Article: Brewers 0, Cubs 1: Win Streak Ends With A Whimper

[Jason Wang]

The Brewers' hot streak finally comes to a close in a hotly contested pitching matchup between two of the best pitchers in the National League.

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score

Starting Pitcher: Corbin Burnes - 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 108 pitches, 70 strikes (64.8%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (.214), Abner Uribe (.031), Christian Yelich (.022) 
Bottom 3 WPA: Willy Adames (-.227), Tyrone Taylor (-.148), William Contreras (-.099) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Burnes Has A Bounceback Game
After his last outing saw him give up eight hits and six earned runs to the Minnesota Twins, Corbin Burnes bounced back in a strong way. Although he still gave up eight hits, he was able to limit scoring to just one run. It came in the first inning after hitting Nico Hoerner with a pitch and a double by Ian Happ. A subsequent groundout by Cody Bellinger was enough to put the Cubs on the board.

Burnes was able to cruise through six scoreless innings afterwards, giving up no more extra base hits and striking out seven. His curveball and cutter were especially effective, combining for 16 called strikes and ten swinging strikes.

Burnes currently has a 3.55 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP over 165.0 innings pitched.

No Extra Base Hits, No Runs
Despite Corbin Burnes’ strong performance, Justin Steele was just a little better. Striking out eight, the Brewers struggled to put up any coordinated offense against the tricky lefty. There was a scoring opportunity in the first inning after a single by Mark Canha and a wild pitch put runners on second and third, but two quick outs would put an end to that.

Other than that, the Brewers were simply outmatched. Mustering just one hit in the final three innings, it was just the second time in August that Milwaukee would be shutout.

Uribe Steps In To Give The Everyone Else The Day Off
Given the extended start by Corbin Burnes and low-scoring, only one inning of pitching relief was needed. Abner Uribe retired the heart of the Cubs lineup in order, striking out Seiya Suzuki along the way.

On the bright side, the other relievers were able to get a much-needed day of rest as pitchers such as Bryse Wilson and Trevor Megill have had particularly hefty workloads recently.

What’s Next? 
Brandon Woodruff will toe the slab against Kyle Hendricks in the third and final game of the series before the Brewers head home to host the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series. Milwaukee will face the Cubs one last time at the very end of the season.

The Brewers currently hold a 4.0 game lead over the Chicago Cubs and a 7.0 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Uribe	19	0	18	0	17	54
B Wilson	0	0	53	0	0	53
Megill	14	0	32	0	0	46
Peguero	0	23	0	14	0	37
Payamps	0	15	0	16	0	31
Milner	0	0	13	18	0	31
Chafin	26	0	0	0	0	26
Williams	0	14	0	0	0	14

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[Harold Hutchison]

As losses go, it wasn't awful.

Yes, George Webb will not lose money on 160,000+ burgers. Yes, the Cubs moved closer.

But the bullpen was not blown out. Uribe could even pitch today. Nobody got hurt. We can still come out a game ahead. Not the best outcome, but could have been a lot worse.