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Cubs send Phillies to another defeat

CHICAGO - Maikel Franco tossed his bat into the air, and watched it flip end over end before it crashed into the dirt near home plate. Another scoreless inning was finished. Another futile at-bat was complete. The team's punchless offense came up empty again.

CHICAGO - Maikel Franco tossed his bat into the air, and watched it flip end over end before it crashed into the dirt near home plate. Another scoreless inning was finished. Another futile at-bat was complete. The team's punchless offense came up empty again.

The Phillies did not score a run Saturday afternoon until there were two outs in the ninth, and they fell to the Cubs, 4-1, at Wrigley Field. The Phillies were a routine pop-up from being shut out for the third time this season. They have scored the second-fewest runs in baseball and have scored three or fewer runs in 60 percent of their games.

The magic the Phillies found at the start of the season seems to be running out. Their lack of offense has finally caught up with them. The Phillies have been outscored, 32-22, in their last eight games. They have lost three straight series and six of their last eight games.

The first five hitters in the Phillies lineup - Odubel Herrera, Freddy Galvis, Maikel Franco, Ryan Howard, and Cameron Rupp - combined to go 3 for 19. Galvis reached base with two outs in the sixth when he was hit by a pitch. Franco, the next batter, popped up and sent his bat flying.

"They just didn't look aggressive at the plate," manager Pete Mackanin said.

Jerad Eickhoff allowed four runs in six innings. He yielded a leadoff homer in the first to Dexter Fowler and another run in the inning on a double by Ben Zobrist. The Cubs have nine extra-base hits in two games against the Phillies. The Phillies have three.

Eickhoff struck out seven batters and walked one while allowing four hits. He settled down after the second inning and relied more on his slider. He retired nine batters in order before loading the bases in the sixth. Eickhoff worked his way out of the jam, limiting the damage to just one run.

"They're a good team," Eickhoff said. "Like all good teams, they're able to be manipulated and controlled. But I wasn't able to do that for the most part."

The Phillies offense was mastered by the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks. The righthander needed just 104 pitches to log a complete game. He struck out seven, walked none, and allowed five hits. Hendricks kept the Phillies off-balance with pinpoint location despite throwing a fastball in the high 80s.

The stadium speakers blared Hendricks' warm-up music - Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" - as the pitcher jogged to the mound for the ninth inning. Every game here is treated with fervor as the city believes that this year is the one that will end differently than the 107 that came before.

Galvis led off the ninth with a routine fly ball to shallow right field. The second baseman and the rightfielder both called for the ball, but neither attempted to make the catch. The ball fell, and Galvis had a double. He moved to third on a groundout and scored when Howard struck out.

Galvis danced off the bag as catcher Miguel Montero fielded Howard's dropped third strike. Montero fired to first, and Galvis sprinted home. The game ended a batter later, but the Phillies had a run. And on Saturday, that was quite an accomplishment.

"I don't want to get shut out," Mackanin said. "We don't ever want to get shut out."

mbreen@phillynews.com

@matt_breen