DL Hall gave up a home run to Carson Kelly to begin the bottom of the seventh inning, which brought out Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy from the dugout to make a pitching change. Down 10-2 to the Chicago Cubs, Murphy put first baseman/DH Andrew Vaughn on the mound to pitch the final two innings. The Cubs proceeded to score seven more runs, including three home runs against the position player to set a new franchise record.
The 17-3 win capped off a record-setting month for the Cubs, who hit a total of 62 home runs in August, the most by any National League team in a single calendar month in MLB history. Now, before anyone shits on the record because the last three came against Vaughn, point your finger at the Brewers, who made a mockery of the rules set in place by MLB for position players pitching when a team is losing.
It’s not really a novelty anymore when a position player comes into pitch, but you rarely see teams doing it in the seventh inning, which is what Murphy did as soon as the Cubs went up eight runs. So, it is annoying as hell because now the Brewers can finish off the rest of the series against the Cubs without burning their bullpen in the series opener, saving two innings by using Vaughn.
But again, it’s all within the rules, so fair play.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
Back to the Cubs, who had no issues against the Brewers’ starting pitcher, Kyle Harrison. The 25-year-old lefty entered Monday’s game with a 2.79 ERA in 21 starts; however, the Cubs immediately crushed him in the first inning. With two outs and Seiya Suzuki at first base, Harrison gave up four straight hits, including a back-to-back home runs by Tyrone Taylor and Nico Hoerner.
Alex Bregman had his second three-homer game in August on Monday, hitting his first against Harrison in the second inning, and then went back-to-back with Suzuki in the fourth inning, also against the Brewers’ left-hander. Harrison was charged with nine earned runs on 10 hits, giving up five home runs in 3.2 innings.
Bregman set a new Cubs record by hitting the team’s ninth home run in the eighth against Vaughn, the most in a single game in franchise history.
Hey, if the Brewers are going to spend two innings with a position player on the mound, then the Cubs should be up there swinging for the fences.
