Schwarber's blasts help Chicago Cubs salvage series finale
MILWAUKEE - Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn't going throw back any of the 3 home runs his team hit Sunday in an 11-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
He especially loved the mammoth, 473-foot grand slam Kyle Schwarber hit in the second inning and the 3-run opposite-field homer Schwarber hit in the fourth to give the Cubs 7-0 lead.
But Maddon also liked Schwarber beating out an infield single in the sixth to set up a 3-run homer by Victor Caratini after the Brewers had come within 7-3 in the fifth while chasing Cubs starter Jose Quintana. Maddon also liked Willson Contreras beating out a potential double-play grounder and Jason Heyward doing the same.
"I just don't want to be home run reliant," said Maddon, whose team improved to 56-49 after salvaging the final game of this three-game series. The victory moved the Cubs back into a tie for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. The Cubs and Cardinals meet for three games beginning Tuesday at Busch Stadium.
"I don't want to play that game, that's the 2019 game," Maddon continued. "I want us to be more than that. There were singles in front of that whole thing (Schwarber's slam). I kind of liked that. It wasn't just home run that set the whole thing up.
"I want us to play baseball. I don't want us to do this new-wave analytical baseball that just tries to put balls in the seats all the time. I want baseball properly played, and I want us to be fundamentally sound, and that includes offense too … I'm not of the OPS genre. I want us to play good offense, and we did that. The home run played in there today, but I want us to play the game. I don't want us swinging for a 2-run or 3-run homer when a single's going to suffice right now in a moment.
"If we get to that point, man, were going to be very dangerous."
As for Schwarber, he recorded a career-high 7-RBI game with his seventh career multihomer day. He came into the game 1-for-17 on the road trip.
"That was a really big game for all of us there to be able to go ahead and come out on top here and have the day off going to St. Louis ready to go," said Schwarber, who has 24 homers this year. "That was a tough couple games for me. To be able to snap out of it there and put together a pretty good day, it's definitely a positive thing."
About the only downer on the day for the Cubs was that Quintana was not able to qualify for the victory. He came out sharp, with pitch counts of 10, 17, 14 and 6 over the first four innings before command problems led to a 29-pitch fifth, when Maddon removed him in favor of Brad Brach, who held the Milwaukee threat at 3 runs.
"It was Joe's decision and I respect that," said Quintana, who walked two in the fifth, including Orlando Arcia after Quintana got two quick strikes on him. "But I control that, for sure."
The Cubs lost the first two games of this series, Saturday night's in heartbreaking fashion. The big leads Sunday helped lighten the mood, but Maddon was taking nothing for granted.
"Yeah, of course," he said. "But this ballpark, it just goes. It's different. Not to detract from their offensive abilities, but I don't know what it is about here. (The ball) is just coming off hot, and it goes far easily in this ballpark. My point is it's never a safe feeling in that dugout here."