Brewers fall to Cubs 4-3

WP: Tyler Chatwood (4-0); LP: Brandon Woodruff (0-1); Save: Justin Hancock (3); Home runs: Mil - none; Chi - Ian Happ (6)

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers (18-9-2) missed an opportunity to clinch the Cactus League title, falling to the Chicago Cubs (17-11) 4-3 in Mesa this afternoon. The Brewers can win the title with a win in either of their last two games.

The Cubs scored first on a lead-off homer in the bottom of the first by Ian Happ. Happ’s sixth homer of the spring came off of Brewers’ starter Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff then held the Cubs off the board until the bottom of the fifth, when the Cubs notched two on three doubles (including one by Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood), and a single.

The Brewers scored single runs in the second and fourth to take a brief 2-1 lead. Keon Broxton’s double drove in Manny Pina, who had also doubled for the tally in inning two, and Broxton’s single scored Eric Sogard, who had doubled, in the fourth.

Milwaukee got within a run in the seventh on an RBI groundout from Travis Shaw, scoring Jesus Aguilar. With the tying run at third, Domingo Santana flew out to end the inning.

Jeremy Jeffress, Matt Albers, and Yovani Gallardo worked an inning each, with only Albers allowing a hit, nobody walked a batter, and nobody gave up any runs. Eric Sogard had two of the Brewers seven hits.

The Crew gets another chance to wrap up the Cactus Cup tomorrow afternoon against the Athletics on the road. It looks to be a better pitching match-up as Jhoulys Chacin (2-1, 0.87) goes for the Brewers against the A’s Santiago Casilla and his 13.50 ERA.