If Monday night, July 28 was any indication of what’s to come between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs over the next several weeks, we’re all in for some fun.
The two Central Division rivals – sitting atop the standings with identical 62-43 records coming in – squared off in the first of eight remaining matchups at American Family Field with the Brewers ultimately coming out on top.
A shaky first inning by Jacob Misiorowski didn’t bode well, but he recovered nicely over his next three and then Milwaukee’s offense awakened with five runs against all-star Matthew Boyd that set the stage for a hugely satisfying 8-4 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 41,076.
Box score: Brewers 8, Cubs 4
Andrew Vaughn, Sal Frelick and Christian Yelich all homered as the Brewers went deep more times in three innings than they had in their previous seven games combined in a surprising outburst by a group that has shown very little power to this point in the season.
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Misiorowski, meanwhile, surrendered three runs in the first inning then retired 10 straight to end his night, giving the offense a chance to catch up.
The Brewers also made several roster moves prior to the game, most notably recalling right-hander Craig Yoho from Class AAA Nashville and optioning right-hander Tobias Myers there.
Adding Yoho gives Milwaukee a fresh bullpen arm, while Myers is expected to return to starting with the Sounds with the potential for another call-up later in the year.
Also, left-hander Rob Zastryzny was recalled from his minor-league rehab assignment and remains on the injured list with a rib injury that manager Pat Murphy termed “concerning.”
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Christian Yelich has an answer
The Cubs clawed a run back in the top of the seventh against the combination of Grant Anderson and Jared Koenig, when Kyle Tucker singled to center to make it 6-4.
Michael Busch made a baserunning gaffe, however, trying to go from first to third and Jackson Chourio made a terrific throw to get him as he slid into the base head-first.
That left Tucker on second with two outs, then Koenig struck out Seiya Suzuki.
Chicago sent Chris Flexen to the mound in the bottom of the seventh, and he was greeted by a William Contreras single that was followed by a Yelich homer to right-center – a shot that actually landed on the top of the wall and bounced twice before falling over and into the Cubs bullpen.
It was Yelich’s first homer since July 11, and upped the Brewers’ lead to 8-4.
Chicago put two on with two outs in the ninth, and Trevor Megill entered and struck out Suzuki on three pitches to lock down his 24th save.
Andrew Vaughn keeps on raking
With one out in the fifth, Boyd made a bad mistake by leaving a 93.1 mph fastball out over the heart of the plate and Vaughn didn’t miss it, sending it into the Brewers’ bullpen at 108.6 mph.
It was the first time since June 20 an opposing batter had taken Boyd deep – a span of five starts – and the five runs he allowed on the night represented a season high for the all-star.
Ryan Pressly took over for Boyd in the sixth and with two outs, Frelick belted a solo homer to right to up Milwaukee’s lead to 6-3.
The homers in consecutive innings were notable for the Brewers’ offense, which entered the game having homered only twice in the previous seven games.
The Brewers come roaring back
Misiorowski got back on track quickly after the first and retired the side in order in the second and third innings.
That set the stage for a very Brewers-esque comeback in the bottom of the third, with Frelick and Contreras getting things going by sandwiching singles around a Chourio strikeout.
Yelich, up next, yanked a double to right to get the Brewers on the board. It was his first run extra-base hit and run batted in since July 11.
Vaughn followed with a walk to load the bases, then in a full count Isaac Collins ripped a two-run single to right to tie it and advance Vaughn to third base.
That was big, because Brice Turang followed with a fly ball to medium-deep center that plated Vaughn and gave Milwaukee its first lead at 4-3.
Not a bad performance at all by the Brewers, considering Boyd had thrown 25 consecutive scoreless innings prior to Yelich’s double.
Misiorowski then threw a 1-2-3 fourth to finish his night having retired the final 10 batters he faced. He struck out seven over 80 pitches and hit 100 mph or more 11 times, all in the first inning.
A disastrous first inning for The Miz
Busch dropped a single in front of Chourio to lead off, a play that probably could have been made with a better read off the bat.
Tucker followed by drawing a walk. Suzuki then capped a six-pitch at-bat by smoking a grounder up the middle that caught the inside of Misiorowski’s leg and bounced into foul territory, loading the bases.
Misiorowski responded with a strikeout of Pete Crow-Armstrong, but Strike 3 came on a changeup that he spiked into the dirt and the ball squirted past Contreras allowing Busch to score.
A looking strikeout of Carson Kelly left Misiorowski one out away from minimizing the damage, but he completely botched a swinging bunt to the left of the mound off the bat of Ian Happ by throwing the ball well over the head of Vaughn at first.
Tucker and Suzuki both came in to score as Chicago’s lead grew to 3-0, and pitching coach Chris Hook visited Misiorowski on the mound to try to calm him down.
Misiorowski finally finished the inning with a strikeout of Nico Hoerner, but the damage had been done – a three-run deficit, a pitch count of 40 and DL Hall warming in the bullpen.
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 6:40 p.m. CT
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineup
- Sal Frelick RF
- Jackson Chourio CF
- William Contreras C
- Christian Yelich DH
- Andrew Vaughn 1B
- Isaac Collins LF
- Brice Turang 2B
- Caleb Durbin 3B
- Joey Ortiz SS
Cubs lineup
- Michael Busch 1B
- Kyle Tucker RF
- Seiya Suzuki DF
- Pete Crow-Armstrong CF
- Carson Kelly C
- Ian Happ LF
- Dansby Swanson SS
- Nico Hoerner 2B
- Matt Shaw 3B
Brewers schedule
Brewers vs. Cubs, July 29, 6:40 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Quinn Priester (9-2, 3.28) vs. Chicago RHP Colin Rea (8-4, 4.06) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Cubs, July 29, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (12-4, 2.81) vs. Chicago LHP Shota Imanaga (7-4, 3.12) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Off day, July 30.
