The Chicago Cubs cruised to victory over a stagnant Arizona Diamondbacks offense.
The Arizona Diamondbacks recorded just five hits in a brutal 7-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs are a legit Wild Card contender, and that's a conversation the D-backs are trying to be in as well.
Unlike the Cubs, though, the Diamondbacks aren't really in a position to win their division. Chicago still believes there's a way they can bring home the National League Central, and dominant wins like this against another expected postseason team will only strengthen their case.
Merrill Kelly dropped his 12th game of the year, though all things considered, he looked pretty good in his 5.2 innings of work. It was just one of those games where he didn't get any run support, and the Diamondbacks bullpen continues to struggle.
Diamondbacks bullpen allowed more runs than Kelly
While Kelly is stuck taking the loss and falling to 8-12 on the year, he only allowed three earned runs on five hits. That said, he did walk three batters, and it's worth noting the Cubs only drew four walks in the entire game.
Once Kelly was pulled, it was an absolute disaster for Taylor Clarke. Despite only being in the game to record one out, he managed to give up a pair of home runs in just eight pitches. Things quickly went from bad to worse as Kelly had the Diamondbacks in a minuscule 3-0 hole, but just like that it was 5-0.
In the end, the Cubs recorded 10 hits, five of which were against the next two pitchers that came in after Kelly. It seemed hard to believe things could've gotten much worse after Clarke's efforts, but recently promoted Drey Jameson also gave up a pair of runs, but at least his came in a two-inning sample size.
Diamondbacks only had two at-bats with a runner in scoring position
Chicago only led 2-0 through five innings, but it's not like Arizona's offense had anything going for them in this one.
Five different players recorded a hit, but the team only drew one walk, so manufacturing baserunners was clearly an issue in the series opener.
In the end, they left five runners on base, but Geraldo Perdomo and Jordan Lawlar were the only two D-backs to record an at-bat with a runner in scoring position. Both players came up empty as Arizona now sits at 69-63 with two more crucial games coming up against the Cubs.
