Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel put together another dominant outing but was unable to factor into the decision Tuesday night against the Padres.
Hammel allowed a run-scoring single to Yangervis Solarte in the fifth and another run-scoring single to Will Venable in the seventh for his only blemishes of the evening. He was charged with two runs -- none earned -- on three hits and no walks while striking out eight over seven innings of a 4-3 defeat. Of his 106 pitches, 76 were strikes.
Hammel has lowered his ERA from 5.19 to 2.70 on the year over his last five starts. He'll look for win No. 4 on Sunday at Arizona.