Cubs win historic 13-11 slugfest over Diamondbacks, led by Carson Kelly's 2 home runs, 5 RBI
The wind was definitely blowing out on Friday at Wrigley Field. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs put on a show, combining for seven home runs and two grand slams in an eventual 13-11 victory for the home team.
The Cubs became the seventh team in at least 125 years — and just the third since 1933 — to win after allowing 10 or more runs in an inning, according to Sarah Langs.
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly hit two home runs and drove in five runs to lead the home run barrage against his former team, for whom he played five seasons. Ian Happ (grand slam), Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki also went deep for the Cubs, combining for seven RBI.
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After Happ's grand slam put the Cubs comfortably ahead in the seventh inning, Arizona exploded for 10 runs in the eighth, wiping out a 7-1 Cubs lead. Eugenio Suárez hit a grand slam to begin the outburst. That was followed by an RBI single from Geraldo Perdomo, a three-run double by Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s two-run homer. Cubs relievers Jordan Wicks, Porter Hodge and Ethan Roberts combined to give up the 10 runs on seven hits and two walks.
But the Cubs answered with six more runs in the bottom of the eighth to regain the lead 13-11. Kelly led off the scoring with a three-run shot off Bryce Jarvis. Tucker and Suzuki followed with back-to-back homers against Joe Mantiply, who took the loss on the day. Ryne Nelson gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning for the D-backs. Hodge allowed six runs in his two-thirds of an inning for Chicago.
Kelly was the star for the Cubs on Friday, and he has been hitting well all season. He splits time behind the plate with Miguel Amaya, and that time share likely maximizes his offensive production. However, it also prevents Kelly from being ranked among MLB's leaders in hitting.
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The 10-year veteran is batting .419 with a 1.675 OPS, six home runs and 18 RBI this season. But he has only 43 plate appearances in 11 games. As ESPN's Jeff Passan pointed out, if Kelly had enough PAs to qualify for the MLB batting title, his OPS would be 392 points ahead of Aaron Judge's for highest in baseball.
"It was crazy. I mean, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and won," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said afterward. "It was a wild game, but we kept going. There's 27 outs in a game, and this kind of proves it. You're just happy to just get out of it with a win."
With the win, the Cubs improved to 13-9 and have a 1.5-game lead in the NL Central over the Milwaukee Brewers, who host the Athletics on Friday. The Diamondbacks dropped to 12-8, leaving them fourth in the NL West and 3.5 games behind the San Diego Padres.
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