went 1-for-2 with a walk but didn't drive anyone in. Ian Happ had one of Chicago's four hits but struck out twice, including the big whiff in the third with the bases loaded. Swanson is now hitting .187.
Matt Shaw was placed on the IL before the game with back tightness. Pedro Ramirez was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, where he was hitting .312 with nine home runs. He did not appear Friday.
Pitching Lines
Pitcher Stats
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrighetti (W, 6-1) | 5.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Okert | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| De Los Santos (H, 3) | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Abreu (H, 3) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| King (S, 5) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taillon (L, 2-4) | 4.2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Milner | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roberts | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Webb | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Maton | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
What's Next
The Cubs and Astros are back at Wrigley on Saturday for Game 2. Colin Rea (4-2, 4.98 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago against Houston's Kai-Wei Teng (2-3, 2.61 ERA). First pitch is at 1:20 p.m. CT on Marquee Sports Network, ESPN Unlimited and MLB.TV.