Milwaukee counters with Chase Anderson.
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Wrigley Field was empty when Matt Adams made the final out on the West Coast, yet a loud cheer went up in the neighborhood around the iconic ballpark and several people honked their vehicle horns.
It’s been the unofficial motto of the Cubs for two seasons now, outlasting the somewhat limp corporate sheen of “Let’s Go”, and packing the same pithiness as the slogan-du-jour, “Try Not to Suck”, and it’s been evident that these Cubs are good since at least the middle of last season.
Even though the Chicago Cubs lost their Thursday night game against the Milwaukee Brewers, they still had great reason to celebrate afterwords, for the Saint Louis Cardinals losing 6-2 against the Giants gave the Cubs their first NL Central Division title since 2008.
Meanwhile, the Giants, leading the wild card race, and the Cardinals, who are one game out of a wild card spot and two games behind the Giants, will continue their series in San Francisco through Sunday.
It makes sense, though, because the Cubs played a day game Friday, meaning there wasn’t much time to wait around for the result of the Cardinals game. In a cruel twist, it was the Redbirds’ series-opening loss in San Francisco that sealed things for Chicago.
The Chicago Cubs became the first Major League Baseball team this season to clinch a division title Thursday. Chicago Cubs starter John Lackey throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, in Chicago. You know, this is one of our goals and steps to a bigger goal and so, hopefully there’s a lot more partying to go on, especially here at Wrigley. He was mobbed at home plate and the party got started.
The Cubs have claimed their first NL Central crown since 2008.
Montero homered in the 10th inning, and the Cubs celebrated the NL Central title with a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Brewers. After running roughshod over the rest of the majors for most of the season, Rizzo & Co. are trying to end the franchise’s famous championship drought, going all the way back to when the Cubs beat the Tigers in the 1908 World Series. Teams that finish with the best record in baseball have a 19 percent chance of holding the trophy at the end of the season-which jives with the Cubs’ chances that we’ve documented this season.
When you really boil it down, this may be the best opportunity the Cubs have at winning a World Series.
While Epstein wouldn’t comment on the specifics of the Cubs’ postseason roster, it’s unlikely that anything outside the realm of player health will affect those decisions. I don’t know this first hand, but I’m told that in the Wrigley Field souvenir shop fans can by a jersey with the Cubs emblem on it and the legend: “Any team can have a bad century”. What’s perhaps most impressive about the offense is it performed so well even though slugger Kyle Schwarber suffered a season-ending injury after two games and free-agent signing Jason Heyward has disappointed at the plate with a.228 average, six home runs and 43 RBI.
Albert Almora’s two-run homer in the fifth forced a 2-2 tie while Gennett clubbed his 13th home run of the season in the seventh – delivering his second go-ahead run in two games – to give Milwaukee a 4-2 lead. The Cubs aren’t going to do much interesting down the stretch, save keep the six-pitcher rotation with Mike Montgomery and audition bench players, so it’s worth it to keep an eye on the primary threat to the Cubs’ National League hegemony.
Milwaukee put runners at second and third with two out later in the inning and Arcia drove in Perez and Santana for a 3-2 lead with his double down the left field line. That’s about as close as I can imagine it’s like (to pitch in the playoffs).
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“If you have a good enough regular season, it’s time to play for what really matters”. Jimmy Nelson earned his eighth win and Tyler Thornburg got the final four outs for his 10th save. “Just hangin’ out with myself and watching the highlights on my way home and watching the game a little bit”, Ross said. You want people to say you’re good and they’re relying on you tonight.
