{"id":680867,"date":"2026-04-22T07:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680867\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T07:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:42:19","slug":"chicago-cubs-win-7th-consecutive-as-seiya-suzuki-hits-home-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680867\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs win 7th consecutive as Seiya Suzuki hits home run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly one month into the season, the Chicago Cubs\u2019 offense<\/a> has merely shown glimpses of what the group can be at its best.<\/p>\n

Two of the Cubs\u2019 biggest power threats in the middle of the lineup came into Tuesday\u2019s game against the Philadelphia Phillies searching for something to build upon. Michael Busch was 3-for-19 with 1 RBI against left-handed pitchers this season, part of broader struggles amid his slow start. Meanwhile, Seiya Suzuki hasn\u2019t looked comfortable since the delayed start to his season due to his knee injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 deep lineup has helped them overcome injuries to 10 pitchers on their 40-man roster<\/a>. Their ability to constantly put pressure on opposing pitchers continues to be a defining trait, even if they\u2019re not always taking advantage of the runners they put on base. The Cubs stranded a season-high 17 runners on base Tuesday, their first win when leaving at least 17 on base since June 2, 2018, and their first at Wrigley Field since July 3, 2010 (both also had 17 LOB).<\/p>\n

Busch (two-run single) and Suzuki (two-run home run) provided the big hits in the Cubs\u2019 7-4 win against the Phillies to extend their winning streak to seven consecutive games. During this stretch, the Cubs (14-9) have outscored opponents 51-18 (plus-33). This marks their first winning streak of at least seven games within April since 1989 (also seven).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d certainly put pressure on them for a whole bunch of innings and it gets a little frustrating when you don\u2019t break through, but that was a big hit (by Busch),\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cYou want the next hit always, but just the number of runners we got on base tonight was really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber took left-hander Shota Imanaga<\/a> deep in the sixth, the solo home run tying the game. That was all Philadelphia managed against Imanaga, who shut them down for the second time in a week. Imanaga tossed seven innings for the first time this season, limiting the Phillies to just three hits, including the home run, while walking one and striking out one batter.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) drives in two runs on a single in the sixth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field in Chicago on April 21, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Imanaga became the first Cubs starter to complete seven innings this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really helps with my confidence too, knowing that behind me the Cubs\u2019 defense, that\u2019s the best of all 30 teams,\u201d Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. \u201cSo if I can control and avoid damage and extra-base hits, I know they\u2019re going to get outs so it\u2019s a big confidence booster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suzuki, in his 11th game since coming off the IL, slugged his first home run of the year and just his second extra-base hit in 39 plate appearances. Suzuki\u2019s long ball was part of a three-run seventh, which helped give the Cubs a five-run cushion. Nico Hoerner<\/a> also went deep in the frame for his fourth home run; he didn\u2019t reach that mark until July 29 last year.<\/p>\n

Suzuki\u2019s early struggles aren\u2019t terribly alarming. The knee injury he sustained during the World Baseball Classic contributed to Suzuki getting just four at-bats in spring training and only 14 more during his rehab assignment before the Cubs activated him. Counsell thought Suzuki\u2019s at-bats looked good from the onset of Tuesday\u2019s game and felt the swings in his first at-bat were a great sign.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe swing itself was really good,\u201d Suzuki said through Stanberry. \u201cI think in the last week there\u2019s been some ups and downs. Communicating, talking to the hitting coaches about what I need to work on, whether it\u2019s mechanics or timing, I think that communication and just kind of looking at what I need to do better with myself, I think that\u2019s helped a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I step up in the box and I\u2019m ready to go on that first pitch, that\u2019s when I\u2019m feeling locked in. I think sometimes when it\u2019s not going well, I might be in between. But just come up with a game plan, stick with the game plan and then try to execute that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: Chicago Cubs 7, Philadelphia Phillies 4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Busch\u2019s bloop single to center field with the bases loaded against Phillies lefty Tanner Banks brought home two runs to put the Cubs back ahead, 3-1, in the sixth. Busch believes he is starting to take better swings at the pitches he wants, even though the results aren\u2019t fully there yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I had terrible at-bats tonight,\u201d Busch said. \u201cSometimes trying to be a little too perfect on getting the exact pitch and the exact location instead of sometimes trusting my ability is something that has helped me a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the run didn\u2019t ultimately play a huge role in the outcome, Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros\u2019 pinch-hit opportunity again showed why the Cubs think so highly of the 22-year-old rookie. Following Dansby Swanson\u2019s<\/a> second of a season-high three walks, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering got two strikes on Ballesteros with the bases loaded in the scoreless fifth. Ballesteros took the next three pitches, fouled off a tough sweeper down in the zone and earned a run-scoring walk by taking a low 98.2 mph fastball.<\/p>\n

At one point during the full-count sequence, with the 30,651 fans roaring, Ballesteros could be heard from the dugout yelling, \u201cNo!\u201d at the incoming pitch as he took it for a ball. Ballesteros\u2019 poise in that situation, not trying to do too much, is a big part of what makes him special, and it didn\u2019t go unnoticed by the Cubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a cool moment. It\u2019s the fifth inning of an April game, and Wrigley is on its feet and enjoying it and he had a great at-bat, he really locked in,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cTo get down 0-2 and draw a walk there, foul off a couple pitches, that\u2019s a darn good at-bat.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly one month into the season, the Chicago Cubs\u2019 offense has merely shown glimpses of what the group…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,24,576,81,37,4,256,1896,144,25,4216,40,105,770,738],"class_list":{"0":"post-680867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-phillies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago-cubs","10":"tag-craig-counsell","11":"tag-kyle-schwarber","12":"tag-michael-busch","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-mlb-baseball","15":"tag-moises-ballesteros","16":"tag-philadelphia","17":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","18":"tag-philadelphiaphillies","19":"tag-phillies","20":"tag-seiya-suzuki","21":"tag-shota-imanaga","22":"tag-wrigley-field"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116447256286124443","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}