Cubs blast Indians to earn split of series

[June 23, 2021]    Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Patrick Wisdom homered as the Chicago Cubs cruised to a 7-1 win over the visiting Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Joc Pederson added a two-run double for the Cubs, who salvaged a split in the two-game series. Chicago's seven-run outburst followed a string of nine straight games with three runs or fewer.

Amed Rosario had the lone RBI for Cleveland, which lost for only the third time in the past nine games.

Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez (9) reacts after he hit a ground rule double against the Cleveland Indians during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (10-4) won his eighth consecutive start. He allowed no runs on four hits in six innings while throwing 71 of 93 pitches for strikes. He walked none and struck out five.

Indians right-hander Eli Morgan (0-2) gave up four runs on four hits in five-plus innings. He walked none and struck out nine, a high for his three career starts.

The Cubs opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth. Bryant belted a fastball 399 feet to center field for his 14th home run, which trails only Javier Baez's 16 for most on the team.

In the sixth, the Cubs added four runs to increase their advantage to 5-0.

Pederson started the outburst with a two-run double to center field to bring home Sergio Alcantara and Rafael Ortega. Alcantara led off the inning with a double, and Ortega followed with a single.

Nick Sandlin entered in place of Morgan after Pederson's double, and Bryant walked. Baez then delivered with a ground-rule double to left field that scored Pederson. Contreras finished the big inning with a single to drive in Bryant.

The Indians tried to mount a comeback in the eighth, when they loaded the bases with no outs. Bradley Zimmer and Ernie Clement had back-to-back singles, and Cesar Hernandez drew a walk.

Rosario had an RBI groundout in the next at-bat to cut the deficit to 5-1. Jose Ramirez followed with a strikeout against Cubs right-hander Ryan Tepera, and Eddie Rosario flied out to end the inning.

The Cubs tacked on two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-1. Contreras and Wisdom hit back-to-back solo home runs with two outs.

--Field Level Media

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