Chicago Cubs battle back to beat the Brewers in the 9th

Down to the 9th, the Chicago Cubs battled back for the win over the “high wire” Milwaukee Brewers.

The Chicago Cubs‘ Yu Darvish looked a little shaky early but rebounded to put up a solid effort. It took a solo home run by Kris Bryant to tie the game in the sixth. Overall, it was six quality innings from Darvish, who struck out nine while allowing just one run on two hits. It was the fourth inning home run from Eric Thames that ended up biting Darvish.

The Cubs (4-4) took their walks throughout the game, but none lead to any runs. One spot that might need a change is the leadoff spot. After his first swing home run, Ian Happ continues to struggle. He was 0-for-4 today with three strikeouts. Clearly, it’s a mental block, but Joe Maddon has to figure something out.

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Bryant to the rescue

In the top of the 8th, Bryant hit a deep fly ball to centerfield that Brewers (5-4) Lorenzo Cain couldn’t get a glove on. Bryant ended up at third, and the Cubs looked like they were in business.

But a drawn in infield caught Kyle Schwarber‘s looping liner for the second out. Willson Contreras then hit a fly ball to left, but Ryan Braun was able to battle the sun and get the Brewers out of the inning.

It was an innocent looking hit-by-pitch of Jett Bandy, but it turned out to be anything but. Eric Sogard hit a deep fly to right that Jason Heyward could catch up with that lead to a double to put runners on second and third.

Lorenzo Cain then hit a fly ball to right that was just deep enough to score Bandy from third, just ahead of Heyward’s throw.

Cubs get their chance

With Jacob Barnes on the hill for the save situation, the Cubs made their move. After Tommy La Stella popped out to Arcia, the Cubs got rolling–sort of. Victor Caratini reached on an error and then moved to second as the ball went into the dugout. Heyward then walked and Javier Baez hit a hot shot to Travis Shaw that he couldn’t make a play on.

Ben Zobrist then hit a ball to Thames that he made the play on, but couldn’t get it to first in time. Happ then followed with a two-run double as the Cubs took the lead. To make things even better? Jon Lester pinch hit and got the RBI with a sacrifice bunt.

Morrow finally gets a save

The Cubs’ Brandon Morrow finally got a save opportunity and made the most of it. In the Cubs eighth game, Morrow was going to get the work anyway. Maddon said it was likely he might have to “force the issue”. Luckily, the Cubs made it work so that he got the save chance.

Next: Don't worry about Rizzo, he'll be fine

What to look for

The Cubs used a late rally to beat the Brewers, but it’s not something they should count on. The Cubs didn’t have a ton of chances but also didn’t make the most of the ones they had. With Anthony Rizzo likely to miss tomorrow’s series finale, the Cubs will need to do anything they can to support Jose Quintana in his second start of the year.