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CHICAGO – The tiebreaker between the Brewers and the Cubs nationally this Monday at Wrigley Field was not a memory game in the strict sense of the word, but both played a decisive role in The final victory of Milwaukee. And as both teams progress to the playoffs, these bulls have a very different shape.
As for Monday's inclination, a reasonable question was whether either of them would treat the game as a must. These days, it would involve going to your high-level helpers at the first whim, even if the clue happened, say, in the third inning. Starters Jhoulys Chacin and Jose Quintana however did not need early help, as they combined their efforts for 10 2/3 innings and only two races allowed.
Maddon went to his paddock after Christian Yelich chose Quintana to lead the sixth. Quintana had only 64 shots and only allowed one point, but he was beaten twice by the command. Counsell also went a little earlier in the sixth inning. He lifted up Chacin while he was on a modest 75 shots and he had just caused a double play. However, Daniel Murphy was coming, which meant that Chacin was going through the formation of the Cubs for the third time. So, it was not aggressive by contemporary standards. It just lifted the starter before the opposing alignment looked too much at it, and that's how almost all the managers of the day treated starters who are not real aces.
After these two reasonable decisions, things became interesting. Counsell went on the left-handed, Xavier Cedeno, to face Murphy, southpaw, and Ben Zobrist. Cedeno, however, gave a single and a walk, and the Cubs had two with two outs. The score at that moment was 1-1 and, by base expectation, the Cubs had a 56.5% chance of winning the game. With Javier Baez in place, Counsell would obviously not let Cedeno. To replace him, he went to Joakim Soria's house.
Soria is 34 years old and has had an ERA of 4.15 since joining the Brewers on July 26th. Although Counsell turned to Soria, it was the biggest of the season so far. In terms of leverage index, which measures the importance of a given game situation, it has been verified at 2.49. The average is 1.0 and Soria under Counsell has an average leverage index of 1.51. Layer in addition to this, the fact that this game has determined the title of the division, and it is no exaggeration to call it the biggest spot of 2018 for the Brewers. Soria went through the scene while Baez, who was surely looking for something out of the way, went through the kind of medium-to-medium fast-ball that does not often go beyond it.
Given the vital nature of this situation, the temptation might be to go see Jeremy Jeffress closer to attack Baez. The pitcher's pitch was not to be won for five other batters, so the Brewers could potentially shoot several innings of their lockout without having to beat it. Or maybe you ignore the pack problem and go with Josh Hader. Instead, Soria survived and allowed Counsell to structure her decisions more comfortably. Before the match, Counsell spoke of the need to balance the consequences of this match – yes, it's an important issue that gives the winner a much easier path to the belt and title, but it's not a elimination game. Getting to Soria instead of the top of the food chain may have been Counsell's attempt to find that balance. The result was in favor of Counsell, but it is right to question the thought process that brought it there. In any case, Corey Knebel threw a perfect seventh, then Hader made the last two innings, including a big-game showdown with Anthony Rizzo, who managed to equalize by eight feet.
Now, the Brewers, as NL Central champions, will go to the NLDS against the NL West champion. The road to Milwaukee is short in I-94 and will not play until Thursday. This means that Hader will play in the first game of the LNDS after two days of rest and 57 shots in the last week. Jeffress has not launched since Saturday, and he will visit the NLDS after throwing 26 shots the previous week. Knebel will have launched 47 launchers the week before. Rested and ready, that.
For her part, Maddon used Monday six different relays to complete the last four rounds. In addition, Sunday's Cubs were the only team to play for something that did not fully evolve to victory. While the Brewers, Dodgers and Rockies won, the Cubs struggled to keep the Cardinals out late and use nine pitchers.
On Monday, the eighth round crystallized Maddon's dilemma. He drew Justin Wilson after allowing consecutive shots, but then Steve Cishek allowed the tied tie to Lorenzo Cain. Randy Rosario came to face Yelich, whom he lined up, and then Brandon Kintzler was summoned to retire, Ryan Braun. That's not the case, with Braun concentrating in the center to give Milwaukee a 3-1 lead. Maddon ended up using four pitchers to get three outs, but they allowed two innings of the season.
Tuesday, Jesse Chavez, one of Maddon's devotees since the fall of Pedro Strop, has made the throw four of the past few days. Cishek has launched five of the last six days. Carl Edwards Jr. struggled in September and showed reduced speed on recent outings. Behind all this, the Cubs have played 42 games in the last 43 days and, thanks to their loss to the Brewers, will soon have 43 games in 44.
We must not forget that Monday's Cubs were without Strop and Brandon Morrow thanks to an injury. Strop was absent due to an injury suffered during the base race and, before the tiebreaker, it seemed that he would be missing up the NLDS. After the match, however, Maddon said he was unsure of Strop's status, while Strop himself told reporters that he would be ready to participate in the Wild Card Game. Think of it as a developing situation, but at least Strop can go there. He has not launched since September 13, and it's possible he's not at 100% even though he's leaving on Tuesday.
Maddon has no ideal options for the moment, and recent events will make it difficult to approach the Wild Card Game in the way he would probably prefer. Perhaps he will rely on Jon Lester – his likely leaving – longer than he would like because of his tattered and tired book. Really, the Cubs needed the division title and more days off than the Brewers, but their new reality is relentlessly adapting for a match that could end their season in an instant.
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