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Kris Bryant launched a grand slam and let some emotions fly as he rounded the bases. Willson Contreras blasted the Cubs’ longest home run of the season.
And it still was not enough.
On Monday night, the Cubs could not slug their way out of an early hole, dropping an 8-7 decision to Atlanta in the opener of a four-game set at Truist Park. The damage done in an abbreviated outing by Zach Davies complicated Chicago’s comeback efforts.
Davies labored through a 34-pitch first inning, in which he faced nine batters and surrendered four runs. Bryant erased that hole with one swing, driving an 0-1 offering from Charlie Morton out to left for a game-tying grand slam in the third.
Not one usually to react, Bryant shouted in the direction of the Cubs’ dugout as he rounded second. The momentum was soon lost, however, as Dansby Swanson belted a solo homer off Davies in the home half of the third to put the Cubs behind, 5-4.
In the wake of Davies’ short outing (3 2/3 innings), Freddie Freeman advanced Atlanta’s cause with a three-run blast off Cubs righty Brandon Workman in the fifth.
Contreras cut the Braves’ lead to 8-7 in the seventh, when the catcher crushed a Tyler Matzek pitch 456 feet to left-center field. It marked the seventh shot of the season for Contreras, but that is where Chicago’s rally came to a close.