Brewers spoil party, but Cubs still clinch NL Central
There was a festive atmosphere at Wrigley Field on Thursday. Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward called it a "hungry" atmosphere.
Fans were ready to erupt. In fact, a couple of random fireworks exploded just outside the park while the game was underway. But in the end, there was no party.
With a chance to clinch the NL Central division title, the Cubs lost to Milwaukee 5-4. So the fans who filled Wrigley didn't get to witness a rare on-field celebration.
The Cubs had a 17-game lead at the start of the night, and just before midnight the Cubs still had that 17-game lead and had clinched the division with the St. Louis Cardinals' 6-2 defeat at San Francisco.
None of the Cubs planned to wait around for that result.
"We're not going to stick around tonight," Heyward said in the clubhouse after the Cubs game. "We didn't earn it with a win. It's not up to anybody else. It's up to us. So whatever happens in San Francisco is what happens in San Francisco and tomorrow is tomorrow."
Another reason not to wait is the Cubs and Brewers on Friday afternoon, and Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said the plan is to celebrate after the game. He expects to use an unusual lineup either way in Game 2 of the Brewers series.
"I am as eager as anybody else in this room," Maddon said. "However, pragmatically, let's do this, let's move it along and then let's get ready for the next step. This is just the first step. I mean, we have much larger baseball fish to fry in our skillet. Let's just get this done."
A couple of unusual things happened in Thursday's game. On the positive side, starting pitcher Mike Montgomery collected the first hit and initial RBI of his career, scoring Heyward with a single up the middle.
Granted, this is just Montgomery's second season in the majors, but he was happy to snap an 0-for-11 run at the plate.
"That was pretty cool getting that hit," Montgomery said. "The atmosphere tonight was probably one of the best I've ever been a part of. It was unfortunate we couldn't win. I thought we played a good game."
On the negative side, shortstop Addison Russell made 2 errors in the same game for the first time in his two-year career. An errant throw to first base with two outs in the fourth led to a pair of unearned runs when Domingo Santana and Orlando Arcia followed with doubles down each foul line to put the Brewers ahead 3-2.
Montgomery's RBI single evened the score in the bottom of the fourth, but the Brewers tacked on 2 runs off reliever Justin Grimm in the seventh on Scooter Gennett's pinch-hit, 2-run double that landed just fair inside the left-field line.
Russell's second error came in the eighth inning but didn't cause any damage. The Cubs pulled within 5-4 in the bottom half on a Heyward RBI double. But with runners on the corners, pinch hitter Willson Contreras was called out on strikes to end the inning.
"It might be anticlimactic, but however we get this accomplished, I'll take it," Maddon said. "I'll be happy with it. Honestly, I can't be upset about anything. Our guys were fabulous. They were ready to play tonight. It didn't work. Let's see what happens in this other game and either way, we'll come back tomorrow."
The other game went the Cubs' way.