Observations: Marlins power Friday night lights at Wrigley originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Cubs lost 10-2 to the Marlins Friday night, dropping to 39-31 this season.
Here are 10 observations from the game.
1. You could make a highlight montage just using Joc Pederson’s first inning. The left fielder sprinted forward for a running catch (first out) and sprinted back to the wall for another grab (third out). He then crushed a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning.
2. Pederson had the two hardest-hit balls of the night. Both sailed over the right field wall for solo home runs, registering 113.6 and 112.2 mph exit velocities.
3. Zach Davies took a 107.8 mph comebacker off his leg in the third. The Cubs checked on him and he appeared to be OK, staying in the game after a warmup pitch.
4. After the comebacker, Davies then gave up a single, sac bunt and two walks — one with the bases loaded to force in a run. Two batters later, Adam Duvall crushed a grand slam to give Miami a 5-1 lead.
5. Davies entered the game with a 1.83 ERA over his last eight starts and was coming off one of his best starts of the season. Friday, Miami tagged him for eight runs — a career high.
Most of that damage came on two swings. Along with Duvall’s slam, Jon Berti hit a three-run blast in the sixth. Duvall added a solo shot off Dan Winkler in the seventh.
6. If there's one positive to take from Davies' outing, it's that he pitched six innings, saving the Cubs' bullpen from a long night like a few games in New York this week.
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7. The Cubs offense has relied heavily on the long ball lately. They didn't score outside of Pederson's two blasts Friday, and all 11 of their runs this week have come via eight homers.
8. Brad Wieck has ridden the Iowa shuttle a couple of times already this season, but he keeps producing when called upon. The lefty threw two shutout innings Friday, extending his scoreless streak to 10 innings this season (nine appearances).
9. The Cubs have played the Marlins three times dating back to last season's two-game playoff series. They've scored three runs total in those games and are 0-3.
10. It isn’t often Cubs fans get to watch a Friday night game at Wrigley Field. This was just the third Friday night game in Wrigley’s history — excluding the 2020 season.
The Cubs requested the game move from 1:20 p.m. knowing they’d get back to Chicago early Friday morning, following Thursday night’s game in New York.
On deck: The Marlins and Cubs have a quick turnaround to Saturday with a 1:20 p.m. first pitch. Pablo López (2-4, 3.12 ERA) and Jake Arrieta (5-7, 5.14 ERA) are the probable starters.
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