Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/12/24): Cubs 6, Brewers 5 – Steele Shines, Wisdom Walks Off Win

The Cubs welcomed the rival Milwaukee Brewers to Sloan Park Tuesday night and put out a lineup that will be very close to the one they will use on Opening Day. Chicago got an outstanding performance from their ace starter and eventually took home the win via a walk-off home run.

Justin Steele was very sharp on Tuesday, striking out nine Milwaukee batters in just over four innings of work. William Contreras did the only damage against the Cubs left-hander with an RBI double in the 3rd inning.

Contreras then hit a three-run home run off of Julian Merryweather in the top of the 5th to put the Brewers ahead 4-0. Chicago responded immediately in the bottom of the frame, capitalizing on some shaky defense from their opponents to tie the score.

David Peralta, who hasn’t seen much action this spring, tripled to knock in a run and then scored on a Yan Gomes single to cut the deficit in half. Cody Bellinger knocked a hit off the glove of the first baseman to even things up.

José Cuas gave up his first run of the spring in the 6th on a Joey Ortiz single, but Gomes got that right back in the bottom half with another clutch RBI knock. The game remained even until Patrick Wisdom blasted a long homer in the bottom of the 9th to earn the Cubs a 6-5 victory. (Box score)

[W]isdom [W]alkoff! pic.twitter.com/RBXST5Y52d

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 13, 2024

Why the Cubs Won

They were able to battle back from a deficit with the help of some sloppy defense by their opponent.

Stats That Matter

• Bellinger reached base twice on Tuesday with a walk in addition to his RBI single.
• Peralta had two hits in his first game for the Cubs.
• Gomes looks like he is in midseason form, getting hits with men in scoring position.

Bottom Line

Steele appears very much ready to go as the Opening Day starter and the Cubs definitely need him to have a big year. The lineup shouldn’t have a lot of easy outs this season.

On Deck

Chicago heads to Goodyear Wednesday afternoon to take on the Guardians at 3:05pm CT. Kyle Hendricks makes the start and there is no television coverage of the game.