Christopher Morel hit his first-ever grand slam, and Yan Gomes also hit a home run for the Chicago Cubs, who defeated Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Tuesday night.
In contrast to Monday’s game where they lost after holding a large lead, the Cubs managed to maintain their advantage this time.
Manager Craig Counsell remarked, “Look, it counts as one. But obviously, last night’s a tough game, so it’s good to bounce back and get the W.”
Right-hander Ben Brown performed well in his debut start in the major leagues but didn’t pitch long enough to earn the win. He was taken out after 4 2/3 innings, having thrown 77 pitches with no runners on base. Brown allowed three hits, struck out five, and walked one.
“I thought his fastball was excellent tonight,” Counsell commented. “Certainly for the first couple of innings, it was better, and you saw that the hitters had to cheat to get to it. That made a big, big difference.”
Cody Bellinger’s excellent fielding also contributed to Brown’s performance, helping him settle in by making a crucial catch and throw in the early innings.
Musgrove, pitching on the third anniversary of his historic no-hitter, struggled in the fifth inning. Gomes hit a leadoff home run, followed by Musgrove loading the bases with a walk, single, and hit batter. Morel then hit a grand slam off rookie right-hander Stephen Kolek.
Musgrove allowed four runs and five hits in four innings, striking out five and walking three. In the sixth inning, San Diego’s Eguy Rosario hit a pinch-hit home run against Drew Smyly.
