Cubs open up crucial 7-game stretch with important victory over rival Brewers

The Cubs are at the point in the season where they won’t care that they were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Or that they stranded 7 baserunners. Or that Javier Assad lasted just 3.1 innings and they had to use 5 relievers.
They’re at a point in the season where the only thing that matters is wins — and that’s what they did Monday night in the series opener against Milwaukee. The Cubs squeaked out a 3-1 win over the Brewers, a victory the team desperately needs if they hope to stay alive in the playoff picture and keep their slim hopes of buying at next week’s trade deadline.
“I think unless things change over the next week — I think we probably won’t do a lot of moves that only help us for this year,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said before the game. “If moves help us in ‘25 and beyond — I think we’re still exceptionally well-positioned — I think that’s what our focus will be. But, just helping ’24, I think that probably won’t be our focus unless things change dramatically.
“The only thing that I would say definitively at this point — and it’s not that definitive because we could win 7 in a row — but the only thing I would say definitively is I think making moves simply for ‘24 — given where we are — [is] probably not what we’re gonna do.”
It’s a good first start for the Cubs.
The Cubs scored just 3 runs — on a Michael Busch RBI single, a wild pitch by Tobias Myers in the 4th and a 110.9-mph line drive home run by Ian Happ. But it was plenty and it keeps the Cubs 3.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card and 4 games under .500.
The Brewers had plenty of opportunities to score themselves, too. Assad issued 3 straight 2-out walks in the 3rd, before inducing a groundout to escape the jam. Milwaukee loaded the bases again in the 4th — this time on 2 walks and a single, forcing Craig Counsell to turn to Drew Smyly in relief of Assad.
The veteran lefty delivered, inducing a force out at home and a groundout to end the threat and then pitching a 1-2-3 5th. Smyly has been a solid piece in Counsell’s bullpen. In 38.2 innings, Smyly has a 2.79 ERA.
“He’s often kind of pitching in some middle innings, but that’s important to get the other guys in some good spots,” Counsell said after the game. “And tonight, he was in a really big spot. And he’s been in more big spots lately and he’s pitching really well.
“He’s been on a heck of a run. And, look, he threw two innings on Saturday, comes back and throws an inning and two-thirds tonight. That’s huge for us.”
Tyson Miller, Mark Leiter Jr., Porter Hodge and Héctor Neris picked up the final 12 outs to preserve a much-needed win.
“The guys in the bullpen did a great job — really, really, really nice job,” Counsell said. “I thought, starting with Drew coming into a jam and getting us out of that jam was really big. And the guys just did a heck of a job. We had a bunch of good innings. Mark Leiter’s throwing the ball really, really well. Héctor’s doing a nice job. So the bullpen tonight was was the theme for me.”