Cody Bellinger hit a triple, two singles, and brought in four runs as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 10-4 on Tuesday night.
Kyle Schwarber launched his 38th home run of the season, while Bryce Harper hit his 30th for the Phillies, who secured their first NL East title in 13 years on Monday night. Manager Rob Thomson kept most of his regular players in the lineup, except for catcher J.T. Realmuto, as Philadelphia aims for home-field advantage in the National League playoffs.
“You obviously want to go out there and keep winning. It didn’t work out for us,” Schwarber said. “You tip your hat. The biggest thing is to put this behind us and focus on the next four games.”
The Phillies (93-65) have four games left and need to at least tie with the Brewers to earn a first-round playoff bye. Milwaukee won against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, narrowing the gap to 2.5 games behind the Phillies.
“We want to keep pushing and winning baseball games,” Schwarber said.
Philadelphia can also secure home field for the NL Championship Series by finishing tied with or ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were 93-63 entering Tuesday.
After Harper gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his 30th home run of the season, Philadelphia struggled in the second inning, where Tanner Banks (2-3) and Taijuan Walker allowed six runs.
“We had a really good inning,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Walker, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract before the 2023 season, came into the game with the bases loaded and one out, receiving loud boos from the crowd, especially after he issued two straight walks. The frustration from Phillies fans increased when Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run single.
