Cubs silenced
After some early chirping, Brewers quiet heated rivals
The uniqueness of playing in a stadium with 41,000 empty seats allows the lucky observers to hear the chirping between opposing players, the pop of the glove and the crack of the bat.
But after both teams were prevented from charging toward each after Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras struck out to end the third inning, the sounds became one-sided Saturday as Yu Darvish and a mostly inexperienced bullpen failed to slow down a Milwaukee Brewers offense that coasted to an 8-3 victory.
The intensity between the National League Central rivals became more apparent while playing their second game at relatively empty Wrigley Field.
“We’re always having fun, whatever it is, talking a little smack, always,” said Kyle Schwarber, whose two-run home run in the fifth accounted for the last runs by a Cubs offense that stranded nine runners and was 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
“We’re just trying to rally the boys up. Sometimes things you heard today were just one of those cases that both sides are going back and forth. It’s not a big deal to us. I mean, there’s always scrums throughout the year, and I think there’s going to be scrums throughout this year too.”
The tension reached a peak after Contreras struck out and glared at Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez and a giddy opposing dugout.
Several Cubs and Brewers players yelled and pointed — but from the warning track in front of
their respective dugouts.
Schwarber sensed that players are aware they can be subject to an ejection and automatic suspension under rules imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Then you’re hurting your own team by being suspended,” Schwarber said. “But it’s baseball. Anything can happen. We’re a bunch of grown men up there.
“There could be a scrum here or there. But I think ideally that we have a good mindset on this. Let’s just sprint, and we’re going to need each other throughout the whole year.”
Cubs manager David Ross, who was a major-league catcher 15 years, isn’t surprised the yelling is amplified with a lack of fans.
“I don’t know if Major League Baseball saw it coming,” Ross said. “But if you’re in the dugout in this environment, you can expect some of that when you can hear everybody.”
The Cubs will need a better performance from Darvish — who allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts in four innings — and a bullpen that failed to keep the game close.
Justin Smoak hit a towering home run off Duane Underwood Jr. in the fifth. But after Schwarber’s homer cut the deficit to 4-3, the Cubs’ momentum gradually deflated.
Christian Yelich launched a two-run homer off Brad Wieck, and James Norwood allowed an RBI double to Narvaez — who had been hit in his previous two at-bats — and an RBI single to Lorenzo Cain on a belt-high, 88-mph split-finger fastball.
“I don’t think it’s a challenge,” Ross said of finding the most effective relievers. “You’ve got to get guys in there and see how they look. That’s part of it. Get out there and see what you’ve got.
“Growth is going to be a strong point for that group. And there’s no way to find out until we get them in there.”
One of the bigger mysteries since baseball’s return after a 3 1⁄2-month layoff has been the diminished velocity of Wieck, whose fastball has topped out at 91 mph. The left-hander’s spring training was delayed in February because of a procedure to address a heart flutter.
“We’ve got to continue to monitor that and continue to communicate with him, and he’s working towards it,” Ross said.
The Cubs were frustrated from the start, as Javier Baez glared at Brewers starter Corbin Burnes after getting hit by a 96-mph fastball on the left arm. Two batters later, Contreras was buzzed by a high and tight 97-mph pitch and took two steps toward the mound before retreating.
Contreras finished the at-bat with an RBI single to left and flipped his bat while running to first.
In addition to the Cubs bullpen’s struggles, the infield fundamentals need some polishing.
With one out in the second, the Cubs botched a rundown that allowed the speedy Cain to retreat to second base and later score on Eric Sogard’s two-out single to tie it at 1.
“We’ve got to handle that better,” Ross said. “No doubt about that. I think everybody to a man would admit that we’ve got to handle that situation better.
“Every out matters. Every pitch matters. All that all those things are factors, for sure.”