By MATT PIKE
It was 20 years ago that Rich Hill made his debut at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs. And on Tuesday night, he made history, tying Edwin Jackson pitching for his 14th Major League club, as the Kansas City Royals fell to the Cubs 6-0 at Wrigley Field.
After a scoreless first, defensive miscues put the Royals behind in the second inning. Dansby Swanson led the inning off with a single, and then reached second on a fielding error by Nick Loftin as Ian Happ reached first on a fielders choice. Happ would end up out at second as Justin Turner reached first on a force out, with Swanson moving to third, and with one out Matt Shaw drove in Swanson with a single. After a double steal, Nico Hoerner drove in Turner, reaching on a fielders choice as the Royals took the out at third, putting the Cubs up 2-0.
Chicago extended the lead in the fifth with two outs, Carson Kelly singling and then scoring on a double by Pete Crow-Armstrong. In the seventh, the Cubs scored the final three runs, with the bases loaded Seiya Suzuki singling to drive in Shaw. Another run was added on a sacrifice fly by Kelly, scoring Hoerner, and the final run came across home on a double steal with Suzuki stealing second, and Kyle Tucker stealing home.
Hill took the loss, moving to 0-1, pitching five innings and giving up three runs, one earned, on six hits while striking out one and walking two. At the plate, the Royals had six total hits, with six batters getting one hit each in the loss.
With the series split, Kansas City and Chicago wrap it up tomorrow in the rubber match. Seth Lugo (6-5, 2.94 ERA) takes the mound for the Royals while the Cubs pitcher is listed as TBD. First pitch is at 1:20, pregame coverage begins at 12:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.
