Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/23/19): Cubs 7, Phillies 9 – Lester Scuffles, Offense Can’t Quite Come Back in Series Finale

It was a beautiful day at the ballpark, with the sun shining and the wind blowing out to right, but the Phillies brought rain in the form of several hard-hit balls against Jon Lester. The visitors hung seven runs before the Cubs managed to get on the board, including massive home runs from J.T. Realmuto and Juan Segura.

The Cubs nipped at the lead throughout the game, giving fans hope with homers by Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo that closed the gap to two runs. It appeared as though Javy Báez had tied the game with a big shot later, but his line drive died near the track.

Another #FakeRally was ignited in the bottom of the 9th, spurred in part by a pinch-hit RBI double from Tyler Chatwood. Between a interesting strike zone and some not-great at-bats, the Cubs came up short. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Lost

For the second start in a row, Lester was off his game and allowed opposing batters to knock him around. He gave up seven hits over four innings, but only four of those were earned as his defense fell apart behind him.

Key Moment

A throwing error on Willson Contreras in the top of the 4th set the scene for three big runs and Lester needed a lot of pitches to get out of the inning. The lefty wasn’t cruising by any means, but given the close score, it was a costly error.

Stats that Matter

• Chatwood was 1-for-1 with an RBI double in the bottom of the 9th
• Schwarber was 2-for-4 with that two-run homer
• Rizzo went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI
• Jason Heyward drew five walks on the afternoon, but home plate umpire Mark Carlson only let him have four

Bottom Line

The Cubs came up just short because they couldn’t convert all their baserunners into runs. With nine runs on 12 hits, the Phillies were marginally more effective when it mattered.

What’s Up Next

The Cincinnati Reds visit Wrigley on Friday, giving right-hander Anthony DeSclafani the ball against Kyle Hendricks. The action starts at 1:20pm CT on NBC Sports Chicago and MLB Network (out-of-network), with 670 The Score on the radio call.