The Philadelphia Phillies improved to 18-5 since June 3rd last night following a 3-1 win victory over the Chicago Cubs at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. 

The Phillies swept the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series to win their 9th straight game on the road. They are now six games over .500 at 43-37 and four games behind the second place Miami Marlins, while the first place Atlanta Braves still hold a 10-game advantage in the NL East standings. 

Kyle Schwarber got the Phillies on the board early, taking the first pitch from Cubs’ pitcher deep to right field for home run No. 21 on the season. 

Kyle Schwarber Home Run No. 21

Schwarber is batting .230 in the month of June with 8 home runs, 16 RBI, and a .872 OPS. 

Taijuan Walker was on the mound last night and allowed just one run over six innings of work. Walker allowed six hits and walked one while striking out six Cubs batters. He now has a 1.69 ERA in his last eight starts, while posting an impressive 0.84 ERA in his last five. 

After a slow start to the 2023 season, Walker is now 9-3 on the year and is a major reason why the Phillies won a lot of baseball games in the month of June. 

Note: The Phillies’ starting rotation as a whole has posted a 2.21 ERA in June.  

Walker has a 1.69 ERA in his last eight starts. He has a 0.84 ERA in his last five.

The Cubs did tie the game yesterday in the bottom of the second inning after Jared Young tripled on a line drive to right field that Cody Bollinger. 

Bryce Harper responded immediately.

In the top of the third inning, Bryce Harper singled on a line drive to centerfield that scored Kody Clemens and Trea Turner to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. 

Bryce Harper 2 RBI Single

Walker turned the game over to the bullpen after six and Yunior Marte, Gregory Soto, and Craig Kimbrel shutdown the Cubs, allowing just one hit while combining for three strikeouts over the final three innings. 

JT Realmuto added a Web Gem in the bottom of the ninth making an impossible play on a dribbler up the first base line from Nick Madrigal. 

JT Realmuto Web Gem

Up Next for the Phillies

The Phillies will now return home to host the Washington Nationals, before ending the first half of the season with a tough six game road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins. 

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