Whichever move the Cubs choose to make, there will likely be more bullpen shuffling very soon.
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Kirk Nieuwenhuis has to be asking himself that question.
Sellout crowds peppered with Chicago Cubs fans have made the past two games at Miller Park feel like Wrigley Field North, and the National League Central leaders expect more of the same Sunday in the finale of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kemp hit a solo shot in the first inning and gave San Diego the lead for good with a three-run homer in the fifth.
But the story of the game was Nieuwenhuis, a.195 hitter for the season coming in.
The Brewers tacked on two more runs in the fifth.
Brewers: Chase Anderson (4-10) opens a four-game series against his former club, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He got a quick 2-0 lead with which to work thanks to a first-inning homer by Lucroy.
Brewers: RHP Zach Davies (6-4) has turned into one of the team’s top starters in his first full year in the majors.
Tommy La Stella, who went 3 for 3, had an RBI double before Smith (1-3) walked Kris Bryant to load the bases for Rizzo.
The Brewers loaded the bases with two outs in the third but Lackey escaped by striking out Chris Carter. He singled leading off the third but was doubled off when Ramon Flores lined to third with Nieuwenhuis running for a DP; then homered off of Lackey to push the Brewers lead to 3-0 in the fourth, and walked with two down in the sixth.
Lackey took a rare home loss his last time out, allowing four runs on six hits over eight innings with eight strikeouts and two walks against the Rangers. He had retired 10 straight batters when Ben Zobrist opened the seventh with a hit.
But the lead evaporated against Smith, normally one of the league’s toughest left-handed relievers. With one down in the bottom half of the inning, Braun collected his second hit of the night with a single to right, and Warren walked Luc on four pitches, looking like he wanted no part of him. Cubs manager Joe Maddon gave OF Dexter Fowler a day off Sunday.
As you can see, the only year (before now) in which the Cubs had a 39-year-old catcher and a 41-year-old pitcher was 1940, when Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett and Cubs ace Charlie Root were in the twilight of their careers. Despite clear and convincing evidence that Hernan was safe the call was upheld.
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Tyler Thornburg needed just 12 pitches to record a 1-2-3 eighth. “I took the first couple of days off before I went to Colorado, then had a regular bullpen session, then went home and just tossed every day”.
