CHICAGO (AP) — Jesús Luzardo pitched six effective innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies stopped a five-game slide with a 10-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
Luzardo (3-0) allowed two unearned runs and three hits in his first win since April 4. The left-hander has yielded two runs or fewer in five of his first six starts.
Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Max Kepler each had two RBIs for Philadelphia, which scored a total of 13 runs during its losing streak. Bryson Stott had two hits and scored twice on a blustery afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Chicago had won three in a row and five of six overall on an eight-game homestand. The NL Central leaders left 10 runners on base.
Philadelphia grabbed control with six runs in the fourth inning against Ben Brown (2-2). Kepler and Alec Bohm each hit an RBI single before Johan Rojas drove in J.T. Realmuto with a sacrifice fly. Stott singled home Kepler and Harper capped the outburst with a two-run double.
Schwarber hit a two-run double in the Phillies' three-run sixth, and Kepler connected for a solo drive in the seventh. It was Kepler's second homer of the season.
Seiya Suzuki had two hits and drove in three runs for the Cubs. The slugger has 23 RBIs in his last 19 games.
Key moment
The Phillies scored their first run when Kepler's fly ball to left in the fourth landed in the grass just inside the line, right in front of Gold Glove left fielder Ian Happ.
Key stat
The Phillies improved to 11-12 in April. They went 19-9 in April last year.
Up next
Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (0-5, 6.43 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (1-1, 4.73 ERA) take the mound for the series finale on Sunday night.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
