Chicago Cubs: Brewers rally, walk-off in the ninth to even series

An RBI single by Orlando Arcia in the bottom of the ninth evened the series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs at a game apiece.

With men on the corners and one away in the bottom of the ninth, Milwaukee Brewers infielder Orlando Arcia lined a single to right field, sending the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 loss and evening the series up.

Milwaukee (5-3) got the inning going when Manny Pina drew a one-out walk against Mike Montgomery. Pinch-hitter Hernan Perez followed with a slow chopper to third baseman Kris Bryant. The Cubs third baseman threw the ball away, allowing Pina to advance to third and put runners on the corners.

Then, Arcia followed with the game-winning knock – his only hit of the ballgame.

Chicago (3-4) got a mixed bag start from Kyle Hendricks. The right-hander kept the Brewers off the board for the first four innings before allowing a pair of two-run home runs in the fifth – one to  center off the bat of Eric Thames and the other to deep right field from Travis Shaw, giving Milwaukee a 4-2 advantage.

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The Cubs opened the scoring in the first, getting two runs off starter Brandon Woodruff. A pair of RBI singles from Addison Russell and Victor Caratini played the tallies – with the entire stream of hits coming with two out in the inning.

After the Brewers took the lead, El Mago struck again, lining a ball into the right-center field gap. As he slid into third with a triple, the throw from the cutoff man got past the third baseman. This allowed him to scurry home and tie the game, 4-4.

There, the score remained until Arcia broke the tie in the bottom of the ninth, sending the Brewers to a big win over the rival Cubs.

Mixed results for the offense

The Chicago offense managed a 3-for-10 mark with runners in scoring position on the night. But, still, they failed to really put their foot down early. They had Woodruff on the ropes and could’ve stomped out any hope Milwaukee had of getting back in the series. Instead, the bats managed just the two runs and let the Brewers hang around.

No Cubs player managed more than one base hit on the night. Kyle Schwarber reached twice – but struck out four times, batting third in lieu of Anthony Rizzo‘s late scratch due to back tightness.

Despite the ending, bullpen strong again

Hendricks handled the first five innings before handing things over to the pen. The relief corps allowed just the game-winning run – a total of one run and three hits during their body of work.

Justin Wilson, after helping the Cubs escape a jam in the late innings, got a case of the yips, and departed without allowing a run – but he did walk three hitters. This was a major issue last season for the left-hander, so keep an eye on him next time he gets the ball.

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What to Look For

With Rizzo out of action, who steps up to lead this club offensively? Addison Russell has looked good, but it’s hard to peg him as a clubhouse leader and consistent threat.

As far as pitching goes, the Cubs need a strong start from Yu Darvish, who badly struggled in his regular season debut. The bullpen worked a decent amount already this series. A deep outing from the righty could go a long way in taking the weight off their shoulders.