On May 26, the White Sox lost 16-7, yet they still weren’t the Chicago team to allow the most runs that day. The Cubs were in Cincinnati and lost to the Reds (which is embarrassing enough) 20-5, the first time this century the Cubs allowed 20 runs in a game.
The Cubs have allowed 20 or more runs 12 times in team history and, believe it or not, they are 1-11 in those games. Just about 100 years ago, August 25, 1922, to be exact, they beat the Phillies 26-23. In that game, the Cubs scored 10 runs in the second inning and 14 runs in the fourth and still had to hang on as the Phillies scored eight in the eighth and six in the ninth and ended the game with a strikeout with the bases loaded. The Phils got some measure of retribution against the Cubs on May 17, 1979, as they defeated the Cubs 23-22 in 10 innings despite three Dave Kingman homers and seven RBI from Bill Buckner. The Phillies were also the last team before this year to score 20 runs against the Cubs, winning 21-8 on July 3, 1999.
