MLB

Baltimore Orioles at Chicago Cubs

· Major League Baseball
Baltimore Orioles
43-26, 21-13 Away
Final
3 - 10
Chicago Cubs
32-37, 19-16 Home

Christopher Morel homers as Chicago Cubs beat Baltimore Orioles 10-3 for 4th straight win

“We've taken a really good approach and mentality into the batter's box,” Swanson said, “and we've been rewarded for that.”

Big time.

Christopher Morel homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 on Friday for their fourth straight win.

Swanson and Miguel Amaya also connected for Chicago, which broke open a close game with six runs in the sixth inning. Nico Hoerner had two hits and two RBI, and Kyle Hendricks (2-2) pitched five effective innings for his second straight victory.

Chicago (32-37) has won six of seven, and the four-game win streak matches its season high.

“Offense has really been kind of finding their stride, getting big hits,” manager David Ross said. “Christopher Morel, I mean he's punishing baseballs right now.”

Baltimore (43-26) had won six of seven. But Cole Irvin (1-3) was pulled in the fifth, and the bullpen faltered in the opener of a five-game trip.

Mike Baumann issued consecutive walks beginning the sixth, and runners advanced on Cionel Pérez's balk ahead of pinch-hitter Ian Happ's two-run single. Morel made it 8-2 with a two-run double off Reed Garrett with two outs, and Seiya Suzuki added an RBI single.

“We had three walks and a balk," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of the trouble in the sixth, "and if we don't balk there, it's a double-play ball that Happ hits and the game might be a little bit different.”

Chicago, in all-blue uniforms with “Wrigleyville” across the chest, finished with 12 hits for its fourth straight game in double digits. The Cubs have recorded a four-plus run inning in four straight for the first time since June 28-July 1, 2018.

“Everybody's doing a good job,” Morel said.

Ryan O'Hearn had three hits for Baltimore, and Austin Hays collected two hits and two RBI. O'Hearn is batting .396 (21 for 53) in his last 16 games.

Jorge Mateo's RBI double got Baltimore within one in the fifth. The Orioles had a chance to tie the game in the sixth, putting a runner on third with one out. But Michael Fulmer escaped the jam by striking out Hays and retiring Aaron Hicks on a grounder to second.

“It was a huge inning by Fulmer, getting out of that,” Hendricks said.

Chicago jumped in front on Amaya's first homer at Wrigley Field, a leadoff drive to left in the third. The catching prospect made his big league debut in May and connected for his first homer June 4 at San Diego.

Irvin retired the next two batters before Swanson and Morel combined for the sixth set of back-to-back homers for Chicago this season. It was the seventh homer for Swanson, and No. 12 for Morel.

“Besides those three homers, I thought he did a nice job,” Hyde said of Irvin. “Pitched into the fifth inning against an all right-handed lineup, and 3-2 game there, got away from us in the sixth inning.”

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: 1B Ryan Mountcastle (vertigo) is “starting to feel a little bit better,” Hyde said. “But he's still a little bit under the weather.” Mountcastle was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday.

Cubs: RHP Codi Heuer (recovery from Tommy John surgery) is scheduled for another rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa this weekend. ... LHP Brandon Hughes (left knee inflammation) was slated to play catch on Friday for the second straight day.

UP NEXT

Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (6-2, 2.65 ERA) returns on Saturday. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on June 3 with a strained left forearm. Right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-3, 3.90 ERA) takes the mound for the Orioles. Gibson is 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his last five starts.

Follow Jay Cohen at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

How can I watch Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago Cubs?
  • TV Channel: Orioles at Cubs 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
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Matchup Prediction

Cubs: 53.5%
Orioles: 46.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Mateo struck out swinging.
9th Inning Urías flied out to right.
9th Inning Frazier lined out to right.
8th Inning Tauchman grounded out to first.
8th Inning Suzuki flied out to center.
8th Inning Morel lined out to left.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/bal.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBAL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHC
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
12 Ground Balls 13
7 Strikeouts 4
3 Runs Batted In 10
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
9 Hits 12
0 Stolen Bases 0
0 Walks 5
0 Catcher Interference 0
3 Runs 10
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
36 At Bats 35
0 Home Runs 3
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
12 Runners Left On Base 16
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
3 Doubles 3
17 Fly Balls 19
0 Caught Stealing 0
146 Pitches 156
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 1
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
12 Total Bases 24
36 Plate Appearances 41
0.0 Projected Home Runs 486.0
3 Extra Base Hits 6
2.9 Runs Created 9.6
.250 Batting Average .343
.000 Pinch Hit Average 1.000
.333 Slugging Percentage .686
.083 Secondary Average .486
.250 On Base Percentage .425
.583 OBP Pct + SLG Pct 1.111
0.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.7
2.9 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 10.8
27.0 Batter Rating 67.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 11.7
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.06 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.80
.083 Isolated Power .343
0.00 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 1.25
.000 Walks Per Plate Appearance .122
-.167 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .143
6.0 Runs Produced 20.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.8
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.3
77.5 MLB Rating 109.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Wrigley Field

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 37,515 | Capacity:

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1
Full Standings