Independence Day W: Cubs win in extras over Brewers |
MILWAUKEE - While most of us were celebrating our Independence Day on this July 4, it was a hectic day for the Chicago Cubs (39-45). Not only did they have a baseball game to play against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers (46-40) at American Family Insurance field, but there were also a ton of moves happening within the organization leading up to the game.
With Nick Madrigal injuring his hamstring and hitting the IL, it was no surprise to see Patrick Wisdom activated from Iowa. Wisdom has been nursing a sprained wrist for the past month, and having his bat back in the lineup should provide the Cubs with more pop. While that move was expected, there was another move that no one saw coming, as Hayden Wesneski was sent back to Iowa. Whether he is a precursor to get him back into starter mode with the continued struggles of Jameson Taillon is a topic for another day, but the Cubs needed to add a pitcher to replace him. The move did surprise a few, but flame-throwing Daniel Palencia was called up and took Wesneski's spot in the pen. After all of those moves were made, it was time to play baseball as it was turn back the clock night in Milwaukee. With velocity dominating today's pitching landscape, fans witnessed two of the slowest pitchers in average fastball, with Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley taking the mound. For the second game in a row, the Cubs offense came out swinging and built a comfortable 6-2 lead. It was then an all too familiar sight for the Cubs as they managed to blow another four-run lead in the ninth, with the Brewers tying things up and forcing extras. Baseball is a game of inches, and the Cubs used that to their advantage as they threw out baserunners at home in back-to-back innings to preserve a hard-fought 7-6 win. Since returning from the IL, Hendricks has been a godsend for this rotation as his strong season continued. The professor lowered his ERA to 2.64 after allowing two runs (1ER) in six innings. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out five as he continues to pitch well against their rivals from the north. Kyle Hendricks, Filthy 82mph Changeup...and Sword. ⚔️ Miley has also been known to have a ton of success against this Cubs team, and it was a disappointment to see him hurt nearly all of last season. Miley battled through five innings while giving up four runs as the Cubs jumped on him early and often to seize the advantage. Like in their series opener on Monday, the Cubs struck first as they took the lead in the second. Seiya Suzuki started things off in that inning with a leadoff triple before coming home to score on the Yan Gomes double three batters later for the 1-0 lead. Gomes gets the scoring started! pic.twitter.com/vQO1EPpkhP The Cubs continued to add on in the top half of the third as Dansby Swanson took Miley deep for the solo shot and extended the Cubs lead to 2-0. Fourth of July fireworks courtesy of @LieutenantDans7! 🎆 pic.twitter.com/oKJWn9hxl1 After ending an 0-31 skid in his first at-bat, Suzuki added a two-out single later in the inning, but no further damage came from it. Through three innings, the Brewers offense was held in check and completely lifeless as they searched for answers. The Cubs, on the other hand, were not as Miley continued to labor in the fourth by allowing two more baserunners before escaping without further damage. The same can't be said in the top half of the fifth as an Ian Happ single and Christopher Morel led things off before the Trey Mancini sacrifice fly extended the lead to 3-0. Cody Bellinger added an infield single later in the inning to push another run across as the Cubs chased Miley after five innings and held the 4-0 lead. Although Hendricks was in complete command entering the fifth inning, it is not how you start the game but how you finish. The Cubs know all too well about that after letting countless games get away this season. With the Brewers pulling within 4-2 following a Brice Turang single in the fifth and a William Contreras single in the sixth, you started to see the sense of doubt creep back into the faces of the entire Cubs roster. That was until Miguel Amaya came through with a massive RBI double in the top half of the eighth to extend the Cubs lead to 6-2 with their best relievers set to enter the game. Amaya adds some insurance! pic.twitter.com/YUxlkyLuBp Even your best guys will have an off day, and unfortunately, Tuesday was the day for Mark Leiter Jr and Adbert Alzolay to have off days. Leiter Jr entered the game to pitch the eighth and hit Joey Weimer to start the inning. That was followed by one-out singles from Contreras and Rowdy Tellez, with Tellez pulling the Brewers within 6-3. Alzolay took over from there and allowed an Adames double to pull the Brewers within 6-4 before Alzolay finished off the eighth. Looking to lock things down for the Cubs in the ninth, it was Alzolay heading back out for the ninth and looking to lock down another save. Singles to Raimel Tapia and Turang started things off before another single from Christian Yelich two batters, later pulled the Brewers within one. With the bases loaded and a chance to win the game, Alzolay got the out he needed, but it also tied things up as Contreras came through with a massive sacrifice fly to help send the game to extras. Once the 10th inning rolled around, it was time for the flame-throwing Palencia to make his debut, and despite allowing a one-out single to Owen Miller, the Brewers were unable to score, with Ian Happ gunning his first of two runners out at the plate to send things to the 11th. That set the stage for Hoerner as he came through with a huge two-out single to give the Cubs a 7-6 lead and put them in a position to win again. Go ahead, Nico!@nico_hoerner pic.twitter.com/LwnTc5SRv5 Looking for his first MLB win in his debut, it was Palencia back out to pitch the 11th, where once again, it was the arm of Happ that came through. With one down and a runner on third, Turang lofted one to left field, which appeared deep enough for another sacrifice fly. Happ had other ideas and threw an absolutely perfect one-hop strike to Amaya for the game-ending double play to give the Cubs a huge win. “We needed a win. Yeah, we needed a win,” Happ said. “That momentum of that one made it a big win, but we needed to win a baseball game.” DON'T TEST IAN HAPP! 😤 The Cubs had 13 hits, with four players grabbing multiple hits. Hoerner, Swanson, Suzuki, and Bellinger were those guys as the Cubs picked up a game in the standings. “Great team effort,” Ross said. “To be able to fight back after all we've kind of gone through the last couple of days. Again, there's so much character in that room. I wish people at home can feel that.” These teams will hit the diamond again on Wednesday as Justin Steele will face off with Adrian Houser.
And does his infamous, over-the-top Sword K Strut.
There's really no place in the game for that. pic.twitter.com/YYQ2V92i2C
Happ and Amaya combine for a second time to end the game! pic.twitter.com/z3QSJSAWq5
