A almost four-week stretch of games in late June and early July caused some to question them, but the Cubs have steadily asserted themselves as the alpha team.
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The Brewers got on the board with one swing of the bat when Chris Carter led off the bottom of the second with a homer to left, his 33rd of the season and third in three games.
The beauty of this Cubs team isn’t always in its stars, but in those who can step up when needed and come through big.
Kris Bryant went 0 for 5, ending his streak of consecutive games reaching base at a career-best 21. That’s the first time it happened, according to Elias. Coghlan pinch-hit for Kyle Hendricks in the top of the seventh inning and delivered an RBI single to put the Cubs in front. With two outs, Jorge Soler hit a 2-1 changeup for a soft liner to Ryan Braun in left field and score La Stella.
La Stella followed with an infield single that second baseman Scooter Gennett misplayed into the outfield, allowing Coghlan to score. Jason Heyward brought in another run on a fielder’s choice in the Cubs’ four-run eighth inning, good for his fifth RBI of the month.
“After like really awkward games, he has really picked us up”, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
Kyle keeps rolling: The most reliable Cubs starting pitcher came through yet again on Monday, giving up only one earned run in six innings of work.
Chris Coghlan came off the bench to drive in three runs Monday against the Brewers. Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia then slipped and fell on a ground ball hit by Anthony Rizzo, which led to Milwaukee getting just one out on what could have been a double play.
Hendricks retired the next five batters he faced until walking Nieuwenhuis in the fifth. Baez tried to advance on a fly ball hit by Miguel Montero. Hendricks allowed five hits on the day, walked two and struck out six. It wasn’t hard contact, it was just contact and they got rewarded for that. Before going on the DL with a hamstring injury, Smith posted a 7.36 ERA in 3 ⅔ innings pitched and gave up three home runs. This is probably the guy president Theo Epstein thought he was getting at the trade deadline. But beating the Chicago Cubs these days isn’t so easy. Buchanan worked a 1-2 count against Ryan Braun, who took Buchanan’s fourth offering, a 76 miles per hour curveball, into the left field stands for a home run to make it 7-2.
Javier Baez then bunted for what became a RBI hit when Carter charged in and no one covered first base.
The Cubs are closing in on their first division title since 2008, lowering their magic number to clinch the National League Central to 11 Sunday with a 3-2 win in 13 innings to take three of four from San Francisco.
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Adam Wainwright drove in three runs and survived five occasionally bumpy innings to pick up his first victory since mid-July as the St. Louis Cardinals drummed the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 on Monday. Over 24 starts and a 10-6 record, Davies has a 4.07 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP in 139.1 innings.
