Brewers deliver knockout punch with walkoff against Cubs |
MILWAUKEE - The Chicago Cubs (82-78) are no stranger to having late-season collapses, but this season feels drastically different. In a year when few people expected much from this team, the Cubs got hot right around the all-star break. So much so that they were within one game of first place in the division and had a 90% chance of making the playoffs on September 6.
Then came the last 20 games, where the Cubs not only started to struggle, but to the point where they have a less than 1% chance to make it with two games to go. Sporting a 6-14 record over their past 20 games, Chicago picked the worst time to go into a slump as they haven't been able to do anything right. The losses are one thing, but the way they have lost hurts the most, and that has come full circle during this final road trip. Not only were they swept by the Braves, with two of those coming in heartbreaking fashion, but it was the Milwaukee Brewers (91-69) that delivered even more heartbreak as their walk-off 4-3 win at American Family Insurance Field on Friday could be the final nail in the Cubs coffin for 2023. What is expected to be an interesting series in terms of who plays and who doesn't play for the Brewers, the Cubs have no choice but to play their starters as their season is on the line. In what could be his final start in a Cubs uniform after a successful nine seasons, Kyle Hendricks took the ball one last time, hoping to deliver another outstanding performance. However, like things have unfolded this week, Hendricks was the victim of tough luck as he tossed four brilliant innings before unraveling in the fifth. Hendricks was tagged for three runs in 4 1/3 as the Cubs have a tough decision to make regarding his future next season. Opposing Hendricks was a former Cub in Colin Rea, who filled in for Freddy Peralta and proceeded to toss five shutout innings for the Brewers, scattering two hits and striking out six. Neither team could do much of anything throughout the first four innings, but the Brewers had more baserunners only to come up empty. Had it not been for the Christopher Morel double in the third, the Cubs would have been no-hit into the fifth when Seiya Suzuki led the fifth off with a single, which was the Cubs second hit of the ball game. Speaking of the fifth inning, it was in the bottom of the fifth when the wheels came off for Hendricks, which was a complete shock when you look at how well he pitched early on. Singles from Victor Caratini and Brice Turang started things off while a walk to Christian Yelich loaded the bases with no outs. Hoping to escape the jam with minimal damage, Hendricks got William Contreras to roll over on one, but he legged it out for an RBI fielders choice and put the Brewers on top 1-0. One batter later, it was Carlos Santana delivering the massive blow as his two-RBI triple extended the lead to 3-0 and was the final batter Hendricks would face as Julian Merryweather entered the game and put out the fire. Following the strong outing from Rea, it was Bryse Wilson and Clayton Andrews who kept the party going as each of them tossed a scoreless inning to keep the Cubs off the board through seven. The same can be said about the Cubs pen, although Drew Smyly had to pitch around a pair of baserunners in the seventh to keep things close. It may have taken eight innings to break through, but with one swing off the bat of Jeimar Candelario, it was a 3-1 game as he took Andrews deep to begin the eighth. His homer was followed by a Christopher Morel triple and the Yan Gomes grounder, and just like that, it was a 3-2 game with Caleb Boushley taking over and closing out the eighth. Needing to hold the Brewers right where they were, Adbert Alzolay returned from the IL and tossed a scoreless eighth in his first inning back, setting the Cubs up for some ninth-inning drama. If you like drama, look no further than the first batter of the ninth as Ian Happ unloaded for his 21st homer of the season as the Cubs climbed all the way back to tie things up 3-3. Boushley managed to escape the rest of the inning without further damage, but with Mark Leiter Jr. and Jose Cuas combining to toss a scoreless bottom of the ninth, this one was off to extras in a desperation type of game for the Cubs. The Cubs had their chance to make something happen in the top of the 10th as a pair of walks to Morel and Mike Tauchman loaded the bases, only to have Patrick Wisdom strike out to end the treat. Considering Alexander Canario, Miguel Amaya, and Pete Crow-Armstrong were still available, leaving Wisdom to face Boushley was a questionable decision that backfired in the worst way. Not only did it backfire with the Cubs not scoring in the top half of the 10th, but three pitches into the bottom of the 10th, it was Santana taking Cuas the other way for an RBI single as the Brewers walked off the Cubs 4-3 to add more misery to the week from Hell. The loss all but eliminates the Cubs from playoff contention as they not only trail the Marlins by 1.5 games with two games left but have fallen into a tie with the Reds, who also have the tie-breaker. Chicago had six hits in the ball game, with Morel leading the way with three and reaching base one more time with the walk. Chicago will look to even things up on Saturday and end their four-game slide as Jordan Wicks takes the ball against a starter TBD.
