Seiya Suzuki delivered a three-run double in the first inning and the Chicago Cubs went on to an 8-2 victory against the visiting San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon to complete a three-game series sweep.
Miguel Amaya and Cody Bellinger homered, Ian Happ had two hits and scored two runs and the Cubs (76-64) won their fourth consecutive game.
Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks (3-0) went 6 2/3 innings in his third major-league start and first at Wrigley Field. Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft scattered nine hits, struck out one and did not walk a batter.
Giants starter Alex Wood (5-5) lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his first start since July 21 after nine appearances as a long reliever. He was tagged for five runs and five hits, striking out two with one walk.
Thairo Estrada, Casey Schmitt, Paul DeJong and Luis Matos had two hits each for the Giants (70-70), who have lost six in a row to match their longest skid of the season.
San Francisco dropped to .500 for the first time since June 10 when they were 32-32.
Wood gave up one-out singles to Nico Hoerner and Happ in the first inning before walking Dansby Swanson with two outs to load the bases. Suzuki doubled into the right-center field gap to clear the bases and give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
Happ doubled to right with one out in the third and Bellinger followed with another double to right to stretch the lead to 4-0 and end the day for Wood after 52 pitches.
Ryan Walker entered and surrendered a two-out RBI single to Nick Madrigal for a 5-0 lead.
Amaya went deep to lead off the fourth, his fifth of the season, and stretch the lead to 6-0.
Chicago made it 7-0 in the sixth when Mike Tauchman led off with a double and came home on a one-out single by Christopher Morel.
San Francisco pushed across two runs in the seventh. Matos singled with one out and came home on a double to center by Schmitt. After a single by DeJong, the Giants added a sacrifice fly from Joey Bart to make it 7-2.
Bellinger got a run back in the bottom half of the seventh with his 24th home run of the season to make it 8-2.
–Field Level Media