Yelich Blast Breaks It Open as Brewers Rout Cubs 9-4
Christian Yelich's two-run homer to right center in the sixth inning swung the win probability from 53% in Chicago's favor to just 27%, turning a tied game into a rout. Milwaukee piled on from there, finishing with nine runs on the strength of two home runs and a bullpen that didn't allow a hit over the final two innings.
Chicago looked like it had control early. Tyrone Taylor did the damage in the fourth, doubling to left to score two, then coming around to score himself on a Gasser error that put the Cubs up 3-0. Robert Gasser's afternoon was messy — 4.1 innings, 2 earned runs, but that error compounded the damage. Milwaukee chipped away in the fifth when a single to left brought home a run to make it 3-1, and then the sixth inning became a full-scale comeback. A balk moved runners and scored Turang to cut it to 3-2, a Vaughn double to right tied it at three, and then Yelich unloaded — a 394-foot shot to right center that scored Frelick and put Milwaukee ahead 5-3. Chicago answered immediately with a run on a fielder's choice to make it 5-4, but that would be as close as they'd get.
The story of the night was Milwaukee's sixth inning, but the Brewers weren't done manufacturing runs. In the seventh, Contreras doubled to center to score Chourio, then Frelick singled to left to score Contreras and push the lead to 7-4. Ortiz put the game away in the eighth with a 384-foot homer to center that scored Yelich — his second RBI of the night — making it 9-4. Ortiz finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Contreras was equally productive, going 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Jackson Chourio added a quiet 2-for-5 night that kept Milwaukee's lineup churning.
On the mound, Milwaukee's relief corps was spotless. Abner Uribe threw a perfect inning with 2 strikeouts, and Aaron Ashby followed with a clean frame of his own, adding a strikeout. Matthew Boyd gave Chicago 5.1 innings but surrendered 7 hits and 3 earned runs — he left with the Cubs trailing and couldn't hold what the offense had built. This looks like a complete performance from Milwaukee: they overcame a three-run deficit, got a signature swing from Yelich at exactly the right moment, and then closed it out without drama. The Cubs' early lead appears to have been fool's gold.