CI Recap (6/12/2018) – Brewers 4, Cubs 0: Cubs Offense Stifled by Brewer’s Anderson

After taking game one in this important three game series Monday night, the Cubs were set to square off against the Brewers for game two. Tyler Chatwood took the mound for the Cubs and lasted only five innings, as the Brewers jumped ahead early. A pair of two-run doubles by Travis Shaw and seven innings of one-hit baseball by Chase Anderson made it very difficult for the Cubs to overcome (Box Score).

Why The Cubs Lost

The Cubs offense struggled to get going against Chase Anderson, who pitched seven dominant innings and gave up only one hit and two walks. Tyler Chatwood gave up four runs (three earned) in the first three innings and the Cubs could never respond.

Key Moments

To start the second inning, Ben Zobrist took a leadoff walk, which was followed by a Willson Contreras single to put runners on first and second with zero outs. Javy Baez struck out for the first out, and Addison Russell lined out to the shortstop, who promptly stepped on second base to get Zobrist on the double play to end the inning. This ended up being the best scoring chance for the Cubs all night, as they only managed one more baserunner for the remainder of the game.

In the bottom of the third, with the Cubs trailing 2-0 and Christian Yelich on second base with zero outs, Lorenzo Cain came to the plate. Cain hit a ground ball up the middle and the Cubs had Yelich in a rundown between second and third base. Cain started to advance to second as Chatwood chased Yelich back to second base, which seemed like it was going to be the first out of the inning. Instead, first base was left unattended and Cain retreated to first and everyone was safe on the play. Chatwood surrendered a second two run double to Shaw to put the Brewers up 4-0. A heads up play by Cain and a defensive blunder by the Cubs allowed two runs to score instead of only one.

Stats That Matter

• 2 – The number of hits that the Cubs managed today. That won’t win you many games against this Brewers team, or any team.
• Anthony Bass and Luke Farrell did well out of the bullpen today and allowed some other key bullpen arms to get some rest- 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K
• Tyler Chatwood showed some improvement in limiting walks today – 5 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Bottom Line

The Cubs laid an egg in this one, but they get a chance on Wednesday to take the rubber match in the series and extend their streak of series wins to six. The winner of Wednesday’s game will win the series and leave with first place in the division.

On Deck

On Wednesday, the Cubs and Brewers engage in the rubber match of the series with the division lead on the line. Lefty Mike Montgomery will take the mound for the Cubs, while right-hander Jhoulys Chacin will be on the mound for the Brewers. First pitch is slated for 1:10pm CT and will air on WGN.