Hammel solid late, but Cubs fall Sunday
Despite making late adjustments, Jason Hammel was tagged for four runs in seven innings of work, as the Chicago Cubs fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field by a 4-3 final Sunday afternoon.
The deciding blow came in the three-run third inning, when Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt launched a two-run home run to center, putting the Diamondbacks ahead 4-1. Arizona starter Jeremy Hellickson gave his team the lead earlier in the inning with a sacrifice fly.
Hammel (3-2, 2.98) struck out nine and walked just one, as he put together yet-another solid start as the Cubs’ number three starter. Justin Grimm tossed a scoreless eighth in relief of the Chicago right-hander, capping things off.
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Goldschmidt opened the scoring with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the first, plating Ender Inciarte.
Former Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero pulled Chicago (24-19) back even with a line-drive homer to left field, tying things 1-1. Outfielder Chris Coghlan drove in the other two Cubs’ runs in the top of the fifth, when he hit his seventh homer of the year, pulling Chicago within one at 4-3.
The Chicago outfielder now has seven home runs on the season, which trails only Anthony Rizzo on the team. Jorge Soler continued his recent strong work at the dish, contributing two hits in the loss.
Inciarte and Goldschmidt accounted for two-third of the hits for Arizona (21-22). The Dbacks’ bullpen pitched three scoreless innings of relief, with Brad Ziegler nailing things down for his second save of the season.
What’s Next:
Chicago returns home on Monday to welcome the Washington Nationals to Wrigley Field for a three-game set. Tsuyoshi Wada (0-0, 3.86) will make his second start, and will be opposed by Tanner Roark (0-2, 2.66 ERA).