I’m not sure Chicago Cubs fans have ever seen Craig Counsell as animated as he was after Jordan Wicks got Gary Sanchez to ground into a 5-4-3 double play that clinched a series win at Wrigley Field. And while it’s fun to troll Milwaukee Brewers fans by calling their stadium that, it was also pretty much filled to the brim because so many Cubs fans showed up this weekend.
After a 6-2 loss on Friday night, the Cubs came back to win two in a row against the Brewers, including Sunday’s nerve-wracking finale. Just think about how ridiculous the pitching situation was and remains for the Cubs as they began this series. David Peterson started Saturday’s game, while Bryse Wilson was the bulk pitcher in Sunday’s bullpen game. Both of those guys weren’t even in the organization a week ago, as Peterson was acquired in a trade with the New York Mets and Wilson was claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Meanwhile, the Brewers lined up their top three starting pitchers to go up against the Cubs at home, but in the end, it was the Cubs who came out on top. Alex Cohen made an excellent call to wrap it up, and you can’t help but notice the emotion coming out of the dugout with Counsell letting it all out.
Seiya Suzuki came through with the biggest hit on Sunday, driving in two runs with a bases-loaded single to left field. Thanks to a bobble from Jackson Chourio, the Cubs were able to easily get the second run to score. That turned out to be very important because the Brewers eventually got the game back to 4-3 in the bottom half before the double play ended the game.
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So, you know, for people who try to discredit how valuable outfield defense is, show them this play. Oh, and yes, listen to that crowd pop. Literally sounds like a home game for the Cubs.
Incredible.
The Cubs still have a lot of work to do to seriously get back into contention for the division crown at 5.5 games back of the Brewers, but that doesn’t take away how exhilarating it was to see them win a series against their rivals when the odds were extremely against them.
Looking ahead to this week, the Cubs have another stretch of important games in the National League playoff mix. They’ll be back at Wrigley Field, hosting the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals, who are each chasing the Cubs in the Wild Card race. The Cubs are currently two and 1.5 games ahead of the Padres and Cardinals, respectively, in the standings.
