Len Kasper mentioned this on the broadcast Friday night, and surely it’s just a coincidence, but the Cubs have now played five straight games in the state of Pennsylvania — four in Pittsburgh, one in Philadelphia — where their only scoring came on a solo home run.
Friday night’s long ball came courtesy of Javier Baez, but another solo homer off Steve Cishek saddled the Cubs with a 2-1 loss to the Phillies in 10 innings. That wasted a really fine effort from Jose Quintana, one of his best of the year: six innings, three hits, one run, seven strikeouts, only 88 pitches.