MILWAUKEE — In the rubber match of a weekend series at American Family Field, the terrific Brewers issued a Sunday sermon to the bumbling Cubs in a 7-1 stomping.
A sermon about what? Hell, folks. Yes, hell.
The nutshell version: Just when the Cubs might have begun to feel a tiny bit of hope that their bleak season might take a turn for the better and brighter, a much better rival blitzed them with a seven-run fourth inning as if to say, “Enjoy baseball oblivion, suckers.”
In this one game, things turned on the Cubs so fast that it was startling.
Pitcher Kyle Hendricks came in with a National League-best 1.27 ERA in June and was his old “Professor”-like self the first time through the Brewers’ order, requiring all of 36 pitches while retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced. Was Hendricks really back after early-season struggles that had gotten him banished to the bullpen? It actually seemed so — just the sort of delightful development the Cubs desperately needed.
But then — all at once — the good-vibes Brewers (50-34) overwhelmed the Cubs (39-46). Christian Yelich pounded a two-run home run out to center. A misplay by Ian Happ in left field helped get Hendricks into further trouble, and, soon after, four more runs scored when Brice Turang did that thing that keeps making Brewers fans jump out of their seats and not even care about spilling cold suds on their duds.
It’s a simple game if you’re the first-place Brewers. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball and you definitely load the bases whenever possible because — with this runaway train of a team — it usually leads to a grand slam. Turang’s was the Brewers’ fifth grand slam in their last eight games and their second in this series after Jackson Chourio’s game-changing blast off Jameson Taillon in the opener. The Brewers joined the 2020 Padres as the second team in big-league history with five slams in an eight-game period.
WELCOME TO SLAMFAM FIELD@BRiCEcTuRANG pic.twitter.com/xwM2sgFcVV
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 30, 2024
Just like that, it was 7-1, and cheers turned to smug boos as manager Craig Counsell made the still-strange-looking walk from the visitors’ dugout to yank Hendricks (1-6), who took a miserable walk off the mound — the meaningfulness of all his recent progress suddenly up for debate.
“Yeah, it was [shocking] a little bit,” Counsell said.
“I think in this game, man, you’re always fighting,” Hendricks said. “You’re always one step away. Nothing is given to you. You’ve got to go out and take it.”
One inning, it felt like Hendricks was close to locking back into the rotation long-term. The next, the clock was ticking again on Hendricks’ career as a Cub and the team’s season had an over-and-out sense to it.
“I just have to keep moving forward,” Hendricks said. “Those decisions aren’t up to me.”
Things turned on the Cubs in a hurry, but this team also has had multiple slow leaks since about six weeks after it left spring training. The most concerning of those leaks continues to be a punchless, feckless offense that spends more time accomplishing nothing than that good-for-nothing cousin you try to avoid.
This time, it was laughable how useless the Cubs’ bats were against Freddy Peralta (6-4). Nico Hoerner led off the game with a homer, Cody Bellinger hit a soft single two batters later and — seriously? — that was it. No more runs for the Cubs. No more hits.
No more hope? No more life?
“Offensively, it’s a day when it’s one run, so it’s hard to see a scenario where that’s going to win us a game,” Counsell said. “Offensively, no matter who we’re facing, we’re going to have to be better. That’s kind of what I take away from it.”