And the beat goes on. Jacob Misiorowski was fantastic and the Brewers offense had just enough timely hits to put this one largely out of reach. The Cubs bats did make some late noise and made it interesting, but in the end it was too little, too late and the Cubs dropped their fourth straight. In so doing, they dropped out of first place, at least temporarily. They do sit in a spot where a Wednesday win would flip them back into first — for now.
The story of this game was the Mis and just how good
he continues to be. The Cy Young award probably rightfully runs through Paul Skenes who has done nothing wrong. But it does feel like the Mis might be in the running. That said, it was a fun subplot that Ben Brown was the opposition. His three starts have felt increasingly daunting, but he’s accounted for himself pretty well. No one is going to fawn over three runs in five innings. Seven hits and two walks is too much traffic. All of that is certainly true. But he appeared to be fighting his command and still kept it competitive against a top tier offense. He made some pitches and he continued to stretch out. One of the key things for a starting pitcher is how to be competitive when it isn’t your night and keep your team in the game.
The Cubs did have seven hits and two walks. But that Brewers pitching staff is nasty. I continue to be amused that so many people wrote them off in the offseason. That organization is so exceedingly well run and they just continue plugging along. Absent a Cub World Series championship, I think it would be great for MLB to get a Brewers/Rays World Series. Two teams that don’t spend much money but just consistently make good personnel decisions. A reminder that, though spending can give you an upper hand, that scouting and player development still matter.
I find myself wishing there was a fast forward button on all of this. As much as I hate to miss part of the journey, these times aren’t much fun. I know it’s just a matter before this team reaches the next chapter and gets back into the fight. But they are really going through it right now. I still firmly believe there are better days ahead and that this team will be in contention for a division title, will make the playoffs and have a fighting chance to win some games when they get there.
Three Positives:
- Nico Hoerner had two singles and a walk. He drove in one of the two runs they scored. The one time the Brewers got him out, he crushed one into the left-center gap that just hung too long.
- Seiya Suzuki had a pair of hits and drove in the other run.
- Phil Maton worked a scoreless ninth, facing the minimum and struck out one. Low leverage, but it’s an outing he needed.
Game 49, May 19: Brewers 5, Cubs 2 (29-20)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Nico Hoerner (.149). 2-3, BB, RBI
- Hero: Jacob Webb (.023). IP, 5 BF, 2 H
- Sidekick: Caleb Thielbar (.019). IP, 4 BF, H
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Alex Bregman (-.165). 0-4
- Goat: Ben Brown (-.118). 5 IP, 25 BF, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 R, 6 K (L 1-2)
- Kid: Michael Conforto (-.099). 0-1
WPA Play of the Game: With runners at first and second and two outs in the first, the game still scoreless, Garrett Mitchell hit a seeing eye grounder, driving in the first run. (.107)
Cubs Play of the Game: Christian Yelich batted with runners on first and third and one out in the third, the Brewers up one. Ben Brown struck him out. (.065)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Game 48 Winner: Michael Busch received 74 of 140 votes.
Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)
The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.
- Michael Busch +16
- Michael Conforto +14
- Shōta Imanaga +10
- Nico Hoerner +9.5
- Alex Bregman +4.5
- Ryan Rolison -8
- Phil Maton -9
- Matt Shaw -10
- Dansby Swanson -11
- Seiya Suzuki -18
Current Win Pace: 95.88 wins
Up Next: The third and final game of the series. Edward Cabrera (3-1, 4.05, 51 IP) makes his 10th start of the season. He allowed three runs in 4.2 IP in his last start. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out two. He hasn’t won since April 28. Better at home, better during the day. He needs to turn things around and give this team a fighting chance.
24-year-old Kyle Harrison (4-1, 2.09, 38.2 IP) will make his ninth start. The third round pick of the Giants in 2020 (85th overall) threw five scoreless in his last outing. He held the Padres to five hits and no walks while striking out seven and picked up the win. The Cubs continue to be in the top 5 against left-handed pitching. Harrison has been pretty good, but hopefully they can get to him. The Cubs saw him once last year at Wrigley as a member of the Giants. He was a reliever and worked a clean inning.
Find a way. Stop the skid.
Go Cubs.
