One of the things you likely think of when you hear the term “Most Valuable Player” is a guy who steps up, all the time, when his team most needs him.
That’s exactly what Pete Crow-Armstrong, now the most likely NL MVP, did Thursday night at Wrigley Field. On a pleasant weather evening — and we have sure needed those! — when most of his teammates were shut down by Brewers pitching, PCA smashed a two-run homer in the third inning. And Kevin Gausman and two Cubs relievers made those runs hold up for
a 2-1 Cubs win over the Brewers and a series split.
Gausman and Brewers starter Logan Henderson matched zeroes for two innings. Then Carson Kelly singled with one out in the bottom of the third. The next hitter was PCA, and he drove one into the center-field basket [VIDEO].
Gausman continued his fine pitching, striking out five of the first 13 Brewers he faced. The 14th, Andrew Vaughn, launched a ball halfway to Milwaukee, a 420-foot blast that cut the Cubs’ lead to one run.
That did not faze Gausman, who dld allow some traffic on the bases but wiggled out of jams with ground balls and strikeouts. He eventually struck out nine, his most in six Cub starts [VIDEO].
More on Gausman’s stellar start from BCB’s JohnW53:
Kevin Gausman’s start was the 15th of 7.0 innings by a Cub this season. No one has gone longer. Gausman has done it three times, tying Matthew Boyd for second most. Shota Imanaga has four.
In five of the starts, the starter gave up no runs; in four, one, including Gausman’s. His nine strikeouts were the most by three. He, Ben Brown, Imanaga and Jameson Taillon all fanned six.
Here’s more on Gausman’s outing [VIDEO].
This is the Gausman the Cubs thought they were getting when they traded for him — and if this guy sticks around, this is exactly who the Cubs need starting a postseason game.
Henderson was just as good, if not better. Following PCA’s homer, Henderson retired 14 straight Cubs, four by strikeout.
Thus the game went to the eighth requiring the Cubs bullpen to step up. Friends, I know this thought probably filled you with dread after the last week or two.
But this time, Cubs relievers did step up. Ryan Zeferjahn, whose Cubs outings have not been great since his acquisition at the Trade Deadline, retired the top of the Brewers lineup in the eighth in order on just 10 pitches. He got defensive help on this outstanding play by Alex Bregman [VIDEO].
In addition to his fine hitting the last couple of months, Bregman has played this sort of defense all year. He’s a strong contender for a Gold Glove.
The Cubs finally got another baserunner in the bottom of the inning, a leadoff walk by Pedro Ramirez. Matt Shaw sacrificed Ramirez to second — just the seventh successful sacrifice bunt by the Cubs all year, the fewest by any MLB team in 2026. But Ramirez was stranded.
That brought in Ryan Rolison for the save opportunity, which included facing Vaughn. Rolison got the first two Brewers, including Vaughn, on comebackers, and Christian Yelich grounded to second for the final out [VIDEO].
Here are some postgame comments from PCA [VIDEO].
And here are postgame comments from Gausman [VIDEO].
And, here are postgame remarks from Cubs manager Craig Counsell [VIDEO].
Game note from John:
Thursday’s win was the Cubs’ 445th since 1901 by a score of 2-1 — about 3.5 per season.
It was just their second this year, and the first in nine innings. They beat the Mets in 10 innings on April 19 thanks to Nico Hoerner’s one-out sacrifice fly.
They had four such wins a year ago, two each in 2024 and 2023, and seven in 2022, which tied for their fourth most. They won nine games by 2-1 in 1963 and eight in 1907 and 1988.
Lastly, this game was the Cubs’ second win this year with three or fewer hits. The last before Thursday was a 1-0 win over the Guardians in the first game of a doubleheader in Cleveland April 5 with just two hits, and the last such game at Wrigley Field was also over the Guardians, 1-0 in 10 innings July 3, 2025.
The takeaway I have from this series: The Cubs absolutely, positively are right there with the Brewers, with a better offense. The real difference is relief pitching, where Milwaukee has been solid all year and the Cubs have… not. If the Cubs can solidify the bullpen, they still can have a long postseason run. At least that’s the way I see things.
Beyond the win, I certainly enjoyed the much faster pace of play in this game than the two previous, both of which ran 3:18. Thursday’s game was two hours, 12 minutes, the fastest at Wrigley Field this year.
The win moved the Cubs within half a game of the Phillies for the top wild card spot. The Phillies host the Braves this weekend while the Cubs begin a road trip in Miami against the Marlins. Shōta Imanaga is the Cubs scheduled starter for the series opener Friday evening. (Personally? I wouldn’t do that. But here we are.) Janson Junk will start for the Marlins. Game time Friday is 6:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
