Cubs Face Brewers Again, Looking to Make Move in Standings
The visiting Milwaukee Brewers will probably be without a vital individual from their setup when they face the Chicago Cubs in the elastic round of their three-game series on Wednesday evening. Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich left the 1-0 win against the Cubs on Tuesday night with back snugness.
Christian Yelich’s Physical issue
Brewers supervisor Pat Murphy depicted Yelich’s physical issue as “concerning” and showed it could prompt a spell on the harmed list. Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP, is hitting .315 with 11 grand slams and 42 RBIs this season. His common back issues, tracing all the way back to 2015, have indeed surfaced, potentially sidelining him at an essential time.
Yelich’s nonappearance will come down on a setup that has scored only two runs in the series. Chicago won the series opener 3-1 on Monday before the Brewers dealt with a tight 1-0 triumph on Tuesday, because of Brice Turang’s RBI single.
Brice Turang’s Exhibition
Turang finished a 0-for-11 rut with his game-dominating hit on Tuesday. His batting average had plunged to .267 subsequent to starting the month at .292.
“Simply attempting to drive the ball through the center of the field and being on top and hitting low line drives,” Turang said. “It feels better. I need to win. You play this game to dominate, thus it feels far better. We won this evening, and we’ve recently got to continue on to (Wednesday).”
Cubs’ Situation in the Standings
The Cubs, planning to duplicate their mid-season flood from last year, are at present 49-54 and 4 1/2 games behind the last National League special case spot. They need to surpass three groups to get a season finisher position.
Last Season’s Surge
Last year, the Cubs were 52-51 after 103 games and were in the midst of an eight-game winning streak that pushed them over .500 for the first time since early in the season.
“We’re in a very similar situation as we were last year,” Cubs left-hander Justin Steele said. “We really believe in the group we’ve got in there. It’s a lot of the same guys from last year and we made some additions, so I’d say we’re better on paper. We’ve just got to put wins in the column.”
Pitching Matchup
Justin Steele for the Cubs
Steele (2-4, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for Chicago. He is coming off his worst outing in two months, having allowed five runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings in a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. This performance broke his streak of seven consecutive quality starts.
“Obviously when you’re in a groove, you would like to just keep building,” Steele said. “There’s days when you’re pitching and things are going well, you just want to go ahead and log all your innings in that start.”
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Steele acknowledged struggling with his four-seam fastball and sinker during the early innings against the Diamondbacks.
“Wasn’t quite getting the four-seam in on the righties like I was wanting to,” Steele said. “Leaving it a little bit over the plate, giving them a chance to do their job and put the barrel on the ball.”
Brewers’ Unnamed Starter
As of Tuesday night, the Brewers had not named a starting pitcher for the series finale. The vulnerability in their pitching arrangement adds to the strain in the group, especially with Yelich’s likely nonattendance.
Conclusion
As the Cubs and Brewers get ready for the conclusive round of their series, the two groups face huge challenges. The Cubs are hoping to make progress in the standings, while the Brewers should adapt to the possible loss of their star outfielder. With Justin Steele on the hill, the Cubs desire to get one more win and proceed with their push towards a season finisher spot. The Brewers, in the interim, need to track down hostile consistency and strong pitching to make up for Yelich’s nonattendance and secure a series triumph.