Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/12/21): Brewers 17, Cubs 4 – Brewers Pound Cubs to Complete Sweep
The Cubs’ post-trade deadline freefall showed no signs of abating on Thursday afternoon as they fell for the fourth time in the series and 10th straight time at Wrigley. Milwaukee jumped all over Kyle Hendricks and the Brewers coasted to another lopsided victory and a four-game sweep.
Hendricks first had trouble in the top of the 2nd when he allowed five runs to score. The Brewers hit for the cycle in the inning with the big blow coming in the form of a two-run homer from Jace Peterson.
Rafael Ortega drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a Cubs run in the bottom of the 2nd. Brandon Woodruff did not have his best stuff but the weak Chicago lineup could do no further damage until the game was out of hand.
The Professor had a couple of clean frames before running into another big jam in the 5th inning. The tiring Cubs starter loaded the bases before Manny Piña blasted a grand slam to make it a 9-1 beatdown.
The Crew was not done, continuing to pile up offense against the home team’s shoddy bullpen. Infielder Andrew Romine came in to pitch to his own brother Austin, who was catching, in the 9th. When the smoke cleared it was an ugly 17-4 loss for the Cubs. (Box score)
Why the Cubs Lost
Hendricks was off from the start and the Brewers bats did not let up. The Cubs’ offense wasn’t going to do anything against Woodruff, even though he gave them ample opportunities.
Key Moment
The grand slam was just the third that Hendricks had allowed in his career.
Stats That Matter
- It was a career-high nine runs allowed by the Cubs ace: 4 IP, 9 R, 11 H, 3 K, and 1 BB.
- Frank Schwindel and Patrick Wisdom hit back-to-back home runs in the 7th inning, so that was fun.
Bottom Line
The Brewers played like the World Series contenders they are and destroyed this very undermanned Cubs team. Can’t say we learned anything of value about the future, except the near-term does not look good.
On Deck
Chicago starts a three-game series in Miami on Friday at 6:05pm CT in a series where they just might have a chance at winning a game or two. Adbert Alzolay takes on Jesús Luzardo in a matchup that will be televised on Marquee Sports Network with radio coverage on 670 The Score.
