CHICAGO -- There was nothing funny about the Chicago Cubs’ lost weekend at Wrigley Field, but somehow manager Joe Maddon crafted a few late-game moves on Sunday to put a smile on the faces of his players -- and many in the crowd of 41,123 -- despite a lopsided 11-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

With the Cubs on the verge of being swept in a three-game series at home for the first time this season, Maddon sent backup catcher David Ross to the mound for the ninth inning. Suddenly, the mood in the stadium was transformed from sullen to festive, and things turned downright giddy after Ross worked a 1-2-3 inning -- just Chicago’s second of the game.

Ross then continued the improbable storyline by leading off the bottom of the inning with a home run to left field, much to the delight of his teammates and the fans who stuck it out till the end.

“It’s got to be the first time since Babe Ruth that happened, doesn’t it?” Maddon said afterward. “A position player pitches an inning and then goes and hits a home run. It was great for the fans and the fans really engaged in that.”

Ross may have provided more comic relief than even his manager envisioned, but Maddon’s clear objective was to lighten the mood.

“I knew that was his goal,” Ross said. “A credit to Joe, he always comes and talks to me about it first. He wanted to know if I was ready to make my home pitching debut.

“The fans chanting my name in the ninth inning, that was a cool moment. I’ve never had that before in my career. And to come through with a home run was fun. It doesn’t mean a whole lot to me other than it was a lot of fun, saved the bullpen for an inning and put a smile on a couple of guys’ faces.”

Considering how poorly the Cubs performed in all phases of the game, that was quite an accomplishment.

It was apparent early that starter Jason Hammel (5-5) didn’t have a good feel for things. He allowed a single, triple and home run to the first three batters he faced and put the Cubs in a 3-0 hole before recording an out. The right-hander labored through 3⅔ innings, allowing six runs on eight runs, before he was pulled.

“That definitely wasn’t the way the weekend was supposed to go,” Hammel said. “My role today was just garbage. Unacceptable. Too many pitches up in the zone and I really didn’t stick with the game plan at all. Hats off to them. They came out swinging.”

The Cubs got a run back in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Kris Bryant, but they couldn’t muster enough offense against Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (1-1) to rally. They managed just two runs on three hits in the first seven innings a day after being no-hit by Phillies ace Cole Hamels.

By the time the Cubs came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, they were trailing 11-2.

“It was, obviously, a terrible day,” Maddon said. “Give the Phillies credit. They absolutely mangled us hitting-wise. All extra-base hits and didn’t give us a chance. We just did not play up to their standards right now. They were the much better team for three days.”

The Cubs' offense continues to struggle, with Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro going a combined 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. The grind of the season seems to be weighing on a few of the team’s younger players.

“We’re almost into August now,” Hammel said. “The bodies are weak, the minds are fatigued. We just have to find a way to get through it and stick to your routines and battle our way to the end.”

Instead of looking back critically, Maddon said he prefers to look forward to the start of a three-game home series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

“Don’t start a bunch of fires where they’re not necessary,” he said. “Just put this in the filing cabinet and come back and play better. We still have a chance for a .500 homestand.”