Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/20/23): Phillies 12, Cubs 3 – Taillon Tanks as Philly Pounds Cubs

The Cubs hoped to win consecutive games for the first time in a long time Saturday afternoon against the Phillies. Alas, it was not to be as a disastrous opening inning doomed Chicago and Philadelphia won easily to even the series.

Jameson Taillon‘s season-long struggles continued when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 1st. After a popup, former Cub Kyle Schwarber blasted a long grand slam into the upper deck in right. Catcher Kody Clemens went from pitching Friday to hitting a two-run homer Saturday and the home team was up 6-0 after one.

That was more than enough support for Aaron Nola, who completely shut the Cubs down. Taillon limped into the 3rd inning before David Ross finally pulled him with his team down 8-0.

Dansby Swanson crushed a two-run dinger in the 6th inning to avoid a shutout and Christopher Morel added a solo shot in the 9th. That was just window dressing as the Phillies cruised to a 12-3 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

This is the rare game you could actually say it was over in the 1st inning. A six-run hole was just way too deep to dig out of on Saturday.

Why the Cubs Lost

Taillon just did not have it again and buried his team with a huge deficit.

Stats That Matter

• It’s been a very difficult debut season for Taillon: 2.1 IP, 8 R, 6 H, 1 K, and 3 BB.
• Morel now has seven home runs in his first 10 games of the season.

Bottom Line

Taillon’s struggles are getting to be a real issue for the Cubs this season. They are going to have to figure out a solution because he is signed for three more years after this. There have been a lot of blowout losses lately, and though they count the same as one-run defeats, it would be nice if they were a little less frequent.

On Deck

The Cubs try to bounce back and win the rubber match of the series Sunday at 12:35pm CT as Justin Steele faces Taijuan Walker in a contest airing on Marquee and 670 The Score.