Cubs blow huge lead in loss to Brewers |
MILWAUKEE - Although every series is important, some are more important than others throughout the season. The Chicago Cubs (38-45) are currently experiencing one of those series right now as they Cubs opened up a four-game set with the first-place Milwaukee Brewers (46-39) at American Family Insurance Field on Monday.
In what could be a make-or-break series for the Cubs, Chicago theoretically needs to win three of four games to keep themselves alive, but taking two of four wouldn't be that bad. Facing off against right-hander Julio Tehran who seems to face the Cubs every season, the Cubs sent left-hander Drew Smyly, who was looking for a bounce-back outing. Smyly labored through three-plus innings, allowing three runs in 3 2/3 before being pulled. However, he left with the lead as the Cubs scored six unanswered runs to open the game. Unfortunately, that was not going to be enough as the Cub's bullpen imploded yet again, with Julian Merryweather allowing his first earned runs in over a month in what was an 8-6 win for the Brewers. This is one of those losses that will sting for a while, and you have to wonder how the Cubs will bounce back after this. Despite his struggles, Teheran was even worse, although the Brewers did allow him to pitch through six innings. He walked one and struck out seven while allowing six runs, but Craig Counsell trusted him enough to give the Brewers some innings, which is precisely what he did. After a scoreless first from both teams, the Cubs got their offense going in the second and scored three of their six runs in that inning. Dansby Swanson opened the inning with a leadoff double, while Cody Bellinger followed that up with an RBI single to put the Cubs in front 1-0. The suddenly red-hot Christopher Morel kept the line moving with an RBI double as the Cubs extended their lead to 2-0. With one down in the inning, Tucker Barnhardt made things 3-0 with an RBI single ahead of the Mike Tauchman walk as the Cubs led 3-0. Smyly continued to pitch well and worked around a two-out single in the second before the Cubs' offense was back at it in the third. Swanson started things again with a one-out single before a two-out rally blew the game open. Morel kept the inning alive with a single, while Nick Madrigal made things 5-0 with an RBI double. Madrigal would exit the game shortly after with hamstring tightness, and he will now be monitored for the next few days. Another Barnhardt single followed the Madrigal double to put the Cubs in front 6-0 as they were in complete control early. Little did they know, those would be the final runs of the day for the Cubs as the Brewers closed out the game with eight unanswered runs. Three of those came in their half of the third as the William Contreras RBI triple put the Brewers on the board. A Christan Yelich triple and Willie Adames single later saw the Cub's lead cut in half as they were now in front 6-3. The Brewers kept the pressure on in the fourth, with a pair of walks leading things off before Smyly worked out of trouble. That would be it for Smyly, as David Ross went to Michael Fulmer and the Cubs pen a bit sooner than expected, but they did the job they needed to do early. Despite the Cubs having several scoring chances the next few innings, they could not push across additional runs, which gave the Brewers offense a chance late. They have always been known to capitalize on the chances given, and they did off of Merryweather in the seventh. A one-out single from Yelich started the massive seventh inning before an Owen Miller walk put two runners on base. Raimel Tapia added a walk after that to load the bases before Jahmai Jones connected for his first MLB double to tie things up 6-6. With a brand new ball game and the Cubs starting to labor, their offense continued to sputter while the Brewers' offense wasn't done. Three straight singles for the Brewers began the bottom of the eighth, with Adames picking up the go-ahead and game-winning single to put Milwaukee in front 7-6. Miller kept the line moving with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 8-6 as the Cubs were coming to bat with three outs remaining. Nico Hoerner put the Cubs in a great position to make things interesting by ripping a one-out double. Two batters later, it was an Ian Happ walk that put two runners on with two outs, and Swanson came to bat with a chance to play the hero. Unfortunately, the real hero of the day was Devin Williams, who struck out Swanson to end the game and lifted the Brewers to an 8-6 comeback win.
