Chicago Cubs drop series to Milwaukee Brewers in 5-3 loss

Aramis Ramirez lifts Brewers over Cubs in series finale

With the Chicago Cubs trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Brewers’ closer Francisco Rodriguez would slam the door once again, this time locking up the series win for his last place team.

More from Chicago Cubs News

Outfielder Chris Denorfia was able to get himself on base in the ninth inning on a single to center field off K-Rod in hopes of stringing together a rally. Former Cub and veteran third baseman Aramis Ramirez snagged two hard hit line drives that were hit in his direction for two outs while Dexter Fowler struck out swinging.

Ramirez got the Brewers (7-18) on the board first with a solo home run to center field, his third bomb of the season which made it 1-0 in the top of the second. The Cubs (13-10) were unable to take advantage of a one out Jorge Soler double in the bottom half of the first as Anthony Rizzo grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Kris Bryant flied out to Carlos Gomez in center field.

After Montero led off the home teams half of the second with a single, shortstop Starlin Castro walked a seven-pitch walk, moving his primary catcher into scoring position with Chris Coghlan due up. Montero would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by starting pitcher Jason Hammel, tying things up at one apiece after Coghlan flew out to Ryan Braun.

Hammel (2-1, 3.73 ERA) exited the game after six innings of work, holding the Brewers to just three earned runs on five hits including the solo bomb given up to Ramirez in the second inning.

Jimmy Nelson (1-2, 4.03 ERA) picked up an extra 2/3 inning since his spot in the lineup hadn’t reached the plate in the top half of the seventh. Nelson worked a total of 6 2/3 frames with three earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Chicago’s offense came alive in the fifth when Anthony Rizzo made it a 3-2 ballgame on his first triple of the season on a tower flyball to center field that bounced off the brick covered ivy. Bryant followed that up with a double on a pop up to second baseman Elian Herrera, allowing Rizzo to score, tying things up at three apiece.

Set up man Pedro Strop and Jean Segura had themselves a scary moment in the eighth inning after a pitch got away from Chicago’s set up man. Segura was lining up to bunt with runners in scoring position and no outs when the ball struck him in the brim of his helmet.

Both Montero and Strop signaled for trainers as soon as Segura went down. Segura eventually shook it off and wanted to attempt to continue to play, but exit just seconds later as he was replaced by a pinch-runner.

Ramirez, who homered early in the game, drilled a pitch to left field moments later to give his team the 5-3 lead. That’s all Milwaukee would need to pick up their first series win of the season.

What Stood Out:

The strikeout totals from this lineup dropped by five compared to yesterday’s outing, but they still managed to leave 16 on base. After a great start to the season in the month of April and Jon Lester‘s outing just two days ago, things just haven’t gone their way since.

Dropping two straight to the worst team in the division isn’t what you want when you’re preparing yourselves to take on the first-place St. Louis Cardinals starting tomorrow. The Cardinals have won five straight including an extra innings contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday evening, despite losing their ace pitcher, Adam Wainwright.

What’s Next:

After a disappointing weekend against Milwaukee, the Cubs will look to redeem themselves on the road against the Cardinals (17-6) as Travis Wood picks up the start. Wood (2-1, 3.04 ERA) is coming off a strong outing against the Pirates on Apr. 28 – a game where he surrendered two earned runs on seven hits and nine strikeouts.

Starting opposite of Wood will be young right-hander, Carlos Martinez. Martinez (3-0, 1.74 ERA) appears to have taken over the role of ‘ace’ after Wainwrights injury with five solid starts to begin the year.

So far this season, Martinez has given up only five earned runs on 17 hits with 10 walks and 24 strikeouts.

First pitch for tomorrow night’s game is slated for 7:10 pm central time and will be aired live on both CSN, ESPN and WBBM 780.

Next: Cubs' May Schedule Will Be Tough