Dansby Swanson and Carson Kelly homered Saturday while Matthew Boyd tossed six scoreless innings as the Chicago Cubs toppled the visiting San Diego Padres 7-1.
Boyd (1-0) allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five, giving him 11 scoreless innings to open the season. He threw 56 of his 85 pitches for strikes and was threatened only twice. Boyd worked out of a two-on, two-out spot in the first and used a double play ball to thwart a two-on, no-out rally in the sixth.
Nick Pivetta (1-1) absorbed the loss after struggling with his command in three innings. Pivetta gave up six hits and three runs, walking three and whiffing four. After needing only 82 pitches to work seven innings in a 5-0 win Sunday over the Atlanta Braves, Pivetta used 76 pitches to get nine outs in this one.
Kelly started his four-RBI day by singling home Swanson with two outs in the second for a 1-0 lead. Pivetta’s control deserted him at that point as he issued walks to Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker, the latter forcing in Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Swanson made it 3-0 in the third by lining his third homer of the season into the seats in left-center, a 382-foot blast that cut through the wind blowing in from left. Nico Hoerner upped the margin to 4-0 in the fourth with a two-out RBI single off reliever Omar Cruz that chased in Michael Busch.
Chicago stranded a whopping 12 runners in the first five innings, leaving the bases loaded three times. But Kelly finally put the game out of reach in the sixth when he blasted a three-run homer to left, his second of the year, against reliever Alek Jacob.
Swanson and Hoerner also collected two hits for the Cubs, which outhit San Diego 11-8 and also drew eight walks for the second straight day.
The Padres avoided a shutout in the seventh with three straight two-out singles off reliever Nate Pearson, the last one by Fernando Tatis Jr. knocking in Brandon Lockridge.
