For the first time in nearly three months, the Giants are a .500 baseball team.
San Francisco reached Wednesday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs after losing five straight games, officially reaching an even 70-70 record with its sixth straight loss capping a win in the Windy City.
Giants left-hander Alex Wood (L, 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 K) started against Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks (W, 6 2/3 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, K ) and struggled early against a red-hot Chicago lineup.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Wood delivered a bases-clearing double to Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki, giving Chicago an early 3-0 lead.
Centerfielder Cody Bellinger continued another Cubs run with an RBI double in the bottom of the third with one out. Wood was replaced by reliever Ryan Walker, who gave up an RBI single to third baseman Nick Madrigal with two runners on and two out, extending the Cubs’ lead to 5-0.
The Giants’ struggling offense remained scoreless for most of the game while the Cubs continued to build on their early lead.
Chicago catcher Miguel Amaya hit a home run off John Brebbia in the bottom of the fourth, and designated hitter Christopher Morel hit an RBI single off Sean Manaea with one out in the bottom of the sixth to extend the Cubs’ lead to 7-0 .
The Giants finally got on the field early in the seventh when third baseman Casey Schmitt doubled Luis Matos and catcher Joey Bart’s sacrifice fly to center scored Schmitt from third two batters later, cutting Chicago’s lead to 7-2.
Bellinger recorded his second RBI of the game on a solo home run against Manaea in the bottom of the seventh, extending the Cubs’ lead to 8-2.
Both offenses were quiet in the eighth and ninth innings, with the Cubs capping a series win over the Giants.
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