Strong pitching, 3 homers boost Cubs over Giants
First Jon Lester, then Kyle Hendricks and now Eddie Butler.
The Chicago Cubs' fifth starter took his turn at shutting down the opposition as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-1 at a surprisingly sunny Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon.
Butler did his best to follow up the performances of both Lester and Hendricks and continued the recent success for Cubs starting pitching. Following his last start where he lasted just 3 innings and had little control, Butler attacked the strike zone, allowing little solid contact in Thursday's afternoon contest. Swingman Mike Montgomery pitched 4 shutout innings in relief to earn the save.
“I thought Eddie (Butler) was obviously better than the last time, not as sharp as he can be, but effective and functional,” said manager Joe Maddon. “To have (him) and (Montgomery) go five innings and four innings was huge, especially because Wade was not available today.”
The biggest turning point in the game came in the top of the fifth inning as a double, wild pitch and walk put Giants on the corners with one out. Butler picked off Denard Span at first and got out of the inning unscathed.
Butler earned his second win of the season by working 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, with 2 strikeouts and 1 walk. The lone run in the game for the Giants came in the first inning as first baseman Brandon Belt hit an RBI double to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead.
“Could have been better today,” Butler said. “Couple of times failing to keep the ball to keep the ball in the zone, and I need to attack guys in the zone even more. If I do what I expect to do and I'm able to go out there every time and continue attacking guys, I should be able to hold this spot for the rest of the season.”
The victory was just the second time this season Cubs starters have won three consecutive starts, the last time coming May 16-18 (Lackey, Hendricks, Lester).
The offense wasn't amazing, but the Cubs (9 hits on the day) backed up their starter with the long ball. Jason Heyward's sixth home run of the season in the fifth inning gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Heyward's homer was his second in the past three games. Kris Bryant (first inning) and Ben Zobrist (sixth inning) both had solo shots.
“We all understand that we're going to run into those homers and not necessarily try to make it happen, but relax, take it easy and be aggressive in the strike zone,” said Heyward of the team's recent power surge. “We just have to let it come to us.”
The Cubs added 2 insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on three singles followed by a wild pitch by Giants reliever Josh Osich.
The Cubs are now a 9-0 when homering three times or more in a game.
Jeff Samardzija (1-6) took the loss, giving up only 6 hits and 3 runs through seven innings.
Next up is a West Coast road trip, starting with a return to Dodger Stadium for the first time since their 8-4 victory in Game 5 of the NLCS. Starter Jake Arrieta, who will take the ball for the Cubs on Friday, is coming off one of his best starts of 2017 against the Brewers on May 21.
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