Game Recap: Brewers blank Cubs in crucial series

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

CHICAGO - In what could be the Chicago Cubs' (70-54) last stand if they want any shot at a division title, the Cubs kicked off a massive five-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers (79-45) Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Monday was an extra busy day as the Cubs and Brewers were taking part in a split doubleheader after an earlier game got postponed due to rain.

If game one is any indication of how things will go this week, the Cubs are in for a long series as the Brewers took care of business in game one, 7-0. As has been the case for most of his career, Freddy Peralta took the ball for the Brewers and continued to make life miserable for the Cubs. Peralta did struggle with his command at times, walking three, but with six strikeouts and one hit allowed across six shutout frames, the Cubs had no answers for him as he improved to 15-5 with a sparkling 2.78 ERA.

Facing off against Peralta was the ever-improving rookie Cade Horton, who went from a fringe rotation guy to arguably their second or third best starter. Horton got off to another great start with one walk and three strikeouts across 2 2/3, but was forced to leave the game in the third with a blister. That alone put even more pressure on the struggling Cubs as they needed to tax their bullpen far more than they wanted to this early in the series.

Neither team was able to get much going in the early innings, with Seiya Suzuki picking up the only hit off Peralta in the first, only to have Milwaukee deliver a pair of singles in the second to put Horton on the ropes. As he has done so often before, Horton found a way to escape trouble, as this was a 0-0 game entering the third.

All it took for the Brewers to win this game was one big fly off the bat of Brice Turang as he connected for a solo shot off Horton to put the Brewers on top for good, 1-0. Caleb Durbin followed that up with a double before a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases, which proved to be the end of the road for Horton as he was lifted in favor of Drew Pomeranz.

Despite the Cubs' early struggles, they had an opportunity to break through in the fourth, and it was their patient approach that was paying off as Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Carson Kelly all took walks to load the bases with one out. As has been the case for a while now, the Cubs were unable to do anything with that scoring chance as Owen Caissie struck out ahead of a Nico Hoerner flyout, and that was that for the Cubs' offense.

Already with one homer in the game, Durbin made it two solo shots for the Brewers as he took Taylor Rogers way out to left field in the fifth to make this a 2-0 game. That was the beginning of the end for the Cubs as Luke Little retired the first two hitters he faced to begin the sixth, only to walk the next two to keep the inning alive. Those walks were followed by what looked to be a harmless Joey Ortiz single, only to have Little throw the ball away for an error, which led to the Brewers' third run and a 3-0 game.

Still holding that lead in the eighth, the relentless Brewers offense continued to capitalize on the Cubs' sloppy play as it was Gavin Hollowell's turn to struggle. What looked to be a promising start to the inning turned into a nightmare scenario as three consecutive walks loaded the bases with one out.

Unlike the Cubs, who can't figure out a way to get runners in during these situations, the Brewers can, as Ortiz and Turang followed suit with a pair of singles to push the lead to 5-0 as the bases remained loaded. Hollowell finally was able to pick up an out, but it came at a cost as Durbin brought home another run on a groundout, only to have a wild pitch lead to the fourth run of the inning and the final run of the game for the Brewers.

The lone bright spot for the Cubs in this one was watching Owen Caissie pick up his first career hit off Abner Uribe in the seventh, in what was otherwise an ugly game. Next up for the Cubs is the return of Jameson Taillon as he will face Chad Patrick in game two if Mother Nature cooperates.