Wisdom, Rivas homer as Cubs beat fading Phillies 6-3
Sep 14, 2021, 7:45 AM | Updated: 8:45 pm
Chicago Cubs' Patrick Wisdom reacts after hitting a two-run home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Gibson during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Gibson retired the first 12 batters. Not a bad start.
Then Gibson embodied the Phillies’ late-season malaise and watched 12 straight outs dissolve into three runs allowed in 12 consecutive pitches.
The pennant race in Philly has turned into a September slog.
Patrick Wisdom and Alfonso Rivas hit back-to-back homers for the Chicago Cubs in a 6-3 win over a Philadelphia team running out of time to make a serious run in the NL playoff race.
“On however many teams, the calendar obviously runs out,” Gibson said. “I think we’re getting to the point there where it does.”
The Phillies lost again to another team long out of the postseason hunt. The Phillies just dropped three of four at home to Colorado, which is 21-51 on the road.
The Phillies remained 4½ games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East and 2½ games behind Cincinnati in the wild-card race. San Diego and St. Louis are ahead of the Phillies for the second wild card.
“I don’t want to make it seem like we aren’t playing with a sense of urgency, because I think we are,” Gibson said. “I also don’t necessarily want to make too much of the situation.”
The Phillies fell to .500 at 72-72 and have lost six of seven with 18 games left.
“We’re working every day, we’re trying to get guys right,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We still have an opportunity here. We just need to play better.”
Bryce Harper had an RBI double in the sixth, continuing continued his torrid pace, and scored in the inning to make it 4-3. He entered with an MLB-best 1.032 OPS, which would have made the star outfielder a more serious MVP candidate had the Phillies truly been in a pennant race. Harper may see his chances wane with each September loss.
This Phillies’ loss was like so many others, a trend so predictable that only 16,170 fans were announced for a so-called important game. The Phillies were humming along 1-0 on a leadoff homer by Odubel Herrera and four perfect innings — with seven strikeouts — from Gibson (10-7)).
Poof, it was gone.
Wilson Contreras led off the fifth with a single, Wisdom hit his 26th homer of the season and Rivas followed with the first of his big-league career. It was 3-1 in 12 pitches.
Rafael Ortega added an RBI double for a 4-1 lead. He added an RBI double in the seventh to make it 5-3 and scored on Ian Happ’s double.
Wisdom hit the latest crushing homer against the Phillies facing two strikes. Colorado’s Garrett Hampson hit two 0-2 pitches for homers in Sunday’s 5-4 win.
“There’s too many 0-2 pitches right in the heart of the zone,” Girardi said. “If a guy takes a pitch down and away and it’s just on the corner and he hits that, you kind of go, ‘OK.’ But not the ones that are in the heart.”
Adrian Sampson (1-2) gave up two runs in five innings.
“The thing that stands out to me is just the way he pitches and throws strikes,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He’s never in a ton of trouble. You feel like he’s a grounder away.”
Rowan Wick struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.
VELASQUEZ GONE
The Phillies released RHP Vince Velasquez. He was designated for assignment last week. Velasquez went 30-40 with a 4.93 ERA and made 116 starts over six seasons with the Phillies.
CARPENTER DIES
Ruly Carpenter, Philadelphia’s former owner and president from 1972-81, has died. He was 81.
The Phillies won their first World Series in 1980 under Carpenter. He sold the team in 1981.
“Passionate about winning, we welcomed his presence in the clubhouse and always thought of him as a teammate or an equal and he treated us the same way,” Hall of Famer Steve Carlton said in a statement.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Placed OF Jason Heyward on the seven-day concussion IL (retroactive to Sept. 12) and selected OF Trayce Thompson from Triple-A Iowa. OF Michael Hermosillo was transferred to the 60-day IL.
Phillies: C JT Realmuto sat out with a sore right shoulder. “It seems like every time it’s turning the corner and he’s getting better, he’ll do something, whether it’s a swing and a miss or he’ll dive for a ground ball, that sort of thing,” Girardi said. “He had an injection to take care of the inflammation and we expect him to play (Wednesday).”
UP NEXT
The Phillies send LHP Ranger Suarez (6-4, 1.38 ERA) to the mound against Chicago RHP Alec Mills (6-6, 4.35).
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