Jackson Chourio delivered a decisive two-run single in the eighth inning and made a game-ending sliding catch, propelling the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field on Monday in front of a holiday crowd of 42,368.
Chourio Delivers in the Eighth as Brewers Edge Cubs
The Labor Day matchup carried massive postseason implications as the Brewers secured a 7-4 season-series victory over their division rivals. That head-to-head advantage guarantees Milwaukee the tiebreaker should Chicago mount a late charge over the final weeks of the regular season. Milwaukee enters the matchup with an 88-56 record, though the team recently lost its second consecutive game at Cincinnati, 12-8 on Sunday, in the second straight rocky start from Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison, who has lasted just 3 2/3 innings in each of his last two outings. The Brewers committed two errors that led to four unearned runs and Milwaukee pitchers walked 10.
We pride ourselves with great defense, and we've been doing that,
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. If you want to be a great team, you have to have great defense. You know, when the pitching staff walks 10 and then we make three defensive miscues with runners on third, it changes the game.
For much of the afternoon, the story belonged to the starting pitchers. Milwaukee left-hander Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.57 ERA) and Chicago left-hander Matthew Boyd (8-3, 4.05) traded zeroes as Gasser opposed Boyd in a rematch of last Tuesday’s start in Chicago. The Brewers previously overcame a 3-0 deficit for a 9-4 victory as the teams split the four-game series last week at Wrigley Field.
Chicago enters the contest with an 81-63 record after losing 10-3 at Miami on Sunday. The Chicago Cubs are currently fighting for playoff positioning within the crowded National League field, with the team holding on to the top wild-card spot. Chicago has a record of 77-60 this year, sitting in second place within the NL Central division. But while the team is in a strong position entering the final month of the season, they have struggled of late, going 3-7 over the last 10 games, including the team dropping three straight series. Everything came to a head over the past weekend when Chicago lost two of three games to the rival Cincinnati Reds. Within the series, starting pitcher Shota Imanaga struggled again, with the left-hander allowing six runs on eight hits over six innings, including three home runs—marking the sixth time this year he has allowed at least three in a game.
Later, in Seattle, Craig Counsell had seen enough, not waiting around to see if Shota Imanaga would let the Seattle Mariners back into Sunday’s game. With a three-run lead, two runners on and no outs in the third inning, Counsell walked out to the mound at T-Mobile Park to take the ball, ending the shortest outing of the Japanese pitcher’s major-league career. The move underlined a message Counsell had already delivered: “It’s go time.” Imanaga has been the club’s most consistent starter this season, accounting for 145 1/3 innings and a 3.78 ERA while spending zero days on the injured list, though he needed 72 pitches to get six outs in that outing. As Ian Happ’s grand slam off Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller ricocheted off the right-field foul pole in the top of the third inning, Chicago’s manager continued to think ahead.
Managerial Decisions and the Eighth-Inning Turning Point
The game turned in the eighth when Chicago manager Craig Counsell opted to leave Boyd on the mound to face left-handed leadoff hitter Garrett Mitchell. Boyd had thrown 87 pitches through seven dominant innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out seven.
Mitchell drew a walk, ending Boyd’s afternoon at 93 pitches. Reliever Ryan Zeferjahn entered to face Joey Ortiz, who doubled down the line. With runners now aboard, Chourio stepped to the plate and propelled the Brewers to a Labor Day victory over the Cubs that carried all kinds of implications for October.
“Sometimes I feel like I was born for those moments,” Chourio said. “Other times, I like the pressure that those moments bring. I don’t know why, but I know I enjoy them.”
Chourio punched a go-ahead, two-run single through a drawn-in infield in the eighth inning to score the runners. Milwaukee also clinched the season series between the teams, 7-4, with only two head-to-head matchups remaining, which is critical because it means the Brewers would hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs.
Late Heroics and Defensive Masterclass Secure the Win
That extra run proved decisive as Chourio also made a sliding catch in the ninth to finish a wild, 4-3 win over the Cubs on Monday at sold-out American Family Field, where the holiday crowd of 42,368 was treated to a thriller.
Division Standings and the Road Ahead
The victory pushes the Brewers eight games ahead of the Cubs in the division standings with 17 to go. The Milwaukee Brewers turned to left-hander Robert Gasser as they looked to protect their National League Central lead over the visiting Chicago Cubs in the opener of the crucial three-game series.
