Brewers shut out Cubs again, 1-0

WP: Jhoulys Chacin (6-1); LP: Mike Montgomery: (2-2); Save: Corey Knebel (6); Homeruns: Chi - none; Mil - Lorenzo Cain (8)

lookee here - a Box Score

Jhoulys Chacin has started fifteen games for the Milwaukee Brewers (41-27), and the Crew has won twelve of them. Looks like one of the better FA pitcher signings of the off-season, doesn’t it? Today Chacin shut out the Chicago Cubs (38-27) over six innings, and the Brewers Top 3 relievers finished off Chicago in style for a series win, two straight wins over the Cubs, and a 1 ¹⁄₂ game lead over the Cubs in the NL Central.

The 1-0 winning margin was provided by a Lorenzo Cain third inning homerun off of Cubs starter Mike Montgomery:

Montgomery pitched very well for the Cubs, working six innings with just two hits allowed (Cain had a lead-off single in the bottom of the first). He walked one and struck out four. Three Cub relievers shut out Milwaukee over the seventh and eighth, with some Maddon-esqe maneuvering in the eighth to keep things 1-0 (see notes for details).

Chacin’s six innings included four hits allowed and three walks, along with seven strikeouts. Chacin used a variety of quick pitches, slide steps, hesitation pitches, as well a good curve/slider, good velocity, and a good change-up. He worked in trouble in the second (two out double, walk, and then a strikeout to end the inning), fourth (two two-out singles before a flyball to the wall), and fifth (two one-out walks followed by a strikeout of Tommy La Stella and a groundout by Anthony Rizzo).

Jeremy Jeffress gave up a one-out infield topped single but worked out of it with a strikeout in the seventh. Josh Hader, working on just one day’s rest, struck out the side around a two out bloop hit in the eighth, and Corey Knebel earned his sixth save with a perfect ninth, striking out the last two to preserve the win.

Notes:

The Brewers left runners on third with less than two outs in both the first and second. In the second, Hernan Perez struck out but reached second base when Cubs’ catcher Chris Giminez’ throw of a wild pitch on Montgomery’s third strike sailed over Rizzo. Perez stole third but Erik Kratz’ bloop to right was caught by a sliding Jason Heyward with Perez able to advance.

Milwaukee made some noise in the sixth and seventh with a lead-off walk in the sixth and a lead-off single and walk in the seventh, but double plays thwarted both threats.

Chicago used Steve Cishek and Brian Duensing alternately to get through the bottom of the eighth. Cishek allowed an infield single to Orlando Arcia leading off the inning, and with Erik Thames announced as a pinch-hitter Joe Maddon brought in Duensing for left fielder Kyle Schwarber, put him on the mound, and moved Cishek to left. After Thames fanned, Cishek came back to the mound with Duensing going to left; Cain bounced out to second on a 3-2 pitch with Arcia taking second, and Duensing came back in (with Willson Contreras now in left), and Christian Yelich flew out to the warning track in left...it would have been more fun to watch Cishek try and catch the drive.

The Brewer bullpen (Jeffress, Hader, and Knebel) combined to go three innings with two hits, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts.

The team will get a welcome day off (and a day to recover for avid Brewer fans...those were three extremely tense games) before welcoming in the Philadelphia Phillies (34-30 going into tonight’s home game against the Rockies). Milwaukee took two of three in Philadelphia last weekend, scoring twelve runs in each of the first two games before falling 4-3 in the finale. Scheduled starters are Jake Arrieta (5-4, 2,97) for the Phils and Brent Suter (6-4, 4,61) for the Crew.