Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/6/21): Brewers 4, Cubs 0 – Alzolay Struggles Early, Offense Falls Asleep

The Cubs (3-2) entered Tuesday’s contest winners of three straight, including game one of the series against the Brewers (2-3). Pitching for the first time this season, 26-year-old Adbert Alzolay took the mound against Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta.

Alzolay looked to follow in the footsteps of Jake Arrieta, Zach Davies, and Trevor Williams, all of whom pitched at least six innings. Coming off a tough spring (0-3, 10.57 ERA), the team hoped he would take a step in the right direction and hold off a Brewers offense that had been scuffling since their 6-5 win over the Twins on Opening Day. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Alzolay had a shaky start to the night and quickly found himself down 3-0 after a Travis Shaw home run in the top of the 1st inning. In the 4th, he served up a solo shot to Cubs killer Omar Narvaez and was pulled after five. He gave up four earned runs on four hits and two walks, striking out four batters. 

The Cubs had no offense to speak of in this one, recording only one hit. On the bright side, they were strong defensively and their bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Lost

A less than stellar performance from Alzolay and poor hitting led to the loss. 

Key Moment(s)

With two on and two out in the 2nd inning, David Bote sent a deep fly ball to left-center that died on the warning track. If it had been able to find the basket, the score would have been tied and it would have been a completely different game.  

Stats That Matter

• Alzolay has now made 11 total appearances for the Cubs, seven as a starter.
• Dillon Maples struck out four in two innings of work.
• The Brewers held the Cubs to one hit for the first time in franchise history.

Bottom Line

You’re going to have these kinds of games in a long season, especially early on with teams still working out the kinks. The Cubs would take the series with a win on Wednesday and that’s all that matters.

On Deck

The series finale is Wednesday afternoon at 1:20pm CT as Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 9.00 ERA) tries to bounce back after an uncharacteristically poor outing in the opener. The Brewers will send Brandon Woodruff (0-0, 6.75 ERA) to the mound for his second start of the season in a game that is available on Marquee, 670 The Score, and Univision Deportes Radio.