Cubs win extra inning thriller for second straight night |
MILWAUKEE--The Cubs and Brewers both were both to solidify themselves in playoff contention battled in the second game of a pivotal four-game set. However, the North Siders ended up winning a thrilling 5-4 extra-inning win on Friday night.
The Cubs magic number is down to only five games. It was the Brewers who would jump out early this game as they got on the board via a Ryan Braun RBI double in the bottom of the first. In their portion of the second, John Lackey gave the long ball yet again as Stephen Vogt, and Brett Phillips went back to back to give the Brew Crew an early 3-0 lead at home. The Cubs would be set to rally back and pieced together a two-run inning getting the board via a RBI double off the bat of Jon Jay. Kris Bryant followed up with a bloop single to put the Cubs within one run. The fifth inning saw the Cubs comeback as it started with a 15 pitch at-bat that resulted in a hit from Jon Jay and a Kris Bryant hit-by-pitch. A two-RBI single two batters later off the bat of Ben Zobrist put the Cubs up 4-3. The see-saw battle continued in the bottom half of the inning as John Lackey was pulled after just four-plus innings. Reliever Brian Duensing came in and surrendered a game-tying double to slugger Travis Shaw. The game would stay scoreless into extras before a Bryant leadoff walk, and an Anthony Rizzo single put the Cubs in position to strike. After Zobrist was intentionally walked and Leyones Martin was fanned, it was Tommy LaStella who drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Cubs up 5-4 in the 10th inning In the bottom of the frame, the Brewers would put the leadoff runner on. However, Eric Sogard grounded into a fielders choice and on the next pitch was thrown out at 2nd after a great tag by Addison Russell. C.J. Edwards retired the next batter to propel the Cubs to an extra-innings win for the second time in as many nights. The Good: The Cubs took another game from Milwaukee and are one day closer to clinching the NL Central, coming up big when the moment mattered the most. The Bad: John Lackey;s inability to keep the ball in the yard is cause for concern as we move forward towards the postseason. What's Next: The Cubs will take on Milwaukee Saturday afternoon as their quest for the NL Central Crown continues. Game time is 12:05 CT. #Cubs are 43-22 since the All-Star break and have gained 10.5 games in the NL Central standings. #W pic.twitter.com/Lgmj2GhKBc
