Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/7/23): Marlins 5, Cubs 4 F/14 – Marlins Win Marathon to Avoid Sweep

The Cubs came into Sunday looking to sweep the Marlins and return the favor from last week in Florida. Chicago made a dramatic late comeback for the second consecutive day before eventually going down to defeat in an extra-innings marathon.

Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski matched Miami ace Sandy Alcántara early Sunday and neither squad scored through the first four innings. Yuli Gurriel put the road team on top in the 5th with a solo home run that barely got into the basket in left field.

Jorge Soler added an insurance run on an RBI single against Brad Boxberger in the top of the 8th inning. Alcántara was absolutely dominant and went out trying to complete the shutout in the bottom of the 9th.

At that point, Chicago staged a dramatic one-out rally to tie the game. Ian Happ singled and scored on a Cody Bellinger double with Bellinger advancing to third on the throw home. Eric Hosmer was the unlikely hero with a base hit through the drawn-in infield to send the game to extras.

Joey Wendle tripled to score the Manfred Man at second and give the Marlins a 3-2 advantage in the top of the 10th. Nico Hoerner singled in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at three but the Cubs could not walk it off and the game continued.

Things remained deadlocked until Miami took a one-run lead in the 13th inning on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. sacrifice fly. Happ would respond with a base knock to get that run back but they were not able to win it and the contest rolled on.

The Fish went back on top when Adbert Alzolay committed a balk in the 14th. This time there was no comeback and Miami won the game 5-4. (Box score)

Key Moment

With the automatic runner at second base in extra innings the Cubs had the winning run in scoring position multiple times and could not get the winning hit. Just more frustration in the season series with the Marlins.

Why the Cubs Lost

That clutch hit was just out of reach and the offense had been completely shut down most of the day against Alcantara.

Stats That Matter

• Wesneski had his best start of the season Sunday: 6 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 6 K, and 0 BB.
• Bellinger continues to impress at the plate and he had a couple more big hits Sunday.
• Matt Mervis picked up a pair of singles and made several outstanding plays at first base.
• Nick Madrigal worked some pretty good at-bats and went 2-6.

Bottom Line

It’s always annoying to lose long games like this, yet the Cubs won the series and they didn’t quit even against a great pitcher who was dominating. All they can do is dust themselves off and move on to the next series.

On Deck

Chicago welcomes the reeling St. Louis Cardinals to Wrigley for three games starting Monday at 6:40pm CT. Marcus Stroman takes the mound against Miles Mikolas with coverage on MLB Network (out-of-market only) and Marquee, with the radio broadcast on 670 The Score.