Gibson, Familia Struggle as Cubs Rout Philadelphia Phillies

The first pitch the Philadelphia Phillies saw from Chicago Cubs' starter Justin Steele on Friday was hit into the right field seats by Kyle Schwarber.

It was Schwarber's 30th home run of the season, and Philadelphia was off to a great start in the second half.

Kyle Gibson was on the mound for the Phillies, and he already had a 1-0 lead to work with following the first inning. Unfortunately, Gibson surrendered that lead in the fourth inning, allowing a solo home run to Willson Contreras.

Now a tie game in the fifth, Christopher Morel doubled to score Alfonso Rivas, and suddenly things got ugly. As Didi Gregorius threw home, the ball was cut off by Rhys Hoskins. He threw over to second, but the throw was off-line, and the ball wound up in center field.

This allowed Morel to score, making it 3-1 in favor of Chicago. Then, a walk and a single put two runners on for Ian Happ, who singled to make it 4-1, spelling the end of Gibson's outing. With two on and only one out, he was questionably lifted for Jeurys Familia, who promptly conceded back-to-back doubles.

By the end of the inning, it was 7-1, and the game was already out of reach. Before Familia entered the game, the Phillies were still within striking distance. He let the game get out of hand. With his ERA now at 5.10, it remains to be seen what the Phillies' plan is for him once Sam Coonrod returns from the injured list.

Across the final two innings of the game, Chicago scored eight runs. Jojo Romero allowed three runs to cross the plate in the eighth, and Garrett Stubbs pitched the ninth, allowing a three-run and two-run home run.

The Phillies got one run back in the ninth thanks to a pinch-hit home run by Darick Hall. That made the final score 15-2.

Luckily for the Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals also lost to the Cincinnati Reds, meaning they did not lose any ground in the National League Wild Card race.

Schwarber's lead off solo blast was a bit of tease for how the rest of this ballgame went. Philadelphia will look to bounce back on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. with Zack Wheeler on the mound. He'll face off against Cubs' starter Marcus Stroman, who's struggled this year, but has impressive career numbers at Citizens Bank Park.

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