Solid pitching helps Phillies rebuff Cubs
PHILADELPHIA -- Jerad Eickhoff snapped a personal two-game losing streak and reliever Jeanmar Gomez escaped jams in the final two innings as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Ryan Howard homered for Philadelphia, which won for just the third time in 12 games.
Eickhoff (3-8) went seven innings, allowing one run and two hits while striking out eight and walking two. He retired 10 straight hitters between the first and fourth -- six via strikeout.
With the Phillies leading 3-1, Hector Neris replaced Eickhoff to start the eighth. The Cubs proceeded to load the bases with nobody out, on an error and singles by Addison Russell and pinch hitter Javier Baez.
Gomez, the Philadelphia closer, entered the game. He yielded a sacrifice fly to Dexter Fowler, making it 3-2, but induced a double-play ball off the bat of Jason Heyward to end the inning.
The Cubs also put runners at the corners with two outs in the ninth, but Gomez retired David Ross to end the game and record his 19th save.
Chicago, which lost for the second time in seven games, maintains the major leagues' best record (40-17).
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (4-5) saw a personal two-game winning streak end, going five innings and allowing two runs and four hits. He struck out six and walked two.
With two outs in the first, Cubs left fielder Kris Bryant misjudged a fly ball by Freddy Galvis that fell for a double. Maikel Franco delivered the game's first run with a single to right field.
Howard made it 2-0 with one out in the fourth, ripping Hendricks' first pitch into the seats in right center field for his ninth home run of the season and the 366th of his career, tying the retired Lance Berkman for 80th on the all-time list.
Howard, who has been coming off the bench of late, also homered for the first time in 18 games. He last connected May 11 in Atlanta.
Ben Zobrist walked to open the fifth, advanced to third on Tommy La Stella's hit-and-run single and scored on a double-play ball off the bat of Miguel Montero, cutting the gap to 2-1.
Odubel Herrera's RBI single off reliever Clayton Richard in the seventh increased Philadelphia's lead to 3-1.
NOTES: Philadelphia SS Freddy Galvis (.235, six home runs, 22 RBIs) hit third in the order for the first time this season and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. "It's the best I could come up with," manager Pete Mackanin said. ... Phillies 1B Ryan Howard made his first start since May 31. ... The Cubs placed OF Jorge Soler on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring and recalled OF Albert Almora from Triple-A Iowa. Almora, the sixth overall pick in 2012, was hitting .318 in the minor leagues, with three homers, 30 RBIs and 10 steals. ... The Cubs have not made an error in seven straight games.