Boo. The Cubs managed to take this one tied into the 9th, but the left a couple runners on in the top, and the Brewers did not similarly fail to come through in the bottom of the 9th. Orlando Arcia – determined to swing even as Mike Montgomery was unintentionally-intentionally willing to walk him – poked a game-winning hit into right field. Cubs lose.
Kyle Hendricks looked typically fantastic through four innings, working in and out, hitting his spots, touching 89 mph, and inducing weak contact. And then in the fifth inning, the command slipped a touch and the Brewers got much better swings on him – including two two-run homers. It happened in the blink of an eye, and the Cubs saw their two-run lead become a two-run deficit.
That’s when Javy Baez tied things up with his little league homer, but those were the last runs they’d score.
Of note: Justin Wilson came into a hot spot in the 6th, struck out Travis Shaw on three pitches. He then started the next inning with beautiful stuff. All was well. And then he didn’t quite get a call, and walked a guy. Then he walked the net guy on four pitches. Then he walked the next guy on five pitches. It was excruciating, and you just hope it doesn’t cause a back-slide into whatever mental-into-mechanical problems he had last year with the Cubs. Fortunately, for tonight at least, Steve Cishek came in and struck out Lorenzo Cain to end the 7th.
It didn’t matter in the final outcome, though, as Mike Montgomery couldn’t pull an Eddie Butler and extend this one for another seven innings or so. Kris Bryant’s throwing error in the 9th didn’t help the cause. Neither did the Cubs’ bats going mostly silent after the first inning.