Brewers: Long ball kills Crew in loss to Cubs
By Phil Watson
The Milwaukee Brewers lived for years by the home run. This year, they are continuing to die by it.
Right-hander Matt Garza served up two homers Saturday night—including a three-run shot by Anthony Rizzo that effectively decided the game in the third inning—as the Brewers lost their third straight game to open a 10-game homestand with a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
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Kyle Schwarber added a solo homer in the seventh inning off reliever Michael Blazek. Milwaukee (44-61) has allowed 79 home runs at Miller Park this season while hitting 52 of their own at home.
That adds up to a less-than-stellar 20-32 record at home this season. The Brewers have lost four in a row overall and are 2-8 in their last 10 games—scoring just 17 runs in that span.
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Garza (5-12) really only made the one big mistake, working six innings and allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
That was more than enough, though, for Chicago right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-5), who gave up just a run on four hits in seven innings, walking two and fanning six.
“I don’t think we’re playing poorly, we’re just not swinging the bats well enough,” manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com.
Garza said he was victimized a bit by a small strike zone.
The blast in the third came with two outs. Schwarber singled up the middle and Chris Coghlan worked a four-pitch walk, setting the stage for Rizzo to homer for the fourth straight game.
“I felt I had Schwarber out on a couple of pitchers before,” Garza told MLB.com. “Coghlan, I missed a couple. [The strike zone] was tight back there. Those guys knew it and they weren’t going to chase.”
Milwaukee got a run back in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Braun was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a groundout and scored when Khris Davis grounded a base hit up the middle.
Jean Segura reached on a force play and stole second, but Hernan Perez—back at third base on Saturday—struck out to end the inning.
Schwarber made it a 4-1 game in favor of the Cubs (56-47) in the seventh when he belted a full-count offering from Blazek into the seats in right center for his fourth home run in just 22 big-league games. He’s hitting .326/.436/.565 since he was recalled July 17.
Adam Lind led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to left field off reliever Jason Motte and moved to third on a fly out by Davis. Tommy Hunter, just acquired from the Baltimore Orioles, came on and got Segura on a ground ball to second base which allowed Lind to score.
Perez flew out to right field to end the game.
Lind was 2-for-4 while the rest of the club managed just three additional hits.
Davis had a tough night on the bases, meanwhile, reaching twice but getting caught stealing once and picked off the other time.
Corey Knebel worked a scoreless eighth with a walk and two strikeouts for the Brewers and Preston Guilmet made his Brewers debut in the ninth, striking out one in a 1-2-3 frame.
Milwaukee will try to avoid being swept by the Cubs in a four-game series at Miller Park for the first time since July 28-31, 2008, on Sunday at 1:10 p.m.
Right-hander Kyle Lohse (5-12, 6.24 ERA) is scheduled for the Brewers, while the Cubs counter with left-hander Clayton Richard (1-0, 5.40).
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Lohse is 8-7 in 24 career starts against Chicago, with a 4.97 ERA and 1.403 WHIP in 134 innings while striking out 102. He won his only start against the Cubs this season despite allowing four runs on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in five innings on May 9, a game the Brewers won 12-4 at Miller Park.
His last time out, Lohse gave up four runs on five hits with three walks in 6.2 innings of a 4-2 loss at San Francisco on Monday.
Richard is 2-3 in seven career starts against Milwaukee, posting a 5.97 ERA and 1.615 WHIP in 34.2 innings with 24 strikeouts. He last faced the Crew in 2013 when he was with the San Diego Padres.
This is just his third start of the season and his first since July 20, when he took a no-decision while allowing three runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in 5.2 innings at Cincinnati, a game Chicago lost 5-4.
He was purchased by the Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 3.
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