Voit homers, drives in 5 as Padres rally past Cubs 12-5
By MARK GONZALES | Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Luke Voit hit a two-run homer and a three-run double as the San Diego Padres rallied from a five-run deficit to hand the Chicago Cubs their eighth straight loss, 12-5 on Tuesday night.
The Padres trailed 5-0 when Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks was pulled after allowing a double to Jake Cronenworth to start the sixth inning. Voit homered off reliever Chris Martin to spark a four-run sixth, and his double off Mychal Givens gave the Padres the lead for good at 7-5 and highlighted a six-run seventh.
The Padres, who entered Tuesday’s game tied with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, have won six of eight. The Cubs’ skid is their longest since since losing 12 in a row from Aug. 5-16, 2021.
Willson Contreras homered twice, drove in three runs and scored three times on a 3-for-4 night for the Cubs. He leads major league catchers with 12 homers.
“I’m not rushing any at-bats,” Contreras said. “I’m taking my time, and it’s helped me a lot.”
Voit has 16 RBIs in his last 14 games after driving in three in his previous 15.
“He lengthens the lineup, especially in the middle,” Padres acting manager Ryan Flaherty said. “He’s producing in that 4-5 spot, it gives Manny (Machado) protection, and for the lineup as a whole, he adds fear there.”
The Padres’ rally took left-hander Sean Manaea off the hook. He was tagged for five runs on eight hits in four-plus innings. Kyle Tyler (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
“For it (the comeback) to happen on one of my worst starts was huge,” Manaea said. “This team is something special.”
Nomar Mazara drove in three runs with singles in the sixth and seventh. Jorge Alfaro hit his fourth homer in the eighth off left-hander Eric Stout.
Hendricks, pitching for the first time since June 1 because of shoulder fatigue, allowed one hit over the first four innings but needed a strikeout of Trent Grisham with runners at first and second to end the fifth.
“I felt really good coming back,” Hendricks said. “Fatigued a little bit for sure, maybe a little bit at the end.”
Grisham executed a bunt single off Scott Effross (1-2) that started the six-run seventh.
FRANK REPLY
Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel received a clip of “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert poking fun of his 35.1 mph pitch Sunday that Kyle Higashioka of the Yankees hit for a home run.
Schwindel said he does not watch the show but took Colbert’s ribbing in style. Schwindel said he gave up a pair of homers to Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbaar of the Cardinals on June 3 on pitches clocked at 61 mph.
“I tried to go a little slower,” Schwindel said. “It didn’t work, but I got some good guys out. So it is what it is. It was one of those things. It was fun to be on the mound in New York.”
MORE REST FOR MUSGROVE
Padres RHP Joe Musgrove will pitch Thursday’s series finale on five days’ rest. Musgrove (7-0) hasn’t allowed a run in two starts with five days’ rest, compared to a 1.35 ERA in three starts on four days’ rest and a 2.19 ERA with six days or more between starts. “He’s had success doing that, and we’ll ride that for now,” Flaherty said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: RHP Mike Clevinger and LHP Adrian Morejon remain in COVID-19 protocols.
Cubs: LHP Wade Miley (left shoulder) will not resume baseball activities until at least the end of the week. ... INF David Bote (dizzy spells) will report to Triple-A Iowa and will start a rehab assignment this weekend. ... 2B Nick Madrigal (groin tightness) missed his fourth consecutive game.
UP NEXT
Padres: LHP Ryan Weathers will face the Cubs Wednesday, Flaherty announced after the game. Weathers is 4-7 with a 5.32 ERA at Triple-A El Paso.
Cubs: RHP Caleb Kilian will promoted from Triple-A Iowa to face the Padres. Kilian allowed three runs in five innings of a 7-4 loss to St. Louis in his major league debut on June 4.
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The Chicago Journal needs your support.
At just $20/year, your subscription not only helps us grow, it helps maintain our commitment to independent publishing.