Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/19/21): Cubs 6, Brewers 4 – Wisdom Sets Record to Avoid Sweep
What started out as same old, same old turned quickly into something entirely different and then took one more quick detour down Not Again Lane before finally ending. The Cubs jumped out to a lead in the 5th on Trayce Thompson‘s first homer with the team and first in MLB since May 3, 2018, but the Brewers bounced back with a pair of doubles in the bottom of the frame.
Keegan Thompson got the start and lasted only two innings, allowing no runs on one hit and two walks. He had just been activated and took the start in place of Adrian Sampson, who then served as the bulk starter for four innings. Even though the short outing was planned, it’s still a little disappointing to see the disparity in strikeouts and walks when he starts.
In 26 relief appearances, Thomson struck out 41 (10 K/9) with 20 walks (4.9), but he’s struck out only seven (4.7 K/9) with 10 walks (6.8 BB/9) as a starter. It didn’t come back to bite him in this one and we’re talking about a very small sample, but he’ll need to improve when it comes to putting batters away.
The Cubs were able to rally back with a 5-spot in the top of the 8th that featured big contributions from their trio of unlikely heroes. Matt Duffy doubled home Willson Contreras to knot the game up, then Frank Schwindel doubled Duffy home on the very next pitch. After David Bote walked, Patrick Wisdom tagged a 98 mph sinker for his record-setting 27th rookie homer.
That puts him ahead of Kris Bryant for the most ever by a Cubs rookie, though it’s still funny to note that Wisdom is four months older than Bryant right now. Either way, it’s a great story of perseverance from the 30-year-old.
Rowan Wick has sailed some rough waters recently and it looked for a moment like the game might be in jeopardy when his control issues led to two runs and loaded the bases with two out in the 9th. After sandwiching a walk between two outs, Wick issued another walk and then gave up back-to-back singles before handing out his third free pass of the afternoon.
Michael Rucker had to come on for the final out, inducing a sharp fly to center to end the game. (Box Score)
Why the Cubs Won
They got some big hits late and created just enough cushion to survive a poor outing from their closer.
Key Moment
The Wise-crack gets it because it was a record-setting blast that put the Cubs ahead for good.
Stats That Matter
- Over his last two outings, Wick has allowed 6 earned runs and has walked 5 with 3 Ks.
- Wisdom is batting .269 with a 150 wRC+ in his last 7 games, though he’s got a 48% K-rate in that same time.
- Schwindel has 20 multi-hit games in 44 total games with the Cubs.
Bottom Line
A win to close the season series with the Brewers felt pretty nice, especially after losing like 11 in a row to Bernie’s crew. The Cubs are holding steady with the eighth pick in the draft and don’t figure to move more than one spot in either direction from there unless something wild happens.
On Deck
The Cubs are off Monday before hosting the Twins for two at Wrigley starting with a 6:40pm CT game on Tuesday. Alec Mills is scheduled to face Griffin Jax, who I’m not sure is actually a real person.
