Trea Turner homers twice as Phillies hold off Cubs for 6-4 win

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 02: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Chicago Cubs tags out Johan Rojas #18 of the Philadelphia Phillies as he attempted to steal second base during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field on July 02, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Mi

Trea Turner hit two long home runs, and the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies hung on to beat the struggling Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Tuesday night.

The Phillies were rolling along with a 6-1 lead before the Cubs made things interesting in the ninth. José Ruiz came in and gave up singles to Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger before Seiya Suzuki smacked a three-run homer. Jeff Hoffman then struck out Ian Happ and Christopher Morel before retiring Dansby Swanson on a line drive to right for his seventh save.

Michael Mercado (1-0) pitched two-hit ball over five innings to earn his first career win in his first major league start. And Hoffman closed it out for a Phillies team playing without injured sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

The Cubs have dropped seven of nine.

Garrett Stubbs gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the second, and Turner took over from there.

He lined the first pitch of the third to about the 10th row of the bleachers in left-center and made it 5-1 with a towering two-run drive in the fifth against Hayden Wesneski, giving him 15 multihomer games. The two-time All-Star added an RBI single in the seventh.

Mercado permitted one run in his second career appearance. The 25-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked two.

Gregory Soto, Orion Kerkering and Yunior Marte each worked a perfect inning before Ruiz ran into trouble.

Wesneski went five innings, allowing five runs and five hits. The right-hander struck out seven and walked three in his fifth start this season and 22nd appearance.

Bellinger hit an RBI double in the third after right fielder Nick Castellanos made a terrific backhanded catch while crashing into the ivy to rob him of an extra-base hit in the first inning.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: The Phillies played their fourth straight game without Harper (strained left hamstring) and Schwarber (strained left groin). They were placed on the 10-day injured list after getting hurt in Thursday night’s 7-4 loss to Miami.

Cubs: RHP Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture) threw 25 pitches in live batting practice at Wrigley Field. He likely will throw another session Saturday before going on a rehab assignment, manager Craig Counsell said. A setup man, Merryweather made four appearances before going on the injured list in early April.

UP NEXT

The Phillies send RHP Zack Wheeler (9-4, 2.73 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday, and the Cubs are going with LHP Shota Imanaga (7-2, 3.07 ERA). Wheeler bounced back with solid starts against Arizona and Miami after getting tagged for a season-high eight runs in a loss to Baltimore. Imanaga shook off his worst start, tossing six solid innings in Chicago's win at San Francisco on Thursday.