The Brewers’ offense went cold at the wrong time Friday night, and a night that started with promise ended in a 2-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Milwaukee got another strong outing from Logan Henderson, but Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the third inning supplied the only damage Chicago needed. The Brewers managed just one run after putting up nine in each of their previous two games, and the result left them with a split of the four-game series. They still sit eight games ahead in the division with 21 games remaining.
Henderson was sharp from the jump, even if the Brewers couldn’t give him much support early. In the second inning, Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell each singled with two outs, only for Joey Ortiz to fly out to center and end the threat.
Chicago had a brief opening of its own in the bottom half when Alex Bregman opened with a double, but Henderson responded by setting down Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, and Pedro Ramírez in order, keeping Bregman from moving past third.
The third inning brought the only real crack in Henderson’s night. After Carson Kelly singled to left with one out, Crow-Armstrong stepped in and turned a 2-1 changeup well below the zone into a two-run homer to center. Crow-Armstrong came in having gone just 3-for-33 against Milwaukee this season, but he made that pitch count.
Even so, the Brewers answered quickly. Andrew Vaughn launched a two-out solo homer in the fourth to cut the deficit in half, and Milwaukee had a couple more chances to pull even but couldn’t cash in.
In the fifth, Ortiz and David Hamilton both reached with two outs and wound up on second and third, but Kevin Gausman froze Brice Turang with strike three to end the inning. In the sixth, Jake Bauers drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a wild pitch and a groundout, and then got stranded when Yelich grounded out.
Gausman settled in from there and matched Henderson pitch for pitch, even with the uncharacteristic struggles he has had this season. He returned for the seventh and retired the side in order, and Ryan Zeferjahn and Ryan Rolison each worked clean innings in the eighth and ninth to close it out.
Henderson’s final line was impressive: seven innings, seven strikeouts, and just three hits allowed. It was the third time in four starts that he has gone seven frames, and the Brewers still came up empty behind him.
Milwaukee now heads to Cincinnati for a three-game set against the Reds before turning around to meet the Cubs again in Milwaukee on Monday. Tomorrow’s opener is set for 5:10 p.m., with Shane Drohan scheduled to start for the Brewers against Rhett Lowder.
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