The Chicago Cubs had an extremely forgettable performance on Saturday. They managed absolutely nothing as they were demolished by the Boston Red Sox 17-0.
Tale of the Tape
In what was easily their worst loss of the season, the Cubs were silent on offense. With just five hits, they were vehemently overmatched by the 21-hit performance of the Red Sox.
After a nice stretch of bullpen outings, Ben Brown didn't have his best as Saturday's starter. He was pulled after yielding three earned runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings.
The Red Sox did their damage early, tagging Brown for two runs in the top of the first on Tyler O'Neill's long ball. Boston's slugger is simply on fire at the plate right now, and the Cubs would be wise to avoid pitching to him for the rest of the series.
Luke Little relieved Brown but didn't help matters at all. The lefty recorded just two outs before departing with five earned runs allowed. The Cubs turned to Colten Brewer before handing it over to position players with a Red Sox blowout in full force.
The Cubs' offense was quiet and didn't offer any push-back to Boston's scoring explosion. Yan Gomes led the Cubs with two hits.
The Takeaways
Nothing about Saturday's performance should be remembered moving forward. The Cubs own a 17-10 record, which is quite a feat considering all the injuries they've endured to date.
Through all of Saturday's mess, the Cubs suffered a scare as Christopher Morel departed the game after a collision with Alexander Canario in the outfield. Manager Craig Counsell elaborated more on what happened postgame, and his update was a positive one, thankfully.
He also provided pretty much the best answer possible after such an ugly game for his team.
What's On Tap Next?
The Cubs look to take the series on Sunday in Boston. Hayden Wesneski will start after the Cubs scratched Jordan Wicks due to injury. The Red Sox will counter with Tanner Houck. First pitch is at 6:10 PM CT and the contest will air on ESPN as the network's featured Sunday Night Baseball game.
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