MILWAUKEE — Another blown lead at American Family Field came to mind as the Cubs squandered a six-run advantage and fell 8-6 to the Brewers in the series opener Monday.
The Brewers hadn’t overcome such a steep deficit since the Cubs’ visit this same time of year in 2021. A sweep, capped by a blown seven-run lead, was part of an 11-game losing streak. The skid sunk the Cubs’ contention aspirations and laid the groundwork for a dramatic teardown at the trade deadline.
The Cubs team that imploded in the late innings Monday might still have time. And it has three more games against the Brewers.
“We’ve got to bounce back tomorrow,” said third baseman Nick Madrigal, who went 1-for-2 with a two-run double but exited early with a tight hamstring. “There’s no pouting about it, putting our heads down. We’ve got to get right back in there because these are important games.”
As the Cubs dragged themselves out of their May doldrums, the bullpen transformed into a strength. Settling into revised roles and benefitting from the domino effect of the rotation’s return to health, Cubs relievers entered Monday with a 1.06 ERA, best in the majors, in the previous 17 games.
But they couldn’t hold the lead against the Brewers.
“[Eight] free passes [as a team] with a six-run lead early on just can’t happen,” manager David Ross said. “We’ve got to throw strikes, challenge guys, make them earn it.”
Ross pulled starter Drew Smyly, who was responsible for three of the walks, with two outs in the fourth inning.
“I was a little erratic and walked too many people,” Smyly said. “But besides that, they only squared up a couple of balls.”
Those were William Contreras’ RBI double and Willy Adames’ RBI single in the third inning. The other two hits he allowed found holes or got under gloves.
When Smyly left the game, before he could face Contreras for a third time, another bizarre wrinkle came into play.
Madrigal, feeling a tug in his hamstring as he chased after a couple of pop-ups in foul territory, left at the same time as Smyly. And Christopher Morel, who was serving as the designated hitter, replaced him at third. With the move, the Cubs gave up their designated hitter.
Ross also considered moving Jared Young from first base to third and putting Trey Mancini in at first base but decided against it.
“JY had played hardly any third base [this year],” Ross said. “Just killed the DH there and tried to manage it accordingly. And we just didn’t throw strikes.”
Michael Fulmer started the bullpen off on the right foot, tossing 2⅓ scoreless innings despite walking two. He also became only the second Cubs pitcher, joining former Cubs reliever David Robertson, to hit since MLB adopted the universal DH before the 2022 season.
Julian Merryweather replaced Fulmer in the seventh inning and loaded the bases. Left-hander Anthony Kay took over for him and allowed a three-run double to Jahmai Jones on his first pitch. Mark Leiter Jr. got the Cubs out of the inning with a strikeout, but he gave up two runs in the eighth.
“The guys down there have been throwing the ball really well the whole month of June,” Fulmer said. “We had our talks before June and telling ourselves that we needed to pick it up, and today is just a blip in the road.”
The Cubs have lost seven of their last eight games. They have less than a month until the trade deadline and only a week to correct their course before the All-Star break.
“I hate to say it, but I think they’re must-win games,” Fulmer said.
