Well, that was embarrassing.
The Brewers came into Wrigley Field having not won a series all year and not won two games in a row, and now they have accomplished both of those things after a 5-3 win over the Cubs Sunday afternoon in front of a disappointed nearly-full house on the last day there won't be anyone in the Wrigley bleachers for a game.
On an afternoon with the wind blowing out strongly to center field, just one player hit a home run -- former Cub Aramis Ramirez, his third of the year, in the second inning. The homer gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead, but the Cubs immediately tied the game on an RBI sacrifice fly by pitcher Jason Hammel. That followed a single, a walk and a fly ball that advanced a runner to third -- small ball, on a day when power might have put this game away.
The Brewers scratched across single runs in both the third and fourth and it was extra-base hits, doubles, in both innings that set the table for Milwaukee to score. Even at that, Hammel didn't have a bad outing, and after Miguel Montero threw out Elian Herrera trying to steal to end the fourth, Hammel retired six straight before leaving after a leadoff walk in the seventh. It seemed to be the right time to lift him even though he'd thrown only 86 pitches, but after the game we learned this:
#Cubs Hammel was battling broken nail on middle finger of right hand. Didn't want it to blister
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) May 3, 2015
Which explains the replacement of Hammel with Zac Rosscup, who dispatched the Brewers without further incident in the seventh.
The Cubs had tied the game in the fifth with a pretty bunt single by Dexter Fowler, followed one out later by a booming triple by Anthony Rizzo. Even though teams have started to target Rizzo trying to steal, he showed off his baserunning speed on the triple, going into third standing up. He scored on a pop-fly double by Kris Bryant down the right-field line.
When Pedro Strop came in to throw the eighth, it seemed the game might come down to a ninth-inning confrontation of closers or maybe even go extras, but Strop had one of his rare bad outings. Gerardo Parra led off with a double and Carlos Gomez bunted his way on. Then a scary moment happened when Strop hit Jean Segura in the head. Segura was down on the field for what seemed a very long time before getting to his feet to warm applause and taking first base. It appeared he might stay in the game, but Brewers manager Ron Roenicke decided to take precautions by removing him for pinch-runner Hector Gomez. That, it seems, was a good idea:
Jean Segura experienced some nausea and remained in Chicago for further tests. He'll return separately to MKE later tonight.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) May 3, 2015
I certainly wish the best to Segura and hope he's OK.
After that, Strop got Ryan Braun to hit into a 5-2-3 double play. It seemed for just a moment that Bryant might have had a chance at a triple play, but stepping on third would have removed the force at the plate, so he made the right play. That made it seem like the Cubs could get out of the inning. The by-the-book choice then was made of intentionally walking Adam Lind. Lind had doubled earlier in the game and has been hitting well this year, while Ramirez, the next hitter, has not been off to a good start despite the homer earlier in the game.
Ramirez dumped a little pop fly behind third base that dropped for a two-run double.
The Cubs got one man on base in the last of the eighth but did not score, and on came Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod was only throwing around 90, a far cry from his usual 95-plus level, and he appeared hittable, as Chris Denorfia led off the ninth with a single. Addison Russel ripped a line drive down the third-base line that Ramirez made a nice snag on. The ball seemed headed to the left-field corner. After Fowler struck out, Jorge Soler lined to Ramirez to end it.
So Ramirez pretty much singlehandedly beat his old team. Funny thing, when Ramirez' name was announced on the P.A. at the ballpark, there was barely any reaction, either positive or negative. It's almost as if many in the crowd have forgotten, or chosen not to remember, Ramirez' eight and a half years as a productive Cubs power hitter and a member of three Cubs playoff teams. His 239 homers as a Cub is sixth on the all-time team list and among all Cubs with 1,500 or more plate appearances with the team, his Cubs slugging percentage of .531 ranks third, behind only Hack Wilson (.590) and Sammy Sosa (.569).
Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose. The homer was the 372nd of Ramirez' career; he's got an outside shot at 400 before he hangs it up at the end of this season.
Meanwhile, the Cubs attempted to address some of the bullpen issues by putting in a waiver claim on Anthony Varvaro, who was let go by the Red Sox a few days ago. Varvaro wasn't good in Boston but has been a very good middle guy out of the pen the last two years with the Braves. To make room for Varvaro on the 40-man roster, Joseph Ortiz was designated for assignment. My guess is that Gonzalez Germen will be sent to Iowa and Varvaro added to the 25-man roster before Monday's game at St. Louis. Seems like a good, low-risk-high-reward pickup.
The warm weather brought out a near-capacity crowd, and you'd have thought the wind would have produced more homers than it did. The sun disappeared and a few sprinkles dotted the middle innings, but otherwise it was nice to have a warm day at the ballpark instead of the chilly nights of late April.
The Cubs now travel to St. Louis for a four-game set that might tell us a lot about how these two teams will fare this season. Travis Wood will throw the series opener against Carlos Martinez.
And the next time I enter Wrigley Field, it will be in the bleachers a week from tomorrow. It was interesting and different to spend a few weeks in the left-field terrace reserve area, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the new bleachers will be like.
And one more thing: Go Blackhawks!