Cubs Rebound with 5-3 Win, Defeat Giants in 10 Innings to Avoid Sweep

The Chicago Cubs are down bad right now. They're more than 10 games out of NL Central race and something needs to change if they want to even sniff the playoffs. If not, the Cubs may be sellers, as some fans are pining for . Regardless, avoiding a sweep was key on Thursday for the Cubs against the San Francisco Giants.

Tale of the Tape

The Cubs managed to get on the board first thanks to a big top of the third. Nico Hoerner gave the Cubs the lead with his third home run of the season. The blast made it 2-0 after Pete Crow-Armstrong reached base after being hit by a pitch.

In the same inning, Cody Bellinger singled to keep things alive. A Seiya Suzuki triple to right field scored Bellinger and made the lead 3-0 Cubbies.

The Cubs coasted with that lead into the sixth inning. However, the Giants rallied back. Austin Slater and Matt Chapman singled on the bookends of two outs by Shota Imanaga. A Jorge Soler ground-rule double scored Slater and pushed Chapman to third. Then, a wild pitch by Imanaga and a soft single by Luis Matos scored two more runs, tying the game at three.

The Cubs had chances in the seventh, eighth, and ninth to add on. However, a lack of timely hitting kept them off the board. The Giants didn't threaten at all the rest of the way, leading to extra innings.

With Cody Bellinger serving as the ghost runner, Seiya Suzuki grounded out. Then, Ian Happ launched a ball to deep center field, finding the crowd on a bounce off the top of the wall for a two-run home run to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead.

Although the Giants got a lead-off single against Porter Hodge in the bottom of the 10th, the young hurler kept the Giants at bay and closed out a 5-3 win for the Cubs to avoid the sweep in San Fran.

A Win Feels Good

Lately with this team it is never pretty. That said, a win is a win. Shota Imanaga pitched another quality start , the bats found just enough rhythm to keep the Cubs alive, and they escaped without being swept. It isn't ideal, but hopefully Thursday's win carries into Friday's series opener with the Milwaukee Brewers.

With three of the Cubs' top pitchers throwing against the Brewers, an offensive outburst and decent relief pitching could lead to a surprise series win over the NL Central leaders.

What's On Tap Next?

The Cubs and Brewers open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday. Jameson Taillon throws against Colin Rea in the series opener. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CDT.

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