Rookie Christopher Morel homered for a third straight game, during a go-ahead, three-run sixth inning, and four Chicago relievers held the visiting Boston Red Sox scoreless, as the Cubs overcame an early four-run hole to win 6-5 on Friday.
Down 4-0, the Cubs scored three times in the fifth. Then trailing 5-3 in the sixth, with two out and a man on, Morel (three RBIs) drove the ball into the left-field bleachers. Chicago then went ahead when Willson Contreras scored on Jake Diekman’s wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Meanwhile, relievers Brandon Hughes (1-0), Scott Effross, Chris Martin and David Robertson (10 saves) didn’t allow a run over 3 2/3 innings against a potent Boston offense to help Chicago win its third straight and sixth in nine games. Ian Happ added three hits for the Cubs, who improved to 3-9 in interleague play.
Boston’s Jarren Duran homered on the first pitch of the game and had two RBIs, while Jackie Bradley Jr. snapped a 0-for-26 slump with his three-run double in the second. However, the Red Sox, who went 20-6 in June, couldn’t maintain that early cushion due to an offense that went quiet and a season-high 10 walks allowed.
Chicago only managed a first-inning double from Happ through the first four frames against 42-year-old Rich Hill.
However, the ex-Cub opened the fifth with a walk to P.J. Higgins, who scored on Nelson Velazquez’s triple to center. The Cubs got within 4-2 via Morel’s RBI groundout later in the frame.
Hill, who appeared to injure his knee during the fifth, didn’t finish the inning after loading the bases with two out. Hill was charged with his third run — to go along with four walks and three hits — after reliever Tyler Danish issued a bases-loaded walk to Rafael Ortega.
Duran, though, added an RBI single in the sixth that was charged to Cubs starter Adrian Sampson, who yielded five runs — four earned — with eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Hansel Robles (1-3) took the loss for Boston, which, making its first trip to Wrigley Field since 2012, has lost three of its last four.
–Field Level Media
