Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/23/24): Brewers 1, Cubs 0 – Taillon’s Terrific Outing Wasted in Shutout Loss

The Cubs continued offensive issues wasted another quality pitching effort Tuesday night. Jameson Taillon allowed just a single Brewers run in 7.1 outstanding innings of work but that was enough for the road team to secure a shutout victory.

Taillon generated 14 groundball outs and worked around a couple of jams with the help of a pair of double plays. Chicago was able to load the bases against Milwaukee starter Colin Rea in the 2nd inning but failed to score.

Manager Craig Counsell sent his starter back out for the 8th before pulling him with a man on third and one out. Taillon was relieved by the returning Julian Merryweather, who struck out Garrett Mitchell for the second out. Unfortunately for the Cubs, Brice Turang grounded an RBI single back up the middle to give the Brewers a 1-0 advantage.

The North Siders loaded the bases for a second time in the bottom of the 8th. Left-handed reliever Jared Koenig was able to get pinch-hitter David Bote to fly out to the warning track in right and maintain the Brew Crew lead.

Dansby Swanson singled and stole second in the 9th but he was stranded right there as Trevor Megill closed out the Milwaukee win. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs once again did nothing with the scoring chances they got on Tuesday. They stranded 10 men on base and could not get the one big hit they needed with the bases loaded.

Why the Cubs Lost

The pitching staff had to be perfect with no offensive support.

Stats That Matter

• Taillon definitely upped his trade value with this performance but I personally wouldn’t mind keeping him for two more years at a pretty reasonable salary: 7.1 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 K, and 3 BB.
• Swanson had a couple of singles and hit the ball hard.
• Nico Hoerner had a pair of hits including a double and has been the only hot hitter in the second half.

Bottom Line

It feels like since 2018 the Cubs have had the same issues with their lineup every year. Long stretches where the entire offense slumps at the exact same time. It’s a broken record, but the lack of an elite hitter like Bryce Harper or Shohei Ohtani really limits the ceiling on this unit. Until that problem is addressed I’m not sure things are ever going to change.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is Wednesday at 1:20pm CT. Justin Steele starts for Chicago and Milwaukee still has not named a pitcher in a game available on Marquee and 670 The Score.