Philadelphia Phillies

Cubs aim to flip switch on offense vs. Phillies (Aug 26, 2017)

Published Aug. 26, 2017 2:53 a.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA -- After winning five straight games and scoring 39 runs in the process, the Chicago Cubs head into the weekend with some quieter bats that have led to two consecutive defeats.

The Cubs (68-59) were clubbed in Philadelphia Friday to the tune of a 7-1 defeat. They got behind early and never recovered while striking out 14 times on the night.

On Saturday, they'll look to right the ship against the Phillies (47-80) at Citizens Bank Park.

Chicago manager Joe Maddon was left wondering if his team was falling into a trap it was in earlier this year, not playing with sound fundamentals at the plate and trying too often to hit home runs.

"We've done this a lot this year, gotten behind quickly," Maddon said of an early 6-1 deficit Friday. "But we've been able to fight back often. I just want us to move the baseball, use the whole field like we have been doing. We did it recently in Cincinnati we did a pretty nice job of bunching up singles. I just don't want to get back in the trap of trying to do too much."

In the other clubhouse, the Phillies are playing out the string of another lost season. While upper management and manager Pete Mackanin take a look at what's in store for the future, one thing is for sure. It appears rookie Rhys Hoskins can swing the bat.

On Friday, the 24-year-old Hoskins belted his ninth home run in his 16th game, the first major league player to do so.

"It's pretty cool," Mackanin said. "The first hitter in how many games that he's played to hit so many home runs with 21 RBIs. Very impressive. He just gives you quality at-bats. That's what we're looking for."

The Phillies will send Hoskins to the plate for those quality at-bats Saturday when Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.52 ERA) of Chicago takes the mound in game two of three to face fellow right-hander Ben Lively (1-4, 3.70).

Hendricks, who has battled injuries this year, hasn't registered a win since May 24, a stretch of eight starts. The Chicago offense hasn't helped him much. Since returning from the disabled list on July 24, Hendricks has given up just nine runs in six starts.

Maddon has liked what he's seen lately from Hendricks.

The righty, known for eliciting soft contact, has a slow fastball and even slower breaking stuff.

"When there's more separation between fastball and changeup, you're going to get more swings, weaker contact," Maddon told reporters last week.

Hendricks will be charged with slowing down the rookie Hoskins, who became the fastest player (54 at-bats) to reach nine home runs in modern era history.

Hendricks is 2-1 in three career starts against Philadelphia, two of which coming at Citizens Bank Park. He owns a 2.61 ERA in those three starts.

Lively, recently recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, was pretty solid his last time out, earning a win in San Francisco Sunday. The rookie, who has 48 2/3 innings under his belt, has never faced the Cubs.