Cubs rally past Brewers in 10th, but gap looms

In a 10th-inning surge that nearly slipped away, the Cubs beat the Brewers after emergency call-up Jordan Wicks escaped a bases-loaded jam, winning the series 2 of 3. Still, Milwaukee leads the division by 5½ games, and the season-long matchup has been rough f

MILWAUKEE — The inning had gone sideways fast enough that. for a few tense moments. the Cubs’ version of the season felt like it might end right there. The Brewers trailed 4-3. but they had the bases loaded with nobody out against emergency call-up Jordan Wicks. whose two prior big-league appearances this season came with a 15.63 ERA.

At American Family Field, with the noise building and the stakes already high for a first-place opponent, it was the kind of pitching spot that makes every alternative feel worse. Wicks either stood tall or the Brewers could flip the game again in a hurry.

They did start that way. Milwaukee scored two runs in the 10th inning. with the second coming on Wicks’ bases-loaded walk to the first batter he faced. Garrett Mitchell. But when the home fans’ roar threatened to become permanent, Wicks dug in. He retired Jake Bauers on a short fly, then got Gary Sanchez to roll into a 5-4-3 double play.

Game over. Series won. The Cubs took 2 out of 3.

Hope returned to the idea that the Brewers aren’t untouchable. even with the division race shaped like a long climb. Shortstop Dansby Swanson didn’t dress it up. “I think this shows a lot,” he said. “It shows the toughness of this group, the competitive spirit, the willingness to fight. That’s what it takes to be good in this league. that’s what it takes to beat a good team like them and that’s what it takes to be able to build off the confidence in winning.”.

Still, fighting that good doesn’t shrink the standings overnight. The Brewers are 50-31 and lead the Cubs, who are 46-38, by 5½ games. Milwaukee is trying to win its division for the fourth straight season.

The Cubs’ bullpen took the long way to the finish. with Ryan Rolison. Bryse Wilson. Caleb Thielbar. Tyler Ferguson. Jacob Webb. Ethan Roberts. and Wicks all getting time. Roberts was the only one who didn’t manage to rise to the moment. Wilson. however. was nearly unstoppable in 4⅓ innings—so clutch that it almost defied reason. especially because Wilson wasn’t even on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster.

Some of the others may not be either for much longer. Thielbar and Webb were on the roster to start the season. For the rest of the group, there was no guarantee the same names would stick once the calendar turns and healthier arms return.

Wicks summed up the feeling with simple disbelief: “I don’t know what’s next, but that was crazy.”

But the night didn’t end cleanly just because the Cubs won. Even with Seiya Suzuki delivering a two-out, two-run single that made it 4-1 in the 10th, Chicago nearly walked out of Milwaukee with what would have been the biggest gut-punch loss of the season.

There are reasons the Cubs’ success has mattered this year. even if it hasn’t yet been enough to close the distance. The Cubs were the first major-league team in 71 years to have two 10-game winning streaks before their 40th game of the season. They won 15 in a row at Wrigley Field, the longest Cubs home streak in 91 years. They also have a winning record on the road. and their breakout centerpiece. Pete Crow-Armstrong. is leading all big-league position players in WAR.

None of that, though, has made the Brewers seem especially close. Milwaukee still sits second only to the Dodgers for the majors’ best record and best run differential. And the season-long head-to-head matchup has not tilted toward Chicago: the Brewers lead it 4-2. including a sweep of a three-game set at Wrigley in May.

In Sunday’s game, the Cubs’ stars went quiet. Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson combined for zero hits Sunday. Across the six games of the season series, those five plus Swanson are 9-for-104 (.086).

If that doesn’t turn around during the teams’ remaining seven games—arriving all in late summer—the Cubs can forget about anything better than fighting for another wild-card spot.

And even while the Cubs ended the immediate argument in their favor, Busch didn’t want to pretend the larger problem is solved. “I wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘hard,’ ” he said. “Obviously, they’re a good team. But we know how good we can be. It’s more of a battle.”

If it’s a battle, Chicago has been widely expected to lose it. One leading sportsbook had the Cubs’ odds to win the division after the weekend at 6-to-1.

Busch kept coming back to the same point: “We’re just trying to stack wins together, no matter who it’s against,” he said. “The opponent doesn’t matter.”

Then he acknowledged the obvious tension that comes with a rivalry that actually affects the math. “Well, yeah, for sure,” he said. “Especially when it’s the Brewers. They kind of have a hold on the division right now, but there’s still a lot of season left.”

The Cubs can’t afford to keep building their roster the way they’ve had to patch it together, and the margin for error matters when so much depth is tied to timing. Still, this win came at a moment that could change the feel of the trip: it was the final game of a 6-1 road trip through Milwaukee.

After the last out, Craig Counsell offered the simplest kind of reaction. “That was a fun game,” he said. “It was a fun game, but now it’s over and on to the next one.”

Cubs Brewers Jordan Wicks Dansby Swanson Seiya Suzuki Craig Counsell American Family Field MLB division race