PHILADELPHIA -- There are games throughout a long, marathon season during which it is critical to begin considering the days ahead. As things began to spiral out of hand for the Cubs on Monday, manager Craig Counsell did just that by sticking with starter Javier Assad.
As Chicago’s bats struggled to solve Phillies ace lefty Cristopher Sánchez, the Phillies were steadily adding on runs against Assad. The righty lasted into the fifth inning, but the early damage was sufficient in rendering a late push by the Cubs’ offense moot in a 13-7 loss in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park.
“You always want to go out there and you want to give length,” Assad said via team translator Fredy Quevedo Jr. “You try to battle. Today, it was just a bad day. It’s in the past. Move forward.”
After he was pulled with one out in the fifth inning -- a frame during which the first seven batters either reached base or drove in a run -- Assad headed off the mound with the most runs (nine) and hits (11) allowed in his career. Chicago scored five runs in the eighth (helped by two Phillies errors), but it went for naught.
Rea was originally announced as the Cubs’ starter for Tuesday against the Phillies, but the ballclub announced after Monday’s loss that lefty Riley Martin will start the game. No other details were provided, but the likely scenario is that Martin could serve as an opener with Rea involved in relief.
It is also worth noting that Chicago currently has two key relievers – Phil Maton (right knee) and Hunter Harvey (right triceps) – on the IL, too. Lefty Charlie Barnes, who had not pitched in the Majors since 2021, came up from Iowa Sunday and was asked to cover three innings (62 pitches) to finish Monday’s game.
All of these things are data points that explain why the Cubs needed as many pitches as they could get from Assad.
“Yeah, we absolutely did,” Counsell said. “We’ve got some issues in the bullpen.”
The Cubs needed as many outs as they could get from Assad, who is in the rotation amid the losses of Cade Horton (set for season-ending surgery on his right elbow) and lefty Matthew Boyd (left biceps strain) to the injured list. Colin Rea is set to make his second start on Tuesday, following a move out of the bullpen following Horton’s setback.
Assad’s struggles on Monday put the Cubs in a 4-0 hole after three innings, powered by a pair of home runs off the bat of slugger Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies piled on five more runs in the fifth against the righty, who was pulled after his 82nd pitch resulted in an RBI single from Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto.
“I just don't think he got his sinker going and didn't execute with his fastball,” Counsell said. “There were balls in the zone, but he needed to get them to good places and he didn't get the fastball and the sinker to good places.”
Sánchez, the National League’s runner-up for the Cy Young Award last year, entered the game with a 1.65 ERA and only five runs (three earned) total allowed in his first three outings of the season. The early onslaught by the Phillies’ lineup created a difficult hill to climb for the Cubs’ offense.
The only breakthrough against Sánchez in his six innings arrived in the fourth, when Dansby Swanson sliced a sinker to right for an improbable two-run homer. The ball had an expected batting average of .150, per Statcast, but carried over the wall down the line for the third homer of the season for the Cubs' shortstop.
“[It’s] just a really elite-level sinker-changeup combination,” Swanson said of Sanchez. “It’s definitely a unique arm. He’s been good for a while now. We kind of gave ourselves some chances, but weren’t ultimately able to come through with the big hit.”
Coupled with Assad’s inability to quiet the Phillies’ lineup, it made for a tough evening for the North Siders. The hope by sticking with Assad is that the pitching staff will be better equipped to handle the next two games in Philadelphia.
“To only have to use three [relievers] in a game like that can be a plus,” Swanson said. “I actually thought Javy threw the ball pretty well today. I think he was aggressive. He was in the zone. They were also just aggressive and happened to hit it today.”