MILWAUKEE – There has been a lot thrown at the Cubs over the past week, but the team has managed not to let it impact the results on the field. That held true again on Sunday, when a battered pitching staff was tasked with using only relievers.
The seven arms used by Chicago did what they could to deliver – highlighted by Jacob Webb escaping a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth – and the lineup thanked them with a late rally. A bases-loaded walk by Michael Busch and a two-run single by Seiya Suzuki in the 10th helped the Cubs hold on for a 4-3 win.
“The guys are having fun right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And we’re playing good baseball. … We did very little offensively today, honestly, but we got enough done because we got great pitching performances today. Today was the day the pitching carried the load.”
With the win, Chicago finished with a 6-1 showing in the past six days against the Mets and Brewers, while dealing with a long list of injury setbacks. Here were three key elements to Sunday’s victory:
1. Wilson bails out bullpen
When righty Bryse Wilson took the mound in the third inning for the Cubs, he became the 12th reliever used in the seven games on this road trip. That number climbed to 13 when Jordan Wicks entered in the 10th. Multiple rainouts and a doubleheader, plus a wave of injuries, has created a complicated pitching situation for Counsell over the last week.
“We’re going to have to get length from somebody,” Counsell said.
In the middle of a bullpen day, the 28-year-old Wilson answered that call. Claimed off waivers earlier in the week and added to the roster on Saturday, the right-hander logged 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his debut appearance for a Chicago staff desperate for help. Wilson struck out four and issued no walks in his effort.
Milwaukee threatened in the fourth, when Andrew Vaughn sent a pitch deep into the right-field corner for a leadoff triple, but Wilson set down the next three in order to escape unscathed. In the sixth, Pete Crow-Armstrong made a diving snag in center to take a hit away from Vaughn, helping to halt another potential rally.
“Everybody stood out,” Counsell said. “But Bryse Wilson would be the guy we got an incredible effort from. Obviously, that’s a very good offense and he got 14 outs for us and didn’t give up a run, made some big pitches to some good hitters.”
2. Rolison vs. Sánchez
Counsell began this game with lefty Ryan Rolison as his opener and had a decision to make after the reliever recorded the first five outs for the Cubs.
Up next for the Brewers was catcher Gary Sánchez, who entered the day with a .913 OPS against lefties, compared to a .723 OPS off right-handers. With a lefty batter (Sal Frelick) on-deck, Counsell opted to stick with Rolison, taking a risk that the reliever could avoid giving up damage.
Rolison threw a 1-1 four-seamer up and in to Sánchez, who managed to get his hands in quickly to get the barrel to the ball. The result was a no-doubt homer that sailed into the second deck down the left-field line. Rolison went on to retire Frelick, but the Brewers grabbed a 1-0 lead that held until the seventh.
3. Bats quiet against Woodruff
This series began with Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski reaching back and hitting 105.5 mph with a fastball to Crow-Armstrong in the first inning on Friday night. Compare that to Sunday, when Milwaukee veteran Brandon Woodruff sat around 92 mph on the afternoon versus Chicago.
The Cubs may not have seen any high-octane pitches, but a lineup that has been on a roll of late went quiet against the crafty Woodruff. During Woodruff’s 5 2/3 innings on the mound for Milwaukee, Miguel Amaya’s third-inning double represented the lone breakthrough. The righty has given up two hits total in his last two outings.
The North Siders did not get on the board until the seventh inning, when Ian Happ drew a one-out walk and then hustled to third on a single by Nico Hoerner. Happ then scored on a wild pitch from Brewers lefty Aaron Ashby to pull the game into a 1-1 deadlock.