Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres MLB Full Game 06/07/2021

The Cubs dropped the series opener, leaving themselves needing to win the next two just to salvage a 3-4 road trip.

Adbert Alzolay was unusually wild and it turns out that he was battling a blister that is hopefully the explanation for the performance (more on him later), and also hopefully something that doesn’t last. Either way, it meant an early hole for the Cubs, and another long, long night for the bullpen.

Young fill-in relievers Keegan Thompson and Cory Abbott both got hit hard by the Padres (with Thompson a little wilder, and Abbott a little more hammered), which was a reminder that, yeah, that’s a really good lineup, but also these guys aren’t all just gonna be perfect when they come up, especially as they are seen more frequently. Again, that’s part of the compounding issue the Cubs will face as the rotation fails to provide meaningful innings. It was a blister tonight, but there hasn’t always been a physical issue.

Dillon Maples went extreme Dillon Maples in his appearance: strikeout, hit by pitch, walk, hit by pitch, strikeout, pulled. Really the only pitcher who had a clean appearance tonight was Rex Brothers.

Offensively, the Cubs really didn’t muster a lot, with a late Ian Happ homer the only extra-base hit on the night. The Padres wised up and walked Patrick Wisdom twice rather than let him crush them. (In all seriousness, he also added another couple strikeouts, and eventually those are gonna catch up on his production because they’re over the top at this point.) Manny Machado and Brian O’Grady each homered and had three RBI to lead the San Diego Padres over the Chicago Cubs 9-4 on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series between National League contenders.

Machado hit a solo home run and two sacrifice flies. O’Grady, just recalled from the minors, had a two-run homer and an RBI single.

Ryan Weathers (3-2) lasted five innings for the win, giving up three runs and five hits while striking out four.

“I felt really good. I just have to get back to throwing strikes,” Weathers said. “I felt my slider was good the whole time. ... Fastball command is the thing that needs to get better.”

Chicago starter Adbert Alzolay (4-5) left in the fourth with a blister on his right middle finger after walking leadoff batter Tommy Pham, who reached base four times. An athletic trainer and manager David Ross came out to talk with Alzolay briefly before he headed for the dugout. He threw 82 pitches in three-plus innings, giving up four runs, five hits and five walks.

“He has been dealing with it for a little while now. Hopefully, we will know more tomorrow,” Ross said. “We took him out. ... It was something I didn’t want him to push through and make worse.”

Ross said the blister was drained after the game and Alzolay was feeling some relief.

“In the second inning is when I started feeling it the most. The sinker and hard slider — those were the two pitches when I felt it the most,” Alzolay said. “Everything else is feeling good — my body and arm. It was the blister that got me.”

The Padres got single runs in the first and second against Alzolay, who worked out of jams in both innings. With the bases loaded and no outs in the first, the Padres managed only one run on Eric Hosmer's groundout. In the second they had runners at second and third with one out and scored on Machado's sacrifice fly.

But in the third, Alzolay was tagged by O’Grady’s 407-foot homer to straightaway center that gave San Diego a 4-0 lead.

It was O'Grady's first game since returning from Triple-A El Paso.

“Basically, my swing had become a little steep, a little too uphill," O'Grady said, explaining the adjustments he made at El Paso. “I have been able to basically flatten my bat path a little bit more and put those balls in play that I would miss before.”

Weathers had a cushion but ran into problems in the fourth. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Jake Marisnick then hit a slow roller that hugged the first-base line halfway to the bag. Weathers made an errant throw that hit Marisnick and bounded away. Two runs scored, and two batters later Sergio Alcantara hit a sacrifice fly to cut it to 4-3.

San Diego added two runs in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Pham that scored a sliding Victor Carantini on a play at the plate, and Machado’s second sacrifice fly.

“Manny's at-bats were really good throughout the night," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “He battled, had the sac flies, fought some pitches off — I thought his swing looked really good tonight."

The Cubs trailed 6-4 after Ian Happ hit a solo homer to center in the seventh.

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