Kyle Hendricks was effective today with better command. He’s never going to be a dominant guy, but today was the guy we hope for: keep the walks down, hit spots to limit hard contact, etc. Although he was at just 85 pitches, Hendricks was pulled early in the 6th inning after the Brewers put a couple good swings on him, which seems to be the case with Hendricks frequently this year – third time through the order, and he’s getting hit hard. Hence the quick hook from Maddon, and the second-guessing that will follow.
Justin Grimm finished out the 6th cleanly, but Zac Rosscup gave up back-to-back homers to Martin Maldonado and Elian Herrera – Ryan Braun and Adam Lind they are not – to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Miguel Montero had homered earlier to give the Cubs their run.
In the 8th, down one, Anthony Rizzo one handed a double to the wall in right, scoring Dexter Fowler and tying the game. From there, the Brewers’ bullpen lasted just a bit longer than the Cubs. The offense managed just two runs over 11 innings, but found a way to fit in 16 strikeouts.
The Cubs have lost two series in just over one week to the Brewers – sandwiching a four-game series loss to the Cardinals. That’s not good.
Neither is this …