Pitching Carries the Cubs to Victory over the Marlins
A challenging stretch at the plate continues for the Chicago Cubs but they evened up the series on Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins. Another strong outing from Adrian Sampson helped the Cubs pull off the victory despite a quiet night from the offense.
Pitching has been pretty outstanding for Chicago as of late and has given them a chance to compete when the bats fail to take over. That was the case once again on Tuesday as the pitching staff allowed just one run and recorded a win while the offense only strung together six hits and two runs.
Sampson went 6.0 innings, allowing eight hits but limiting the Marlins to just one run which came in the second inning. Adbert Alzolay stepped in for 2.0 innings of relief work and looked excellent. A ninth-inning scare for Brandon Hughes almost resulted in a blown save but the Cubs hung on.
A David Bote home run in the seventh inning tied the ballgame and a sacrifice fly by Bote in the eighth gave Chicago the winning run.
The final two weeks of the season will provide an opportunity for so many youngsters to earn a spot on the MLB roster next season. Tuesday's lineup was made up of nine players that did not start on Opening Day.
Jared Young and Esteban Quiroz contributed to the offense on Tuesday after recent promotions, combining for three hits. The time is right for Chicago to test the waters with their farm system.
The rubber match of this series will take place Wednesday at 5:40 CDT with Marcus Stroman taking the bump for the Cubs. He will square off with lefty Jesus Luzardo in a matchup that features two very good pitchers with underwhelming records.
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