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Javier Assad of the Chicago Cubs struggled against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing nine runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings during a 13-7 loss. Assad expressed uncertainty about his performance and acknowledged the need to analyze his outing.
PHILADELPHIA â Over the course of a 162-game season, there are days when the starting pitcher needs to stay in and provide innings during a rough outing.
It was Chicago Cubs right-hander Javier Assadâs night to wear it Monday at Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Phillies tagged Assad for nine runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 13-7 loss that was more of a blowout than the final score indicated.
Assad sounded unsure afterward about what exactly went wrong, stating multiple times he needed to watch video of his outing to dissect whether the issues stemmed from sequencing, location or pitch shape. He believed he threw some good pitches that the Phillies managed to make contact against.
âEvery time you go out there, you try to battle, so today was a bad day,â Assad said through an interpreter. âIt was just a bad day. Itâs in the past, move forward.â
Manager Craig Counsell had to keep the rest of the series in mind with a taxed bullpen. He needed to get more outs from Assad as the fifth inning started to get away from the typically reliable right-hander. Six of the first seven Phillies hitters reached base to open the inning; the lone out came on a sacrifice fly.
âI just donât think he got his sinker going and didnât execute with his fastball,â Counsell said of Assad. âThere were balls in the zone, but he needs to get them in good places. And he didnât get the fastball and the sinker to good places.â
A still-manageable 4-2 deficit coming into the bottom of the fifth made the spiraling frame a tough blow to the Cubs, who were looking for a strong start to a challenging two-week stretch in their schedule. Right-hander Jacob Webb retired the two batters he faced to get out of the fifth, and with the Cubs trailing by seven runs, Counsell turned to left-hander Charlie Barnes to finish off the final three innings.
Barnesâ first big-league appearance since Oct. 3, 2021, with Minnesota didnât go smoothly, either. Barnes, 30, surrendered four runs (three earned) on four hits, three walks and one hit batter.
Kyle Schwarber took Assad deep twice in the first and third innings to help the Phillies go up 4-0. Dansby Swansonâs two-run home run off Phillies left-hander Cristopher SĂĄnchez to the opposite field cut into the lead. However, the Cubs couldnât take advantage of the baserunners and pressure they created against the Philliesâ star pitcher (six hits and three walks allowed).
âYou put some pressure on him, but the ball is just on the ground so much that he can get out of some trouble and he got out of trouble and gets two outs with one pitch multiple times tonight,â Counsell said of SĂĄnchez. âSo heâs tough, and I thought we did a pretty decent job with him. Youâre only going to get so many chances against a guy like that.â
The Cubs (7-9) finished 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. They produced a five-run eighth inning, aided by multiple Phillies errors, but even that didnât put much of a dent in the hole the Cubs put themselves in.
The Cubs arenât worried about how the offensive group hasnât fully clicked yet. Not even through the first month of the season, there remains plenty of confidence in the clubhouse that this is a talented team that will get in rhythm. At some point, though, they need more from their star players. The Cubs know that. Their offensive struggles become more exposed on nights like Monday when the Cubs canât get a quality outing from their starting pitcher while the lineup faces one of the best starters in the game.
The rest of this series wonât get any easier as the Phillies send right-hander Aaron Nola and left-hander JĂ©sus Luzardo to the mound in the next two games.
âI think if you look at just however many games in we are this year, when some of the circumstances and variables are kind of out of our hands in terms of weather and temperatures and winds and stuff like that, when theyâre a little bit more favorable, weâve done great as an offense,â Swanson said. âWeâve put pressure on teams, whether thatâs via the walk or consistently hitting the ball hard, passing the baton to one another, even tonight being able to work (SĂĄnchezâs) pitch count up and force them to use a couple extra bullpen arms, you can look at as a win.
âWe havenât obviously been able to consistently come up with a big hit, but guys are going up there with the right mentality and putting good swings on balls. Itâs just a matter of time.â
Javier Assad gave up nine runs during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The final score was 13-7 in favor of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Javier Assad stated that it was a bad day and mentioned the need to watch video to understand what went wrong.
Manager Craig Counsell needed more outs from Assad due to a taxed bullpen and the game situation worsening in the fifth inning.
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