Gausman (9 K's), bullpen shut down Brewers' bats in Cubs' win

CHICAGO – The Cubs acquired Kevin Gausman at the Trade Deadline with games like this in mind. Tasked with avoiding a series loss against the rival Brewers, the veteran righty took the hill at Wrigley Field and delivered a vintage performance to lead the North Siders to the win column.

Gausman gave Chicago seven strong innings to set up a 2-1 win – powered by a home run from the Cubs’ MVP candidate, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. With the victory, the Cubs left home with a split of the four-game set against the National League Central-leading Brewers, who hold an eight-game lead in the division standings.

“That’s kind of what you want from someone you pick up at the Deadline,” Crow-Armstrong said. “[Gausman] was absolutely dominant.”

Here were three keys to Thursday’s win:

1. PCA goes low

Fresh of taking home his second NL Player of the Month award of the season, Crow-Armstrong was ready to turn the page on a few games against the Brewers that fell below his personal standards.

“It’s just kind of moving past that,” Crow-Armstrong said pregame. “I’ve been pretty good this year when I’ve decided I’m going to hit homers before I step into the box, whatever outcome happens. I’ve got to get that back. It just wasn’t really there the first two days.”

Crow-Armstrong made good on that mindset shift Thursday, when he delivered a two-run homer off Brewers starter Logan Henderson in the third inning. The Cubs’ star attacked a changeup that dropped below the zone and sent it rocketing out to center at 104.3 mph, per Statcast. The pitch was 1.20 feet off the ground, marking the lowest pitch Crow-Armstrong has homered off this year.

According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Crow-Armstrong has hit five home runs off pitches 1.20 feet or lower off the ground, dating back to 2024. That is the most such blasts in the Majors in that time period.

“His swing path is naturally able to get to that pitch a little bit easier,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And then the ball comes off his bat – that’s obviously dead center. That’s big man’s country out there. And he got it out. Henderson’s good. I mean, we see why he’s having such a good year.”

The home run was also the 39th of the season for Crow-Armstrong, who is now one homer shy of accomplishing a feat done only once in Cubs history. To date, Billy Williams (42 homers in 1970) is the only left-handed hitter to belt at least 40 homers in a single campaign. Crow-Armstrong is poised to join the Hall of Famer.

“I don’t really know what more can be said,” Gausman said of Crow-Armstrong. “It’s special. It’s just fun to watch. Every at-bat, everybody’s pretty locked in. It kind of seems like it’s everybody in the whole stadium. They kind of know that he’s playing with his hair on fire right now. Every at-bat is kind of must-see.”

2. Gausman’s gem

Coming off a tough outing against the Reds last time out, Gausman was in great form in a seven-inning showing against the Brewers.

Gausman led with his fastball, but had his signature splitter working well. The right-hander had a 60% whiff rate (12 swinging strikes within 20 swings) with the splitter, helping him rack up nine strikeouts in the outing. That represented his most punchouts in a game since joining the Cubs at the Deadline.

“It all starts with command for me,” Gausman said. “Being able to move my fastball around. When I can do that and throw strikes consistently, and the split is carrying the zone, I’m pretty hard to beat. Add that with Carson [Kelly] calling a great game and the defense behind me.”

Gausman’s lone setback was a solo homer by Andrew Vaughn in the fourth inning. Beyond that blast, the righty limited Milwaukee’s lineup to four singles and an 0-for-5 showing with runners in scoring position.

3. Zeferjahn, Rolison lock down the win

The Cubs’ issues with their bullpen over the past two weeks have been well-documented, but Gausman’s outing helped put the relief corps in a strong position to close things out.

First, Ryan Zeferjahn – who has had mixed results since being acquired from the Angels at the Trade Deadline – cruised through the first three hitters in the Brewers’ order in the eighth inning. That set things up for Ryan Rolison in the ninth, and the lefty came in and retired all three batters he faced to pick up the save and seal the win.

“Look, we need some good outings from our bullpen,” Counsell said. “And those guys need good outings to feel good about how they’re throwing. I mean, that’s life, right? You need some good things to happen to you to feel good about the next time you do it. And they were both excellent today. Both excellent.”