Cubs lose fourth straight game as offense continues to struggle and bullpen falters
ATLANTA — Mike Yastrzemski drove in the tiebreaking run with a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning, and Mauricio Dubón finished off Chicago with a two-run homer that carried the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 victory over the Cubs on Wednesday night.
The Braves extended baseball's best record to 30-13 and made it two in a row over the Cubs, who arrived in Atlanta with the NL's second-best mark but now have lost a season-high four in a row.
Shota Imanaga (4-3) was the hard-luck loser for Chicago. He pitched into the eighth, surrendering a homer to Drake Baldwin but left with the score tied at 1 after giving up an infield single to Michael Harris II leading off the decisive inning.
Ha-Seong Kim followed with his first hit of the season, a single to left against Phil Maton. Pinch-hitter Dominic Smith struck out, but manager Walt Weiss got the hit he needed when he sent up Yastrzemski to bat for José Azócar.
Robert Suarez (4-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Raisel Iglesias remained scoreless on the season with his eighth save.
Baldwin went deep in the fourth inning, turning a sweeper into a 402-foot drive into the Braves bullpen in deep right-center.
The Cubs tied the game their next time up and finished off Braves rookie starter JR Ritchie. Carson Kelly led off with a single and Ritchie was lifted after a one-out walk to Dansby Swanson. Tyler Kinley couldn't escape the jam, giving up an RBI single to Nico Hoerner.
Ritchie went 4⅓ innings, giving up just two hits but struggling a bit with his command. He walked three while throwing 87 pitches in his fourth big-league start.
The Cubs managed just four hits — all singles — after being held to a single hit in the series opener, a 5-2 victory for the Braves.
Earlier Wednesday, the Cubs have agreed to a minor-league contract with former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, giving the veteran reliever another chance to make his way back to the majors. The 37-year-old Hendriks was released from his minor-league deal with Minnesota on March 20. The right-hander allowed three runs, nine hits and five walks over seven innings with the Twins during spring training. The NL Central-leading Cubs have been hit hard by injuries, including to their bullpen.
Up next
The teams wrap up their three-game series on Thursday, with left-handed pitcher Chris Sale (6-2, 2.20 ERA) going for the Braves against Cubs right-handed pitcher Ben Brown (1-1, 1.82).