Phillies Shut Out By Cubs, 3-0
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg kept waiting for his hitters to solve Travis Wood.
They never did.
Philadelphia managed just three hits while being shut out for the ninth time this year, losing to the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Sunday.
Travis Wood (7-5) didn't allow a hit until Ben Revere's one-out single in the sixth. He gave up three hits in eight innings while striking out six and walking three.
Neil Ramirez finished the shutout with a scoreless ninth for his third save in as many chances.
Sandberg seemed frustrated that the Phillies didn't figure out how to hit Wood.
"The guy was pitching up in the zone and we were hitting flyballs," Sandberg said. "For us not to make an adjustment and not get on top of some of those balls, those are hittable balls."
Philadelphia entered Sunday near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories. Among them, the Phillies were 10th in runs, hits and RBIs, and 11th in batting average, on-base percentage and homers.
Those numbers won't improve after a performance in which only Revere, Jimmy Rollins and Cesar Hernandez managed hits — all singles.
"Our pitching has kept us in games," Sandberg said. "On the offensive side, it's about picking things up on offense."
A.J. Burnett (4-6) gave up three runs and eight hits in eight innings. He moved past Hall of Famer Eddie Plank into 50th place on the career strikeout list with his fifth-inning fanning of Luis Valbuena, giving him 2,252.
Burnett was upset with himself, not the Phillies' hitters.
"Our guys ain't going out there trying to get out," he said. "He came out and made good pitches against us all game. It's not frustrating on my part because I have a job to do."
The Cubs got their offense from Anthony Rizzo, who hit his 14th home run. Starlin Castro added three hits as the Cubs took two of three at Citizens Bank Park to win their first road series of the season.
The last-place Cubs had been 0-9-3 in road series this year, and hadn't won a series away from Wrigley Field since last Sept. 9-11. This was the Cubs' first series win in Philadelphia since April 2001.
Center fielder Ryan Sweeney kept Wood's pitching line scoreless when he caught Chase Utley's drive to the warning track to end the eighth, finishing on his knees for the grab.
Rizzo staked Wood to an early lead with a solo homer in the first. It marked the eighth straight game in which the Cubs have hit a home run at Citizens Bank Park, totaling 12 drives in that span.
The Cubs tacked on a run in the third on Castro's RBI single and then made it 3-0 in the sixth on Nate Schierholtz's RBI double.
A day after passing Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt to become the Phillies' all-time leader with 2,235 hits, Rollins went 1 for 4.
Philadelphia threatened in the sixth when Rollins singled to put runners on first and second with one out, but Utley and Marlon Byrd popped out.
The Phillies won a challenge in the third inning when first-base umpire Gary Cederstrom's safe call of Rizzo was overturned after video review.
NOTES: Phillies hard-throwing rookie Ken Giles, called up last Sunday, hit 100 mph on the radar gun with three pitches during a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth. ... Castro improved to 13-for-29 lifetime off Burnett. ... To commemorate the 1964 club that nearly reached the World Series, the Phillies wore throwback uniforms from that season. Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, who threw the only perfect game on Father's Day in major league history for the Phillies against the Mets 50 years ago, tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. And, in keeping with the '60s theme, Art Garfunkel sank "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch. ...Philadelphia LHP Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.07) opposes Braves RHP Julio Teheran (6-4, 2.41) in Atlanta on Monday night. ... Chicago RHP Jason Hammel (6-4, 2.81) will face RHP Tom Koehler (5-5, 3.68) in Miami on Monday night.
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