Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/27/24): Red Sox 17, Cubs 0 – Boston Massacre at Fenway

The Cubs took on the Red Sox in the second game of their series Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park in what was a decidedly different result from Friday. Things started badly for Chicago and got precipitously worse as the contest continued with Boston eventually posting a huge rout.

Ben Brown got the spot start and was greeted rudely by Tyler O’Neill, who blasted a long two-run homer over the Green Monster in the bottom of the 1st. The Cubs got six men on base in the first four frames against Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski and reliever Brennan Bernardino but failed to score.

Brown got into another jam in the 4th inning and was replaced by left-hander Luke Little, who allowed an inherited run to score. Little’s control completely melted down in the 5th and Boston took full advantage, eventually scoring six times to make it 9-0.

The rest of the afternoon was academic, although Matt Mervis did make his first career pitching appearance in the 9th. Ironically, Mervis got mashed in his inning of work and the Red Sox took home a 17-0 laugher. (Box score)

Key Moment

Definitely a game to forget for Little as the big man walked a batter and hit two more in the six-run 5th inning. At one point, he failed to cover the bag on a grounder to first base on what might’ve been close play.

Why the Cubs Lost

The pitching which has done such a good job recently just didn’t have it Saturday. Failure to take advantage of early scoring opportunities didn’t help much but it probably wouldn’t have made a difference with the bullpen implosion in the middle innings.

Stats That Matter

• Brown did not have the best fastball control Saturday, but he looked much better than the pitchers who followed him: 3.2 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 4 K, and 0 BB.
• Yan Gomes had two singles for his first multi-hit game of the season.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled and looks much more comfortable at the plate since his first MLB hit.

Bottom Line

The good news is that game only counts as one loss for the Cubs. Craig Counsell was also able to give all of his high-leverage bullpen pieces the day off Saturday, which is a benefit with how many close games Chicago has played lately. A win on Sunday makes this a successful series so they need to shake this off and start fresh in that game.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is on Sunday Night Baseball starting at 6:10pm CT. Jordan Wicks takes the hill for the Cubs against Tanner Houck with television coverage exclusively on ESPN and a radio broadcast on 670 The Score