Game Recap: Caissie delivers as Cubs take down Brewers

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

CHICAGO - There are three guarantees in the city of Chicago this summer. Death, taxes, and Chicago Cubs (71-54) left hander Matthew Boyd taking care of business at home. Entering his start on Tuesday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers (79-46), Boyd came into play with a perfect 9-0 mark at Wrigley Field and a 1.75 ERA.

Throw in the fact that he is 4-0 when Reese McGuire catches him, and this seemed like one of those games where the Cubs could win. Much like his previous start against the Brewers, Milwaukee made him work, and he wasn't as sharp as he would've liked to be, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings. That aside, it was the Willi Castro and Owen Caissie duo that led the Cubs to victory as they combined for all six runs in what was a 6-4 Cubs win.

Still eight games out of first with the win, this is one of those games where you like to call it baby steps, as any victory over the Brewers is a confidence boost at this point. Facing off against Chad Patrick, who was making his first MLB start since July 5, it was the Cubs who had the pressure on immediately as they were looking to send a message early.

Following a one-out Ian Happ double and a walk by Seiya Suzuki, Happ found himself thrown out at home trying to advance on a Pete Crow-Armstrong grounder. All was not lost as Castro extended the inning by reaching on an error, setting the stage for the kid Caissie, who connected for his first career RBIs as his single put the Cubs in front 2-0. Given how Boyd has fared at home, you had to like the position that the Cubs were in, but this is a Brewers team that makes life miserable for most pitchers, and you saw that in the second inning.

After striking out the first batter to begin the second, it was the patience of the Brewers that started to pay off, as two consecutive walks had them in business. Two batters later, it was a third walk, loading the bases, as Brandon Lockridge earned his walk with a 10-pitch at bat to put the Cubs in a massive spot. Despite throwing 34 pitches in the second inning, Boyd made the pitches he needed to make and managed to get out of the second damage damage-free to keep the Cubs in front 2-0.

Normally, those are the situations the Brewers thrive in, so to see Boyd get through that jam without damage was a massive lift for this team. Already with two runs from the top of the order, it was that part of the lineup that gave Patrick issues in the third as another walk to Suzuki set the offense up with Crow-Armstrong dropping in a bloop double to put a pair of runners in scoring position and one out.

That is when the big blow of the game came as Castro connected for the biggest swing of his Cubs career, as his three-run shot not only put the Cubs in front 5-0, but would go down as the game-winning hit. Despite the massive lead, no lead is safe against this Brewers offense, and with Christian Yelich making this a 5-1 game with a solo shot in the fourth, you started to get that feeling that a comeback was coming.

Then came the fifth as Lockridge continued to have his way with the Cubs ' left-hander, picking up a leadoff double to set the Brewers up yet again. Lockridge came in to score on a Sal Frelick single shortly after as Milwaukee was starting to claw back 5-2. Given the short outing that Cade Horton had on Monday, the Cubs needed Boyd to get through six, but with Andrew Vaughn leading things off with a ground rule double, you could see the panic starting to set in.

Not only was the panic setting in, but Milwaukee was starting to tee off on Boyd with Brice Turang picking up another RBI single to make this a 5-3 game. That was the final hitter Boyd would face as his day came to an end with three walks and three strikeouts, and he was responsible for the runner on base.

With Brad Keller now called on to pitch, Keller came close to limiting the damage, but another two-out single from Frelick made this a 5-4 game and had the Brewers' dugout buzzing. That was all the Brewers would be able to muster off Keller as he got through the rest of the sixth with the lead intact, 5-4.

Needing a big lift to take the momentum back from Milwaukee, it was the Canadian Crusher providing that lift, going the other way for this second hit of the game and first career homer to stretch the Cubs' lead to 6-4. That would be all the offense they would need as the trio of Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz, and Daniel Palenica was nails late, as they combined to close things out for the Cubs' 6-4 win.