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Cubs drop hard-fought game: ‘There’s nights where you just get beat’

4 years agoTony Andracki

In his first two plate appearances Friday night, Christian Yelich struck out in each of them.

That ran his 2020 season average against Cubs pitching to just .055 (1-for-18) with 7 whiffs.

But the game wasn’t over and Yelich made Alec Mills pay on their third meeting, smacking the first pitch into the right-field bleachers for a 3-run shot in the 6th inning. It proved to be the difference in the game as the Brewers claimed a 4-3 victory over the Cubs.

“Just made a mistake to the best hitter in their lineup,” Mills said. “I mean, he’s an MVP. Can’t let that happen, but it’s a mistake and I’ll learn from it.”

Prior to that inning, the Cubs lineup had just given Mills the lead with an impressive offensive frame.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th, Jason Heyward and David Bote hit back-to-back singles into center field to bring up Jason Kipnis. The Cubs veteran fell behind Milwaukee ace Woodruff 0-2 before fouling off 5 of the next 6 pitches and then sending a soft liner into center to tie the game. Nico Hoerner followed with a walk to load the bases and Ian Happ also drew a free pass (after starting out 0-2 in the count). Anthony Rizzo smacked another hit into center, plating the 3rd run and ending Woodruff’s night.

A prescient Hoerner actually discussed the Cubs’ relentless at-bats and team approach prior to Friday’s game.

“We’ve been pretty locked in regardless every day and I think we’re kind of approaching these guys all similarly,” the rookie said. “But one thing we have done well is approaching pitchers as a team and not just as individual at-bats.”

But that impressive inning was all the Cubs offense could muster Friday night as the Brewers bullpen shut them down the rest of the way. They attempted a rally in the bottom of the 8th when Kyle Schwarber doubled, Steven Souza Jr. and David Bote was hit with a pitch, but pinch-hitter Josh Phegley struck out against Josh Hader to end the threat.

The Cubs saw 183 pitches on the night and drew 4 walks.

“I think [the hitters] had a really good commitment to their at-bats throughout the game,” David Ross said. “We’ve seen that every night with the lead — you love to see it when we’re behind as well. Guys continue to work, they know their zone, continue to stay within their approach.

“They made some pitches tonight and got a big hit from Yelich. As long as that’s the kind of losses we have when guys continue to play hard — there’s nights where you just get beat. I think that’s a night like tonight. The frustrating ones are usually the ones where you beat yourself and haven’t really seen that out of our group. So yeah, kudos to our guys and continuing to battle throughout the game.”

Mills was saddled with the loss as the Cubs fell to 13-4 on the season.

The start time for Saturday’s game has been bumped up to 2:20 p.m. due to inclement weather in the evening forecast. Catch all the action on Marquee Sports Network.

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