CHICAGO -- With one gone for the Phillies in the top of the sixth on Wednesday, J.T. Realmuto dropped a single into right field off of Cubs starter Alec Mills.

The next batter up, Bryce Harper, saw just three pitches before roping a double to the right-field corner, bringing Realmuto all the way around from first to score. On the very next pitch, Andrew McCutchen -- the same slugger who began Tuesday’s win with a grand slam in the first inning -- cranked his 25th career home run against Chicago to left-center field to quiet the Wrigley Field crowd.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, those three hits represented half of the total they would record the entire night. Cubs starter Alec Mills allowed only those three runs and just five hits over 5 2/3 innings, and despite the three-run rally that helped knock Mills out of the game, an early five-run hole proved to be a deficit Philadelphia couldn’t overcome in its 8-3 loss to Chicago.

“He's a guy that just pitches,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “He's not going to overpower you, but he's going to hit spots with his sinker, he's going to get in on righties, he's going to use that slow curveball effectively. He pitched a good game. We spotted him a five-run lead, and a lot of times, those are hard to come back from.”

The first two wins of the series featured explosions from the batting order, recording double-digit runs and hits both nights. Another double-digit outburst would’ve been Philadelphia’s first time scoring 10-plus runs in three consecutive games since June 2004.

But on Wednesday, it was the Cubs putting on the offensive clinic. Zack Wheeler allowed seven runs (four earned), as a Didi Gregorius error in the first inning proved costly.

Overall, the Cubs hit 6-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and all eight of their runs came with two outs after picking up just three two-out RBIs in the first two games of the series combined.

“Those are killers, right?” Girardi said. “Those can be demoralizing when those types of things happen, because you're so close to getting out of every inning. And we were tonight. We just weren't able to do it, and that was the difference in the game.”

And it wasn’t as if Chicago was just knocking Wheeler around, either.

The Cubs put seven balls in play in the bottom of the first against Wheeler, four of which led to hits, while a fifth led to Gregorius' error. Of those seven balls, the two hardest-hit balls became a lineout (102.9 mph exit velocity) and a flyout (94.0 mph exit velocity). None of the other five’s exit velocities registered above 88.3 mph.

So no, the Cubs weren’t knocking Wheeler around -- the balls just landed where the Phillies weren’t positioned.

“What you're shooting for is weak contact, and it's frustrating, for sure,” Wheeler said. “A lot of bloop hits, and sometimes that's just how the ball rolls. So tonight wasn't very fun.”

“The hardest ball hit was an out that inning,” Girardi said. “They didn't really hit him that hard, but they put the bat on the ball, and you've got to give them credit for that. It was a tough first two innings for Wheels.”

Meanwhile, other than the 6th inning, Philadelphia could muster up just three hits and two walks over the other eight frames combined. Unable to get back to .500 for the first time since the start of play on June 19, the Phillies turn to Zach Eflin on Thursday in hopes that he leads them to just their second road series win of the season.