The visiting Chicago Cubs will turn to veteran Kevin Gausman in a bid to avoid a sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
Gausman (9-11, 4.38 ERA) will be opposed by fellow right-hander Logan Henderson (9-3, 2.48) in a rematch of starters from last week’s pitchers’ duel.
The Brewers rallied to win 4-3 on Tuesday on rookie Luis Lara’s bases-loaded single in the 10th inning. Jackson Chourio rescued the Brewers with a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Jacob Webb to tie it 3-3, capping a four-hit game with his career-high 22nd homer.
Milwaukee (90-56) moved nine games ahead of the second-place Cubs (81-65). The Brewers lowered their magic number to clinch the NL Central for the fifth time in the last six seasons to seven.
The Cubs, who suffered their seventh walk-off loss of the season, still hold the second NL wild-card spot, a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
Milwaukee also rallied to beat the Cubs 4-3 in the series opener with three runs in the eighth inning, keyed by Chourio’s two-run single. Chourio is batting .348 (32-for-92) with five homers and 14 RBIs over his last 21 games.
“This is how you’ve got to win games in the bullpen,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Tuesday’s loss. “You’ve got to get outs … it’s our job. They’re going to do it. It hurts when it happens, it hurts when it happens consecutively.”
In the last meeting, Gausman allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out nine, to get the win in a 2-1 victory against Henderson, whose only runs allowed in seven innings was Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer.
“It all starts with command for me,” Gausman said. “Being able to move my fastball around. When I can do that and throw strikes consistently, and the split is carrying the zone, I’m pretty hard to beat.”
Gausman is 4-1 with a 4.37 ERA in six starts since being acquired at the deadline from Toronto, where he was 5-10 with a 4.38 ERA in 23 starts.
Gausman is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in nine career outings, including seven starts, against Milwaukee. He has won both starts against Milwaukee this season, allowing four runs on 11 hits in 12 innings.
Henderson has gone at least six innings in each of his last six starts. He was 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts in August.
Henderson has walked just 14 in 83 1/3 innings, striking out 93. Opponents are batting just .177 against him. In his last outing against the Cubs, Henderson allowed just two hits in addition to Crow-Armstrong’s homer.
“It’s a game of wins and losses, and ultimately, tonight it wasn’t enough,” Henderson said. “But there’s a lot of positives from tonight.”
Henderson and Zac Gallen (23 starts, 2019-20) are the only pitchers in the majors since 1893 to allow three runs or fewer in each of their first 20 career starts, not including openers or pitchers who had relief appearances.
–Field Level Media
