On Wednesday night, the Cubs defeated the Brewers in a crucial matchup of National League Central teams. The 6-4 victory aided the Cubs greatly, considering they had lost two straight to Milwaukee. The Brewers were a mere three games back of the Cubs as of Wednesday morning.
Daniel Murphy, who had yet to get in a hit in the Brewers series, went 3-for-4, which included a home run in the 4th inning to make it 1-0 Cubs.
The bats were certainly alive in this one, as Chicago finished with 13 hits, including an additional home run ball from Schwarber, his 25th of the year.
The pitching was not exceptional, but solid, as Jose Quintana went a little over six innings with five strikeouts, two walks and two earned runs. Middle reliever Jesse Chavez struggled a bit, giving up two earned runs himself, but the biggest issue came when closer Pedro Strop struggled to put the game away in the bottom of the ninth. He gave up a walk and a hit before settling down to get a fly-out, a ground-out, and striking out Blue Island-native Curtis Granderson to close the game.
Now, the Brewers sit four games back of the Cubs, and a half game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. And the Cubs are happy to head into a series against the struggling Nationals, who have lost five of their last seven games.
Picking up as many wins as possible in the four-game Nationals series will be crucial, with Sept. 10-12 representing the start of the Cubs final slate of games against the Brewers.