Chicago Cubs were too late on figuring out Anderson who flirted with history

For the second time this season, the Chicago Cubs suffered their second consecutive loss. This time around, an unexpected pitcher flirted with another no-hitter, limiting this powerful offense to two runs.

Well, that did not go as planned. Or at least most of us didn’t expect someone who has struggled in his previous five starts to flirt with a perfect game let alone a no-hitter. That’s exactly what Chase Anderson did tonight against the first-place Chicago Cubs.

Anderson (2-5, 5.32 ERA) was cruising through this heavy hitting lineup by not giving up a base runner until he walked veteran catcher Miguel Montero in the top of the sixth inning with only one out.

After blowing through the first eight frames, the Cubs (27-10) were finally able to figure him out as Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant pulled together for back-to-back home runs with two outs, knocking him out of the game.

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Too bad right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-3, 3.51 ERA) couldn’t receive that run support early on while Milwaukee (17-22) chewed him up in the sixth.

Bryant, who homered in the ninth, almost had himself extra bases in the very first inning but was robbed by center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Nieuwenhuis made a leaping grab against the fence, snagging the ball out of the air.

An impressive play that really set the tone for the rest of the evening. Which opened the door for Anderson to chew through Joe Maddon‘s club in 8 2/3 innings of work. He walked one and struck out six before he was pulled in the ninth.

Milwaukee received a boost from veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy during the home half of the fourth when he launched his sixth home run of the season to deep left field. As soon as Lucroy made contact, Kyle’s head dropped almost immediately.

Next: Hendricks ready for next step?

But the home team wasn’t done just yet. Two innings later, outfielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Chris Carter extended their lead to run runs on an RBI single and double, forcing Maddon to call upon Trevor Cahill.

And just when we thought the Cubs were going to head into the ninth without recording a hit, second baseman Ben Zobrist came through with their first hit. Zobrist lined a leadoff double out to straight away center field but Chicago failed to push him across home plate.