Chicago Cubs fall short as Miami Marlins snap streak at 5

The Chicago Cubs gave it their best shot but fell short in losing to the Miami Marlins, 6-5 on Wednesday night.

The Chicago Cubs looked like they would have some more of that comeback magic, but it was for naught as the Miami Marlins took the lead with a three-run fourth inning and held on from there to win, 6-5. John Lackey scuffled again, allowing five runs in six innings in taking the loss.

The Cubs (30-27) went down early as the Marlins (24-33) Christian Yelich had a sacrifice fly to give them an early lead. Lackey (4-6, 5.12) never seemed to have it tonight, allowing two home runs while striking out six. After Anthony Rizzo gave the Cubs the lead with a two-run double off of Marlins’ starter Jose Urena (4-2, 3.96).

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

It was in the fourth when the wheels came off for Lackey. First, he allowed a solo home run to J.T. Realmuto. Then he allowed a two-run single to the other J.T.–J.T. Riddle–that gave the Marlins a 4-2 lead they would never relinquish. Although, the Cubs made a solid run at it.

In the fifth, Marcell Ozuna added another solo home run to give the Marlins a 5-2 lead. Ian Happ collected his fifth home run for the Cubs, cutting the lead to 5-3. But it was the Marlins final run that might have been the most disappointing. After Giancarlo Stanton struck out but the pitch got away, the Cubs defense committed a critical lapse in judgment.

After Miguel Montero chased it down to throw out Stanton, Dee Gordon came all the way around from second to score, and nobody was covering the plate. It appeared that Gordon might have lost track of the number of outs, but it was the Cubs blunder that cost them.

Next: Montgomery paying dividends for the Cubs

Kyle Schwarber‘s solo home run in the seventh inning followed by his RBI double in the eighth gave the Cubs some hope. But Marlins closer A.J. Ramos was able to close it out by getting Jason Heyward to fly out to center field.

The Cubs failed to get the sweep but did take two out of three from the Marlins. The Colorado Rockies will come into town tomorrow to start a four-game series against the Cubs.