San Diego Padres: Erlin tosses a gem in win over the Cubs

Robbie Erlin shined in his spot start against the Cubs on Thursday night.

Luis Perdomo landed himself on the DL, and while I don’t ever wish injury on anyone, it certainly worked out in the Padres favor. Erlin nearly matched one of his longest starts, pitching five innings, striking out four, allowing just one run on two hits. Two of three total that the Cubs would manage to put up all night.

The one run that the Cubs managed to squeeze out came on a beautiful attempt at a double play that Erlin started. Throwing to Freddy Galvis at second to get Addison Russell and then Galvis making a perfect throw home only to have Austin Hedges just nearly miss tagging Wilson Contreras at the plate.

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Mike Montgomery was pitching himself in and out of trouble all night. It was the Cubs bullpen, however, that the Friars would end up taking full advantage of. Hedges redeemed himself for missing that tag at the plate by clobbering a three-run homer off Jesse Chavez in the top of the 6th.

In the top of the 8th, Freddy Galvis and A.J. Ellis hit back to back doubles for more run support. Galvis continues to shine both offensively and defensively, this was his 21st double on the year. A botched throw by Tommy LaStella would end up being the final nail in the Cubs coffin for the night, making the final score 6-1.

It’s games like these that Padres fans should make note of. They’re capable of beating those playoff contenders. All that’s left is gaining the consistency to do so night after night. But the talent itself is already there. It’s not easy taking that first game from the Cubs in Chicago, but at least for tonight, all the right pieces fell into place.