NEWSLETTER
For four innings, this game was just an absurd pitchers’ duel. Per Len on the broadcast, the game was the first in all of baseball this year that started out with both pitchers retiring the first nine batters of the game, and Alec Mills actually carried his perfect start through the 4th. He looked absolutely fantastic, though he ran into trouble for three batters in the 6th, a quick hit, a HBP, and then he left one hanging to Christian Yelich (a guy he’d struck out twice before in the game).
The Cubs ground Brandon Woodruff out of the game in the 5th, having plated three in the inning and loaded the bases with one out. But Freddy Peralta came in and struck out Javy Báez and Kyle Schwarber to end the damage there. And then the Cubs just couldn’t do anything against the Brewers’ bullpen. Whiff after whiff after whiff. Credit to the Brewers relievers to be sure, but the Cubs batters looked absolutely befuddled.
The Cubs got a little something cooking in the 8th when they loaded the bases against Josh Hader, but with Kris Bryant unavailable off the bench (as it turned out), the best pinch hitting option for Jason Kipnis was Josh Phegley. It didn’t go well. Not sure Albert Almora would’ve gone any better, but Phegley struck out on a pitch at his face.
At least we got to see Craig Kimbrel get a meaningful inning (down by one, 9th inning) and look much better in the process. He still wasn’t what you’d want him to be, but the fastball was touching 98 mph and was more frequently better located than it had been, and the curveball looked much sharper. Heck, one of his curveballs hit Justin Smoak in the foot, but it was so nasty with so much movement that he swung at it. Easily his best outing of the year, which I know is a low bar.
