Cubs at Phillies
The Chicago Cubs have endured disastrous results away from the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, and their last outing appeared headed in that direction before the club erupted for six unanswered runs. The Cubs aim to ride the momentum of that comeback victory into Philadelphia on Tuesday when they continue their 10-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series versus the Phillies.
Kris Bryant belted a three-run homer in the seventh inning of Sunday's 6-3 win over Cincinnati, helping Chicago salvage a split of its four-game set while giving the club an 0-9-2 mark in its last 11 road series. The 27-year-old Bryant tormented the Phillies in their visit to the Windy City, going 5-for-8 with two doubles and four runs scored in a pair of wins for the Cubs on May 21-22. While National League Central-leading Chicago's 23-35 away record leaves plenty to be desired, Philadelphia hardly is sitting pretty after losing five contests on its seven-game road trip to fellow wild-card contenders Arizona and San Francisco. "It was a disappointing road trip; We didn't execute enough on offense or on the mound," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. "We go back home; we know we're right in the hunt and we continue to fight. ... We'll get up and we'll get up strong."
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS Chicago, NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs LH Jose Quintana (10-7, 4.23 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Jason Vargas (6-6, 4.09)
Quintana has turned his season around over the last 6 1/2 weeks, posting a 6-0 record with a 3.67 ERA in his last seven starts to reach the 10-win plateau for the fourth straight year. The 30-year-old authored one of his best performances of the campaign on Wednesday after allowing just one run on two hits while striking out seven in as many innings of a 10-1 romp versus Oakland. Quintana, who is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA in five career starts against Philadelphia, turned in a gem versus the Phillies on May 21 but settled for a no-decision despite scattering two hits over six scoreless frames.
Vargas answered a strong start in his Philadelphia debut on Aug. 2 with a subpar performance five days later, permitting four runs and three walks in five innings in a 6-1 setback at Arizona. The 36-year-old received a no-decision against the Cubs on June 21 after yielding four runs on as many hits in 4 2/3 frames. Vargas, who has flustered Anthony Rizzo (1-for-11, four strikeouts) and Kyle Schwarber (0-for-5, two strikeouts), sports a 3-0 mark with a 3.95 ERA in seven career starts with Chicago.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 2B Cesar Hernandez collected three hits and two RBIs in Sunday's 9-6 setback to the Giants after going 2-for-17 without driving in a run in his previous five games.
2. Chicago SS Javier Baez is just 1-for-10 in his last three contests after erupting for 13 hits -- including three homers -- to go along with 10 RBIs and nine runs scored during his previous seven games.
3. Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins is 2-for-28 in his last eight games overall heading into the series versus the Cubs, against whom he went 2-for-12 in May.