Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/19/23): Cubs 6, Royals 4 – Two Belli Bombs Highlight Victory

The Cubs bounced back from a difficult loss to the Royals on Friday afternoon thanks to some heroics from Cody Bellinger. Chicago took a big lead early and was able to hold off a scrappy Kansas City comeback attempt to secure the win.

Bellinger put his team ahead in the bottom of the 1st with a two-run homer to left field off of Brady Singer. Justin Steele allowed a single and a double in the 2nd that led to an RBI groundout by Matt Duffy to make it a 2-1 game.

Jeimer Candelario tripled in the bottom of the frame and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Seiya Suzuki. Bellinger hit his second home run, this time a solo shot, to left field in the bottom of the 3rd to put Chicago ahead 4-1.

How many HRs will Belli hit?

*The limit does not exist* pic.twitter.com/LWsucTUU0w

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 19, 2023

The North Siders added two more in the 4th with a run-scoring single by Ian Happ and a sacrifice fly by Bellinger, his fourth RBI on Saturday. Steele went six strong innings and left the game with a 6-2 edge.

Kansas City got a run-scoring hit from Bobby Witt Jr. in the 7th and an RBI double by Kyle Isbel in the 8th to cut the deficit to 6-4. Adbert Alzolay gave up a single in the 9th inning but was able to shut the door and pick up the save. (Box score)

Key Moment

Witt came to bat with one out in the final inning representing the tying run, but Alzolay struck him out on three pitches for a massive second out.

Why the Cubs Won

They jumped ahead early and got a quality start from their pitcher. That was enough to hold off the Royals’ attempt to rally.

Stats That Matter

• A nice outing for Steele for his 14th win: 6 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 7 K, and 0 BB.
• Bellinger continues to have a huge MVP-worthy season.
• Candelario made several outstanding plays at third base Saturday.

Bottom Line

That game got a little closer than it needed to, but the Cubs will definitely take the win. They really need to work on adding to late leads because the hitting conditions at Wrigley should continue to be friendly for several weeks. Getting a series win tomorrow would be a big deal since dropping two of three to KC would be suboptimal.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is Sunday at 1:20pm CT. Kyle Hendricks starts against Jordan Lyles in a contest airing on Marquee and 670 The Score.