Doubleheader sweep is worth wait
Big fifth inning is the difference in nightcap
CHICAGO – It was a long, hot, uncomfortable and rainy Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
And, ultimately, a successful one for the Milwaukee Brewers.
They rode three home runs and a strong start from Freddy Peralta in the opener and a six-run fifth in the nightcap to a 4-2 and 6-3 split doubleheader sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
Both games were seven innings, with the twin bill necessitated by Monday’s postponement due to weather.
The conditions were tough again, with temperatures soaring to 95 degrees and a heat index of 107 in the afternoon game and then more storms that delayed the night game 1 hour and 29 minutes during the third inning.
Willy Adames, Eduardo Escobar and Luis Urías also earned unofficial “iron man” awards for being the lone Brewers to go the distance in both games.
“It was a long day, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The guys who played both games, it was kind of a mental test as much as it was a physical test for them.
“It was a good way to finish the day.” The storyline in Game 2 was the return of Aaron Ashby, who was tabbed to start.
It was his second chance of the season – and career – against the Cubs after being ripped for seven runs (five earned) in his major-league debut against them on June 30 (a game the Brewers ultimately came back to win).
Ashby opened the game by registering his first career strikeout against David Bote, worked around a couple of singles in the second, then was in the midst of his first at-bat when the skies opened and the winds began howling, prompting the grounds crew to cover the infield.
“That one feels a lot better than the last time being up here,” said Ashby. “It’s good to have some success up here and it was a lot of fun tonight.”
Milwaukee’s offense also had a different look to it for Game 2, with Counsell starting Christian Yelich in the leadoff spot for the first time this season.
He hit the ball hard in his first at-bat against Alec Mills, grounding out sharply. Adames followed with a single which stood as the Brewers’ lone hit heading into the delay.
When play finally resumed, both starting pitchers were replaced, leaving Ashby with two scoreless innings after throwing 23 pitches. He lowered his earned run average on the season from 54.00 to 13.50 in the process.
“He was really good tonight,” Counsell said. “I thought he had a chance to go pretty deep into this game because his stuff was excellent. That’s what we’ve seen. That’s how he’s been pitching at Nashville so it was exciting to see.
“When he’s good, the ball is kind of moving all over the place.”
The Cubs struck first, with Patrick Wisdom’s homer to right-center off John Curtiss making it a 1-0 game.
Four batters later and with a runner on third, the right-hander was removed from the game with elbow discomfort. Miguel Sánchez replaced Curtiss in the midst of an at-bat, threw one pitch and struck out Johneshwy Fargas to end the inning.
The Brewers quickly tied it up after Urías led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a Jace Peterson groundout and scored on a Jackie Bradley Jr. double to right.
Yelich contributed an RBI groundout two batters later to give Milwaukee its first lead, then Omar Narváez, Escobar and Rowdy Tellez chipped in with consecutive RBI singles before Urías capped the merry-go-round with yet another to leave it a 6-1 game.
“We just kept taking good at-bats,” said Counsell. “It was stringing together good at-bats and moving the line. A bunch of big two out hits at the end of it. It was a huge inning for us and put us in good shape.”
Hunter Strickland, Curtiss, Sánchez, Jake Cousins, Angel Perdomo pitched behind Ashby, with Perdomo’s performance in the sixth leading to the Cubs bringing the potential tying run to the plate in the form of Willson Contreras.
Brent Suter took over for Perdomo and made quick work of Contreras, striking him out to end the threat. The Cubs tacked on a final run against Suter in the seventh.
The effort earned Suter his first major-league save, while Sánchez was credited with his first victory.
By virtue of the sweep, the Brewers improved to 11-3 against the Cubs on the season. They also stretched their lead in the NL Central back out to seven games with the Cincinnati Reds falling at Atlanta.