Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/25/20): Brewers 8, Cubs 3 – Bullpen Issues Bury Cubs
After a terrific opening start from Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs sought to win their first series of the year against the Brewers Saturday. Unfortunately, Yu Darvish and the rest of the Chicago pitching staff didn’t have it and Milwaukee won easily.
Willson Contreras gave the Cubs the lead with a run-scoring single in the 1st, but a bizarrely botched rundown in the top of the 2nd led to Eric Sogard‘s game-tying hit. A couple of inside pitches from Brewers starter Corbin Burnes caused both teams to engage in a socially-distanced shouting match in the 4th.
The dust-up was followed by Ben Gamel hitting a two-run triple against Darvish to give the road team a 3-1 lead. Justin Smoak homered off of Duane Underwood in the 5th and it was 4-1.
Kyle Schwarber restored hope with a long two-run homer against Brent Suter in the bottom of the inning. That ended quickly when Christian Yelich took Brad Wieck deep for his own two-run jack.
Two more runs against James Norwood in the 7th increased the lead to 8-3. A bases-loaded chance in the bottom of the inning went for naught and the Cubs lost for the first time in 2020 (box score).
Why the Cubs Lost
The Brewers bullpen quite handily outperformed the Cubs crew Saturday.
Key Moment
Yelich’s 6th inning blast restored Milwaukee’s lead and blunted any Chicago comeback.
Stats That Matter
- Kris Bryant hasn’t had a hit or a walk in two games.
- Good to see Schwarber take a lefty deep.
- Rex Brothers and Dillon Maples did not allow runs, so it was not all bad bullpen news.
Bottom Line
The ‘pen was a concern for the Cubs heading into the season and performances like Saturday’s are not going ease those worries.
On Deck
The series wraps up Sunday afternoon at 1:20pm CT as Tyler Chatwood battles Freddy Peralta in a game aired on Marquee.
