Game Recap: Cubs fall to Brewers |
Dustin Riese
· · 10 hours ago
CHICAGO - Although things didn't end the way the Chicago Cubs (73-55) would've liked, it was still a successful series nonetheless as they started to show signs of life for the first time in several weeks. After clinching their season series against the Milwaukee Brewers (80-48) on Wednesday, the Cubs had a chance to make it four straight at Wrigley Field as they concluded their season series on Thursday afternoon.
As expected, pitching was the name of the game from start to finish as the wind conditions continued to play into the pitcher's hand, as all eight games on this homestand had the wind blowing in. Those types of conditions benefit Shota Imanaga as it allows his fly-ball first approach to attack the hitters more and forces them to put the ball in play. Imanaga was about as good as you could've asked him to be, going seven strong innings and allowing two runs, but it was the Cubs' offense that failed him once again as the Brewers put an end to their losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Chicago. Imanaga hasn't been as dominant this season as he was last season, but with an ERA still hovering around 3.00, he continues to do his job on the mound. The Cubs are also 34-14 in games he pitches, and a big reason for that is his ability to keep his team in the game. Imanaga continued to do that in this one, allowing just three hits in seven innings with Sal Frelick providing one of those hits with a leadoff single, only to have a double play put an end to the first. His lone blemish came in the second inning as he walked Christian Yelich to lead things off before retiring the next two hitters he faced. On the verge of escaping the second damage free, Brice Turang had other ideas as he connected for the two-run shot to put Milwaukee on top for good, 2-0. That would be all the offense Quinn Priester would need as the rookie right-hander continues to impress on the mound. This was one of those starts where he didn't have his best start, walking five and striking out four across 4 1/3 innings, but with only one run allowed and three hits, he did a great job of limiting any significant damage. The Cubs didn't have many scoring chances in this one, but their big opportunity came in the second, which followed the Turang single. What started with a one-out single from Ian Happ was followed by a two-out single from Willi Castro as the Cubs' offense was in a position to strike. With Dansby Swanson working a walk shortly after to load the bases, the Cubs were one hit away from tying this one up, only to have Reese McGuire ground out to end the threat. That was the moment in this one where you could look back and say that was the chance that got away as Imanaga settled in to retire 12 consecutive hitters after allowing the Turang homer. Still trailing by that 2-0 score in the fifth, the Cubs once again had Priester on the ropes as the right-hander was starting to show signs of fatigue. Once again, it was the Cubs' patient approach that got things started as a leadoff walk to McGuire was followed by a Michael Busch single, and suddenly the Cubs had runners on the corners with no outs. Another walk to Seiya Suzuki, two batters loaded the bases once again, with the struggling Pete Crow-Armstrong coming to bat. Unlike the first inning when the Cubs let Priester off the hook, Crow-Armstrong did his job with a sacrifice fly as the Cubs were now on the board 2-1. That is as close as the Cubs would get as Nate Mears finished off the fifth without further damage before handing things off to the rest of the Brewers pen. Once Imanaga was out of the game after seven innings, you saw a massive sigh of relief come on the Brewers' faces as they had no answers for the left-hander. First out of the pen for the Cubs was right-hander Ryan Brasier, who was hoping to get back on track after a long stretch of rough outings. Brasier's struggles continued in this one with Andruw Monasterio picking up a one-out single ahead of the Frelick double, and just like that, the Brewers had a pair of runners in scoring position. A few pitches later, it was Isaac Collins coming through with a huge RBI single to right, pushing the Brewers' lead to 4-1. That would be all the offense they would need as Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill took care of things late to preserve the 4-1 win. The Cubs had a chance to make things interesting off Uribe in the eighth as the first two batters walked, only to come away empty-handed. As nice as it would've been to win four of five to pull within five games, a 3-2 series is nothing to be ashamed about, even if they only gained one game in the standings. Next up for the Cubs is a massive nine-game West Coast swing, which starts Friday night in Anaheim.
