Cubs takeaways: What we learned as Brewers move to one win away from NLCS
MILWAUKEE — The Cubs hoped Sunday’s off-day could be a perfect opportunity to wash away the bitter taste of a Game 1 defeat in the NL Division Series.
They started off hot — and then, like in that opening contest, were hit back and had no response.
The Cubs and Brewers traded multi-run home runs in the first inning before Milwaukee pounced on Cubs starter Shota Imanaga to take Game 2 7-3 at American Family Field. The loss means the Cubs are one game away from elimination in the best-of-five NLDS.
It was a bitter day to cap off a sour first two games of the series.
Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ loss:
Imanaga’s woes burn Cubs
There were plenty of questions about Shota Imanaga’s woes with the home run ball.
He allowed a crushing two-run home run to Manny Machado in last week’s Game 2 loss to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card Series. That came after allowing a home run in each of his final nine regular-season starts and permitting 12 over his final six.
The long ball was his bugaboo again on Monday and has put the Cubs on the brink of elimination.
Imanaga picked up the first two outs of the day, then allowed back-to-back singles to William Contreras and Christian Yelich. He was a pitch away from wiggling out of the jam, but Andrew Vaughn got around an inside sweeper and sent it 382 feet for a game-tying, three-run home run.
Two innings later, Contreras jumped on a fastball that was on the inner part of the plate and sent it 411 feet for a go-ahead blast. Imanaga would give up a single to Yelich before Counsell pulled the plug on his day.
It was another devastating moment for the Cubs’ Opening Day starter. He’s undoubtedly been their best pitcher over the last two seasons, but this rough patch came at the worst time.
Déjà vu
The Cubs had a dream start to the NLDS on Saturday, yet it ended poorly.
They had arguably an even better beginning in Game 2, and again, they had their spirits crushed.
Seiya Suzuki put the Cubs ahead with a three-run home run in the first and silenced the crowd of 42,787, much like Michael Busch’s lead-off blast on Saturday had done.
But Vaughn’s blast reinvigorated the crowd and served as a metaphorical gut punch. And, like Saturday’s six-run bottom of the first, the Cubs never responded. It was another devastating sequence for the Cubs.
Sure, the three-run home run from Vaughn only tied the game, but the “oh no, here we go again” sensation was real and it felt like only a matter of time until Milwaukee landed another big punch.
It happened two innings later and the knockout blow came the next inning when Jackson Chourio hit a three-run home run off Daniel Palencia, arguably Craig Counsell’s highest leverage arm. It sent the crowd at American Family Field into a frenzy and a win away from the NL Championship Series.
Rea-do
It was fair to wonder why Colin Rea, who had been one of the Cubs’ better starters down the stretch, didn’t start one of the first two games of the series.
Those what-ifs will increase a bit after Monday.
Rea was solid, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a pair of walks in relief.
The right-hander finished the year with a 1.93 ERA across his final four starts and struck out 18 over 12.2 innings in his final two appearances of the regular season.
Sure, Monday’s outing came in mop-up duty and not in a starting role, but the stuff was still crisp, and the Brewers were still trying to tack on runs and put the game to bed.
The Cubs had lined up their rotation for the NL Wild Card Series such that Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd and Imanaga were set up for the three-game series. When Horton went down with a rib fracture, that moved everyone up a day and Rea was seen as a valuable option in the bullpen.
But, after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings in the Game 2 loss in the wild-card series, it was fair to wonder why Rea couldn’t have lined up for one of the first two games in the NLDS, especially with an off-day after the first game. Rea primarily pitches to contact and that could cause trouble against a pesky Brewers lineup, but his high strikeout rate down the stretch couldn’t be dismissed, either.
Instead, though, Imanaga’s home run struggles were the back-breaking blow for the Cubs.
