Game Recap: Cubs blank Orioles

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 20 hours ago

CHICAGO - It's not too often that a pitcher throws a complete game, yet comes away with a loss. That is exactly what happened at Wrigley Field on Friday as Baltimore Orioles (50-60) left-hander Trevor Rogers went the distance against the Chicago Cubs (64-45), only to suffer a 1-0 defeat.

Rogers was on top of his game right from the start, as the Cubs' inability to hit left-handers has been a mystery this season, and that continued in this one. Not only did Rogers go the distance, but he did so, allowing just four hits and striking out eight, as he didn't even throw 90 pitches in his outing. There is a reason why his ERA is 1.44 across nine starts, as five of those nine starts have seen him allow zero runs.

Fortunately for the Cubs, they did just enough to take down the Orioles as hits were tough to come by for either side in a 1-0 Cubs victory. Earning the win for the Cubs was rookie right-hander Cade Horton, who tossed his third consecutive strong start. Sure, the command wasn't great with three walks and three punchouts, but with no runs allowed over five innings, Horton has lowered his ERA to 3.42 while the Cubs' bullpen took care of the rest.

Given the weather conditions on Friday with the wind howling in off the lake, every knew runs would be hard to get, but no one expected them to be as tough as they were. Sometimes all it takes to get a win is one run, which is all the Cubs needed as a leadoff single from Carson Kelly to begin the second gave the Cubs their first baserunner of the game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong followed that up with a double off the wall, as that would've been a homer on any other afternoon. Still, with two runners in scoring position and no one out, the Cubs were in a great spot. Two batters later, and it was Ian Happ coming through as his sacrifice fly to right brought home Kelly, but also proved to be the only run the Cubs would need as they took a 1-0 lead off Rogers.

Despite walking two batters in the first, Horton managed to escape trouble and was able to limit the Orioles the rest of the way, allowing just three baserunners the rest of his outing. Two of them came in his final inning of work as a leadoff Coby Mayo walk had the Orioles offense set up, only to have Matt Shaw start an incredible double play to end the threat.

To show how important that double play was, look no further than Jeremiah Jackson, who followed that up with a single, only to have Carson Kelly gun him down trying to steal second, as Horton would see his day come to an end with the bullpen set to take over in the sixth. Rogers was equally as good, retiring 12 straight after allowing the Crow-Armstrong double in the second before a leadoff double from Shaw to begin the sixth had the Cubs set up to add to their lead.

Shaw would reach third on a Kyle Tucker groundout later in the inning, but once again it was Rogers finding a way to wiggle out of trouble, striking out Seiya Suzuki to end the threat. Whether it be Caleb Thielbar, Andrew Kittredge, or Brad Keller, the Cubs bullpen continued to keep the Orioles offense in check as they held their 1-0 lead into the ninth, where Daniel Palencia was summoned to come in for the save.

It's hard to believe the turnaround Palencia has made this season, as he went from someone who had a hard time finding the zone to becoming one of the game's best closers this year. Even if Palencia didn't have his best stuff in this one, he retired the first two hitters on four pitches only to have Adley Rutschman make things interesting as his two-out double to left put the tying run on base with Tyler O'Neill coming to bat.

Already with one long flyout in the game, this was the last person Cubs fans wanted to see as O'Neill has been a Cubs killer during his time with the Cardinals. Looking to catch him off guard with a slider, O'Neill launched one to left for what looked to be a homer off the bat, only to have the wind knock it into Happ's glove at the wall as the Cubs hang on for the 1-0 win.

With the win, the Cubs put the pressure on the Brewers to win tonight, or things will be back to even in the NL Central. Kelly led the Cubs with two hits while Crow-Armstrong and Shaw had the other two hits in the win. The Cubs also saw Kittredge make his debut as he took care of his former team with a perfect seventh inning, striking out two. The Cubs will look to clinch the series on Saturday when they send their All-Star Matthew Boyd to the mound against Tomoyuki Sugano.