The Chicago Cubs dropped Monday night’s series-opening game in Philadelphia 6-2. The Phillies victory lowered their magic number to zero and they have now clinched the NL East division championship. For the rest of the season, they will look to clinch the top seed in the National League over the Los Angeles Dodgers. As Philadelphia ramps up for the playoffs, the Chicago Cubs descend into the offseason, benching many of their starters and holding de facto tryouts for 2025.
Nate Pearson opened the game for Chicago before handing the ball off to Caleb Kilian for much of the rest of the game. After battling injury for most of 2024, Kilian struggled to get into rhythm against the talented Philadelphia lineup and received the loss. Aaron Nola was on his game against the Chicago Cubs, cruising through six innings before getting into a jam in the seventh. After minimal damage in the frame, the Phillies bullpen closed out the Chicago bats and clinched their first NL East title since 2011.
Chicago Cubs Lose to Playoff Bound Phils
The Chicago Cubs fell to Philadelphia 6-2 on Monday night. The Phillies won and celebrated their first NL East division championship in 13 years after jumping out to an early lead and riding it through to the end of the game. The Philadelphia Phillies will now shift focus from their foes on the East Coast to their biggest rival on the West Coast, the Los Angeles Dodgers. These teams will battle for the top seed in the National League ahead of the playoffs next month, as the Chicago Cubs get ready to clean their lockers on their way home and into the offseason.
Preparations have already begun for the Chicago Cubs. Small injuries are keeping starters out of the lineup and the pitching strategy has shifted the focus to 2025. Nate Pearson opened for Caleb Kilian on Monday night. Pearson worked a scoreless first inning before Kilian came in for his first extended action of the season. The right-handed prospect has been injured for most of 2024 and had a tough outing against one of the best lineups in the NL.
Kilian didn’t have great control and only managed to get a solid grasp on his breaking ball towards the tail end of his outing. This came after the damage was done by the vaunted Philly hitters. In Kilian’s first inning on the mound, JT Realmuto blasted a fastball deep over the center field wall for a two-run home run. The Phillies pushed across two more runs in the third inning. The first came on a Kyle Schwarber solo shot to lead off the inning, followed by a Nick Castellanos single that drove in Trea Turner.
Kilian started to get better on the bump but still was not on top of his game. He was not helped by his defense. A pair of errors on a pickoff attempt in the fifth inning allowed Bryce Harper to come in and score. Chicago C Christian Bethancourt threw behind Harper, who was leaning off second. SS Luis Vasquez couldn’t come up with the throw and the ball went into shallow center field. Harper rounded third and was motoring home when Nico Hoerner tried to gun him down with a throw from the outfield, only to sail the ball over the plate and allow Nick Castellanos to move up to second as the ball rattled around the backstop.
The play was a microcosm of the two teams and their seasons. The struggles of the Cubs will have them on the couch watching Aaron Nola and the Phillies in the postseason. On his way to the mound in October, Nola made a stop on Monday night. For six innings the Cubs had no idea what to do with Nola’s breaking ball. Nola used it in any count and could seemingly place it anywhere in the zone. After six shutout frames, Nola got into his first real trouble in the seventh inning.
Chicago pushed across their first run after a pair of back-to-back doubles to start the inning. A walk and a bunt single later, the bases were loaded and manager Rob Thomson had seen enough. Nola was lifted from the game to thunderous applause as he gears up for the October push. The seventh-inning threat was the last viable comeback effort for the Cubs and they could only scratch across one more run off the Phillies bullpen, making it a 6-2 game.
Carlos Estévez made the division championship official after working through the ninth and giving Philadelphia their 93rd win of the season, drawing them even to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are still a half-game back of the Dodgers for the best record in the NL but will look to take over that spot tomorrow in the second game of this series, starting at 5:40 PM CST. The Phillies have yet to name their starter and Justin Steele will toe the rubber for the Chicago Cubs.
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