The Milwaukee Brewers took on the Chicago Cubs in the last game these two teams would play in the regular season. The Cubs controlled every aspect of this game, and the Brewers were really bad in most aspects of the game of baseball today.
First and foremost, the Cubs starting pitcher was outstanding. Alec Mills did what a lot of pitchers have done to the Brewers’ offense this season. He shut them down. The difference in this case, was that Mills no-hit them. On 113 pitches, the unheralded pitcher played toss with his catcher all afternoon, and Milwaukee had no answer. At the end of his day the former college walk-on would have a major league no-hitter under his belt.
While Alec Mills was pitching the game of his life, the Brewers defense was letting Milwaukee’s starter, Adrian Houser, down. And once that happened, Houser could be excused if he were mentally flabbergasted, especially after he threw about 600 pitches in the top of the fourth.
Houser was pitching well going into the aforementioned fourth inning. As has been the case in some other outings, however, a big inning got him and that inning was the fourth. As was mentioned the position player group did not perform well in the field in the fourth inning. To illustrate that point, the Cubs scored five runs in the inning and everyone one of the runs was unearned.
Houser did walk Kyle Schwarber with one out in the inning. Eric Sogard next committed an error on a ground ball by Javier Baez. With runners on first and second, Jason Heyward doubled allowing Schwarber to score. Baez would score on an error by Keston Hiura when he was unable to secure the ball on a dribbler by Jason Kipnis.
Victor Caratini blooped a single over the head of Orlando Arcia. Heyward scored. Houser hit David Bote with a pitch that grazed his forearm, which loaded the bases. Ian Happ laced a single to left that scored two more and made it a 5-0 game.
Houser did come out for the top of the fifth, but he was unable to get an out. Schwarber walked off of him and Baez doubled off of him.
J.P. Feyereisen replaced Houser, and he was the victim of an odd play too. The play in question came off a fly ball from Jason Kipnis. Schwarber tagged and scored on the play. Baez also tagged and was safe at third. Eric Sogard then threw to second base thinking that Baez may have left early. Baez took off for home and was called safe for the seventh run of the game.
Craig Counsell came out to argue. He was likely arguing that time was called when Baez scored. Whether it was or was not, the umpires allowed the run and threw the Brewers’ manager out of the game.
After that, the wheels came off a little bit more. Victor Caratini walked, and David Bote followed with a 2-run shot.
The Cubs would score one more run in the seventh inning and two more in the ninth. Jason Heyward would score all the way from first base on a double by Caratini. The score was 10-0. In the ninth it would be 12-0 when the Brewers sent Orlando Arcia to the mound to mop up. Jason Heyward scored on a ground-rule double by Jason Kipnis. Kipnis scored on a sacrifice fly by David Bote.
With every game looking more and more like a must win, Milwaukee owns its own destiny over the next sixteen games. Ten of those games come against the N.L. Central’s second place team, the St. Louis Cardinals. The first and second of those games is tomorrow as they play a double header against their nemesis. In game one, Kwang Hyun Kim is scheduled to go for the Cardinals while Ponce de Leon is scheduled to go in game two for them. The Brewers have not formally announced their starting pitchers for tomorrow.
It is put up or shut up time for Milwaukee. But the Brewers have to pick themselves up off the mat first after two very difficult losses in a row. The games against the Cardinals can be seen on Fox Sports Wisconsin and heard on WTMJ 620.