Offense struggles in round two as the Brewers fall 2-1 to Cubs in 11 innings

WP: Mike Montgomery (3-6)
LP: Jared Hughes (3-3)
SV: Wade Davis (21)

HR: Jason Heyward (8)

Box Score

It’s been a good series for the pitching. It has kept the Brewers in every game in this series. On the other hand, the offense has not been as good.

It wasn’t a good day for Junior Guerra, though. In three innings, he was very erratic, allowing four walks and a hit, though also striking out four. He didn’t allow a run (in part due to some great defense), but only threw 31 of his 61 pitches for strikes. In any other game, manager Craig Counsell might have left Guerra in to get a few more innings. However, tonight, Counsell decided to have a quick hook with Guerra and pulled him there.

Needing some innings covered, Counsell turned to Josh Hader in the bullpen, and Hader gave Counsell some strong innings. Hader was a complete difference from Guerra, throwing 33 of his 53 pitches for strikes as he struck out six. He ate up three innings for the team, which were critical innings in a critical series for this Brewers team.

Unfortunately, the offense wasn’t up to the task of backing the pitching. They started strong again, as Ryan Braun drove in Eric Thames on a double in the first inning. That was it for the scoring, though.

The Brewers had their baserunners today, recording seven hits and five walks in the game. However, they went 0-for-7 with RISP tonight and left 11 men on base as a team. In the two games this series, they’ve gone 0-for-16 with RISP and left 17 runners on base. That will make it hard to win any game.

Meanwhile, the bullpen gave them every opportunity to win tonight, though some pitchers were more successful than others. Jacob Barnes pitched the seventh, and allowed a run on two hits and a hit batter to tie the game at 1-1. Anthony Swarzak made his second appearance as a Brewer and was much cleaner, pitching a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Corey Knebel also had two strikeouts in the ninth, but also allowed a walk. In extra innings, Carlos Torres led off and walked a batter, then gave way to Jared Hughes. He got through the tenth clean, but allowed a home run in the eleventh. Wade Davis closed it up for the Cubs, with just a walk allowed to Orlando Arcia.

The series will come down to the rubber match tomorrow afternoon. Zach Davies will face off against John Lackey in the final game of the series. First pitch is at 1:10 pm.