Alzolay blows fifth save in loss to Brewers |
CHICAGO - You never want to say that one particular series is bigger than another, but this weekend's series between the Milwaukee Brewers (20-11) and Chicago Cubs (19-14) at Wrigley Field is about as big as it gets. These are the top two teams in the division. Milwaukee has been the class of the league for the better part of five years, and Craig Counsell left the Brewers to come to Chicago.
Talk about plenty of added storylines leading into this series. The only thing better would be if both teams were at full strength, but neither is, which shows you how well these teams have been playing right now. In what was expected to be an exciting game in terms of how the Cubs would handle their pitching staff, Hayden Wesneski made his second start of the season as he opposed Joe Ross. Hoping to get five innings from Wesneski, the right-hander delivered an even better outing as he gave the Cubs 6 1/3 shutout innings with two walks and eight strikeouts, which could go down as one of his best starts. Hayden Wesneski was phenomenal against the Brewers 🔥 He left with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Christopher Morel, but with a shorter bullpen than normal Counsell was going to have to piece together the final three innings. Doing that required Adbert Alzolay to take the ball as he continues to try and earn the trust of his manager back. This is just one of those years for Alzolay as this is getting close to being a DFA situation as he can't get anyone out. Alzolay only lasted 1/3 of an inning on the mound and allowed three runs in the process, as that was all the Brewers would need in a 3-1 win. This takes away from what was otherwise another fantastic pitching performance from a Cubs starter, but at some point, the offense needs to start scoring runs—not having Seiya Suzuki or Cody Bellinger doesn't help, but with Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ and several others continuing to struggle this team is a mess offensively right now. Wesneski was lights out most of this game, with the second inning being the one inning where he had some trouble. He was forced to work around a pair of two-out singles from Brice Turang and Oliver Dunn. The Cubs also kept the pressure on Ross early, with Michael Busch leading the bottom of the second off with a double, but neither team was able to cash in, which was the theme early on. When it came to Ross, he was more about pitching to contact, and by doing so, he kept his pitch count lower than usual, needing just over 80 pitches to get through six. That included a string of six batters retired in a row where he needed less than 25 pitches to get that done. With the score still tied 0-0 in the fourth, the Brewers wasted a golden opportunity to strike first, only to have the Cubs match them in the bottom of the fourth. That came after singles from Happ and Busch put a pair of runners on with one out, only to have the offense stall out again. Getting runners into scoring position wasn't an issue for the Cubs, but bringing them home was as Nico Hoerner picked up a one-out double in the fifth to get to second, but was unable to score on the play. The best way to avoid stranding runners on base is to take care of it yourself, as Morel finally broke a scoreless tie with his second homer in as many days to put the Cubs in front 1-0 after six. Hit the road ball! Given how Wesneski was pitching, you had to think that would be enough as the right-hander closed out his start by retiring the final ten he faced before handing things off to Richard Lovelady and the pen. Lovelady was solid in his outing, tossing another scoreless outing for Counsell. However, with limited options, he was forced to trust Alzolay in the eighth, which backfired quickly. It has been 0 days since the Cubs bullpen blew a lead Alzolay failed to finish the eighth, and he was hit hard the entire time, scattering four hits to go with his one strikeout. Three of those hits resulted in runs as William Contreras, Willy Adames, and Jake Bauers all connected for hits to put the Brewers in front 3-1. Colten Brewer would finish that inning before working around a one-out triple in the ninth to keep things close. Following a great outing by Ross, the Brewers pen followed suit as they continued to keep the offense in check. That included former Cubs reliever Trevor Megill who was called on to pitch the ninth. As we have seen from the Cubs lately, Megill dominated their offense as he retired the side to pick up the save and extend the Brewers' lead in the division to two games. “You just gotta keep going out there. Hopefully one day it turns around.” “He’s struggling right now for sure, but we need Adbert.” "You cannot allow guys to just get in scoring position."@CliffFloyd30 on the Brewers stealing three bags while Adbert was pitching. pic.twitter.com/KsReleBcF2
6.1 IP | 3 H | 2 BB | 8 K | 90 P
(📸: @WatchMarquee) pic.twitter.com/XxV6G8yiqX
And don't you come back no Mo, no Mo, no Mo, no Mo 👋 pic.twitter.com/Tyoel2vb6M
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Adbert Alzolay on his recent struggles. pic.twitter.com/E7aZhWrI3f
Craig Counsell on Adbert Alzolay. pic.twitter.com/EJ8NMihFgY
