By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Final: Cubs 5, Phillies 4
WP: Jake Arrieta (4-1) ❖ LP: Jerad Eickhoff (0-3) ❖ SV: Wade Davis (7)
Chicago, IL — The Philadelphia Phillies (12-14) carried a two-run lead into the sixth, but the Chicago Cubs (15-12) put up a four-spot on Jerad Eickhoff and two relievers, taking game three of the four-game series by a score of 5-4. The Phils have just one win thus far on their six-game road trip that concludes on Thursday.
Jerad Eickhoff had a tough time finding the strike zone all night, throwing 41 of his 97 pitches for balls, and it finally got back to him in the sixth as he exited the game with two on and two out just to watch Joely Rodriguez surrender a two-run double to the very next batter, giving the Cubs their first lead of the game.
Philadelphia would get a run back in the eighth, but wouldn't get any closer as they stranded a runner in scoring position in the ninth, falling for their second straight game. It's their fifth loss in the last six games. They'll go for a series split tomorrow afternoon as Zach Eflin opposes John Lackey.
Game Summary:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| CHC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Philadelphia struck first with two outs in the opening frame. With Daniel Nava on second following a walk and a steal, Maikel Franco singled to right, plating Nava for a 1-0 lead. Odubel Herrera followed with a double to drive home Franco, giving the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.
With one down in the bottom of the second, Jayson Heyward drew a walk and moved to third on a Miguel Montero single to right. Jake Arrieta hit a slow dribbling RBI groundout just in front of Eickhoff, scoring Heyward from third to make it a 2-1 game.
The Phils added a run on to their lead in the fourth. With one out, Maikel Franco singled down the left field line. Brock Stassi just barely missed a home run in the next at-bat, but instead he reached second with a double. Freddy Galvis hit a sacrifice fly to drive Franco home, giving the Phillies a two-run lead, 3-1.
Chicago got a run back in the sixth. With two runners on and two down, Jayson Heyward hit an RBI-single to left field and Anthony Rizzo scored, cutting the lead the one. Wilson Contreras doubled in the next at-bat, plating both Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward to give the Cubs their first lead, 4-3. Matt Szczur followed with a grounder to short and Galvis triple pumped and couldn't make a good throw home as Contreras slid home to make it a 5-3 game.
With two outs in the eighth, Aaron Altherr laced a double to left center and he scored on a single to right by Maikel Franco in the next at-bat, cutting the deficit to just one, 5-4. Odubel Herrera struck out to end the inning with Franco at first.
In the ninth, Andres Blanco struck out to lead-off and Freddy Galvis walked. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Unfortunately, Andrew Knapp flied out to center and Tommy Joseph
Starting Pitchers:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerad Eickhoff | 5.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4.00 |
| Jake Arrieta | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4.63 |
At the Plate:
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, K, .222 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 1-4, 2B, R, .327 AVG
- Brock Stassi: 1-3, 2B, .200 AVG
Cubs
- Kris Bryant: 2-4, K, .299 AVG
- Jason Heyward: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, .263 AVG
- Wilson Contreras: 1-1, 2B, R, 2 RBI, .243 AVG
Bullpen:
Phillies
- Joely Rodriguez: 0.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5.40 ERA
- Edubray Ramos: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 K, 4.63 ERA
- Pat Neshek: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA
- Joaquin Benoit: 1.0 IP, 2 BB, 2.13 ERA
Cubs
- Koji Uehara: 1.o IP, 1 K, 3.38 ERA
- Hector Rodon: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, 1.59 ERA
- Wade Davis: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
What's Next:
- Thursday, May 4, 2017: at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.
- Wrigley Field
- RHP Zach Eflin (0-0, 1.89 ERA) vs. RHP John Lackey (2-3, 5.10 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
