Gausman strikes out 9, Cubs beat Brewers 2-1
Kevin Gausman struck out 9 over 7 innings and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 39th homer as the Cubs beat the Brewers 2-1, splitting the four-game series 2-2.
Crow-Armstrong's 39th homer breaks it open
The Cubs and Brewers split their four-game set at Wrigley Field. Chicago opened with a 17-3 win on August 31, then dropped back-to-back games, 9-4 and 9-5, before closing it out with a 2-1 win on September 3. Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in the difference, going 1-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI, and Kevin Gausman backed him up with 7 innings, allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits with 9 strikeouts and 1 walk.
Brewers17-3Brewers4-9Brewers5-9Brewers2-1The Cubs are 79-62 and 2-3 in their last 5, a stretch that also included a 7-5 loss to the Reds on August 30. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com noted that Milwaukee arrived at Wrigley with an 8-game lead in the NL Central and left with the same 8-game lead intact, with 21 games left to play.
Big Cat, Chief and the Gausman effect
Barstool's Big Cat posted after the win, "Thank you Kevin Gausman. Now the bullpen just has to hold a lead." It's been a common refrain since Gausman arrived: TalkinBaseball_ noted he has completed 7 innings in 3 of his 6 starts as a Cub, after doing so just once in 23 starts with the Blue Jays before the trade.
Chief, also of Barstool, weighed in on the other half of the story, writing that Crow-Armstrong "might just be having best season in Cubs history." Barstool Bush's own coverage of the game, "Kevin Gausman, Pete Crow-Armstrong Lead Cubs Past Brewers," credited the pair with the win even as Milwaukee left town still 8 games clear.
Upcoming
The Cubs are in Miami tonight, with Shota Imanaga (8-10, 4.01 ERA) on the mound against the Marlins' Janson Junk (6-8, 4.11 ERA). Imanaga is coming off a rough outing against the Reds on August 30, allowing 6 earned runs over 5 innings, while Junk threw 4.2 innings and allowed just 1 earned run in his last start against the Nationals.
The Cubs are favored tonight, and the market expects a low-scoring game, which lines up with Junk's recent form more than Imanaga's last time out. Chicago sits 5.0 games up in the NL Wild Card, with an elimination number of 14, while Arizona holds down the third and final spot with San Diego just half a game back of them.