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Javier Assad simply could not throw strikes Monday at Wrigley Field. How bad was it? Only 41 strikes in 76 pitches while recording only 10 outs. How bad was it? From BCB’s JohnW53:
The last Cubs starter before Javier Assad Monday to walk at least six batters was Robert Stock, on June 16, 2021, in four innings at New York against the Mets. He was charged with five runs on four hits, including a home run.
In 2019, Yu Darvish walked seven and six, and Cole Hamels walked six.
In 2018, Tyler Chatwood walked seven in two games and six in four more.
In the end, though, all those walks didn’t matter because the Brewers chose Monday’s game to play the “don’t hit with RISP” thing that the Cubs have done so many times this year. Milwaukee went 1-for-9 with RISP dnd left eight men on base in the first four innings alone.
The Cubs bullpen continued its recent good play and the Cubs generated just enough offense for a 3-1 win in the first of this three-game series.
Neither team scored over the first two innings and then the Cubs got to work in the third. Miguel Amaya, who’s been playing much better overall lately, beat out an infield hit and advanced to second on one of the weirdest balks I think I’ve ever seen — Brewers starter Tobias Myers basically lost his balance and flipped over while trying to deliver a pitch.
Thus Amaya’s on second for Michael Busch’s RBI single [VIDEO].
In the fourth, Assad issued the last two of his six walks after retiring the first batter. That’s when Craig Counsell had seen enough and summoned Drew Smyly, who immediately gave up a single to load the bases. Smyly got the second out on a force play at the plate, and then retired William Contreras to end the inning [VIDEO].
The Cubs extended the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Mike Tauchman singled with one out. Dansby Swanson then hit a comebacker that Myers threw into center field, putting runners on first and second. One out later, Amaya walked to load the bases.
Tauchman then scored on this wild pitch [VIDEO].
The third and last Cubs run was Ian Happ’s 16th home run of the year [VIDEO].
Some home runs go high in the air. That one was a laser beam of a line drive [VIDEO].
So it was up to the pen to finish things off, and they did. Smyly, Tyson Miller, Mark Leiter Jr., Porter Hodge and Hector Neris threw 5⅔ innings, allowed four hits and a run and struck out five. The only blemish was a solo home run by Willy Adames that broke a streak of 18 straight scoreless innings thrown by Cubs relievers dating back to the final game before the All-Star break in St. Louis.
After having lots of traffic on the bases in the first four innings, the Brewers had just three hits from the fifth through the ninth, one of them Adames’ home run.
Neris, who had been so shaky earlier this year, has been much better lately. He allowed a one-out double but finished things off for his 14th save with this ground ball [VIDEO].
Here are Craig Counsell’s postgame comments [VIDEO].
The Cubs remained 3½ games out of the last wild card spot and moved to nine games out of first place in the NL Central. Jed Hoyer has said the team is likely not going to be a buyer at the trade deadline — now a week from today! — but if they can win like this over the next week, maybe they won’t be sellers, either. Since the beginning of the Baltimore series before the All-Star break, the Cubs are 8-4 and have allowed just 32 runs in those 12 games, an average of 2.67 runs per game — and that includes giving the Cardinals 11 runs in one of those games. Cubs pitching has been excellent recently. Start hitting and wins should follow.
The Cubs will go for two straight over Milwaukee and three in a row overall Tuesday evening at Wrigley Field. Jameson Taillon gets the start for the Cubs and Colin Rea goes for Milwaukee. Game time is again 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
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