Brewers find going tough vs. Cubs
CHICAGO - Another day, another tough-luck loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Eric Sogard's seventh-inning error at shortstop proved to be the difference in a yet another tightly contested game that was won by the Milwaukee Brewers' National League Central Division rivals, 3-2, at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
It was the third straight loss to the Cubs for the Brewers, and the fifth in six games so far this season with two games remaining in the series.
The game was tied, 2-2, when it quickly turned.
Dan Jennings was brought in from the bullpen and allowed a leadoff single to Addison Russell, who was then bunted up to second by Jason Heyward. Pinch-hitter Victor Caratini followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Jeremy Jeffress replaced Jennings.
Jeffress struck out Albert Almora Jr. for the second out and then appeared to get out of the inning when he induced a grounder up the middle from Javier Baez. But Sogard couldn't field the ball cleanly, allowing Russell to score the goahead run.
Milwaukee failed to get a base runner on in the final two innings.
The Brewers struck quickly against Cubs starter Yu Darvish, with Lorenzo Cain reaching on a two-base error by Heyward to open the game. He stole third and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jesús Aguilar, finally getting Milwaukee on the board after it was shut out, 1-0, on Thursday night.
Brewers starter Brent Suter appeared destined to make a short outing based on the first inning the Cubs had against him. He surrendered hits to each of the first three batters and four total as the Cubs grabbed the lead back from the Brewers at 2-1.
Then after issuing a leadoff walk in the second, Suter settled in and retired nine straight before Darvish doubled to open the fifth. Suter stranded him there, however, and departed having allowed five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in a 93-pitch outing.
Darvish allowed just three hits over six innings, and it wasn't until he departed that the Brewers finally had their first big scoring opportunity.
Facing Steve Cishek, Sogard walked and Manny Piña singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Ryan Braun pinch hit but his fly ball wasn't deep enough to score Sogard from third, and Cain followed by walking to load the bases.
Cubs manager brought in left-hander Brian Duensing to face Christian Yelich, who was 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts against Darvish. He just missed hitting a grand slam to right field as his fly ball was knocked down in the wind, but the drive was deep enough to score Sogard and tie the game, 2-2.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
CENTURY MARK: With his ninth-inning infield single on Thursday night, Braun recorded his 100th career hit at Wrigley Field. Cincinnati's Joey Votto (102) is the only other active player to reach the century mark in hits at the ballpark. Braun, who didn't start Friday, is now hitting .341 with 15 homers, 63 RBI and 53 runs scored in 74 career games at Wrigley Field.
THE BEAT GOES ON: With the run charged to Jeffress being unearned due to Sogard's error, that means the Brewers' bullpen has run its streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to 32. Taylor Williams, Jennings, Jeffress and Oliver Drake all pitched out of the bullpen behind Suter.
THE WINDY CITY: While the conditions were downright tolerable at Wrigley Field on Thursday night, Friday was a different story. The start-time temperature was just 49 degrees and the winds were swirling at 16 mph. That helped keep the offense to a minimum and made for some interesting plays for the outfielders.
SECOND THAT: Hernán Pérez made his sixth start of the season at second base - not a surprise considering Jonathan Villar came in 0 for 8 lifetime against Darvish with four strikeouts. Pérez was just 1 for 2 against Darvish, but the hit was a homer. Counsell said in the spring that he anticipated second base would probably be a time-share, but thanks to a hot start at the plate, Villar has been there with 19 starts.
CHRISTIAN COOLING: Yelich has had some big hits since coming off the disabled list on April 17. He also entered Friday with a .389 on-base percentage in those eight games, thanks largely to the eight walks he'd drawn.