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Cubs 2, Brewers 1: Logan Henderson out-dueled by Kevin Gausman
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- Cubs 2, Brewers 1: Logan Henderson out-dueled by Kevin Gausman
CHICAGO – Logan Henderson was really, really good for the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night, Sept. 3.
Problem was, Pete Crow-Armstrong was just a little bit better.
One swing of the bat by the likely National League MVP Award winner in the third inning on a changeup down and out of strike zone produced the decisive play in the game, a two-run home run to center field that sunk the Brewers, 2-1, at Wrigley Field as the Central Division rivals ended up splitting their four-game series.
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BOX SCORE: Cubs 2, Brewers 1
"The big swing by the kid in center," said manager Pat Murphy. "Difference in the game."
Henderson struck out seven over seven innings and a career-high 102 pitches but veteran counterpart Kevin Gausman topped the young right-hander by striking out nine over his seven innings and 103 pitches.
Milwaukee actually out-hit Chicago, 5-3, but scored its only run on a fourth-inning homer by Andrew Vaughn.
One misplaced pitch made all the difference
The Brewers were out-hitting the Cubs, 2-1, after the first two innings before Chicago's No. 9 batter, Carson Kelly, singled with one out in the third.
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That brought up Crow-Armstrong, who after flying out to center in the first had season totals of three hits in 34 at-bats against the Brewers.
Henderson fell behind in the count, 2-0, then Crow-Armstrong took a changeup out over the plate for a called strike.
Another changeup followed – this one down and out of the zone – and sent it 413 feet out to straightaway center with the ball landing in the basket hanging over the field to put Henderson and the Brewers in a 2-0 hole.
"I haven't gone back and watched it," Henderson said. "It was in his honey hole. He scooped it and got it. He hammers spin below the zone. I probably wanted to go more away with it.
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"Pulled it a little bit and he put a great swing on it."
The homer was Crow-Armstrong's 39th on the season but first against Milwaukee. The two runs batted in were also his first against the Brewers.
"He hit soft down," said Murphy. "When you throw him soft, you have to throw him low. He's one of the best performers in the game right now. We've done a great job pitching to him.
"It was a good pitch, but it had to be a little bit lower."
A little life against Kevin Gausman
Gausman, the veteran right-hander who was acquired at the trade deadline as one of several pitching upgrades for the Cubs, had struck out four of five batters bridging the third and fourth innings before Vaughn turned on a splitter down and away and came a row away from hitting it completely out of the ballpark in left.
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The blast cut the deficit to 2-1 and was Vaughn's first since Aug. 4.
"Vaughn's been sneaky great all season long," Murphy said. "He's a guy that hasn't hit a lot of homers because he hasn't played regularly. But when he's played he's been a part of it every time, so not surprised.
"Great swing."
Milwaukee's final, best opportunity to get to Gausman as it turned out came an inning later after Joey Ortiz singled and then David Hamilton laid down a beautiful bunt that hugged the first-base line and left him with a hit as well.
That brought up Jackson Chourio, who sent a drive to left-center that left his bat at 100.2 mph but didn't quite have enough distance as it dropped into Seiya Suzuki's glove on the warning track.
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Ortiz tagged and went to third but Brice Turang was called out on strikes to end the threat.
"Chourio hit a ball right on the nose with guys on first and second that could have changed the game," said Murphy. "Didn't have enough. Maybe yesterday it goes out, but today it doesn't go out.
"That's the way it goes."
Logan Henderson wraps up a great night
Henderson clearly wasn't fazed by Crow-Armstrong's homer, as he responded by retiring the final 14 batters he faced to finish seven innings. DL Hall then pitched a scoreless eighth.
"You've got to (move on)," he said. "It definitely hurts more that it ended up being the winning swing, but any bad things that happen in a game you do your best to flush it and move on."
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Henderson (9-3) scattered three hits and didn't walk a batter with seven strikeouts, and by allowing only two runs Henderson still hasn't surrendered more than three in any of his 20 starts to date for Milwaukee.
"Henderson was magnificent," Murphy said. "Pitched well enough to win. Hat's off to Gausman and what he did, his veteran presence. Him and (Clay) Holmes, those are two really well-pitched games (Holmes won the opener)."
Henderson's season ERA remains unchanged at 2.48 while his WHIP sits at a microscopic 0.79.
"It's a game of wins and losses and ultimately tonight it wasn't enough," Henderson said. "But I think there's a lot of positives from tonight. Gausman pitched really well, but that's part of the game and we move forward."
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Indeed, Gausman allowed only one walk over his final two innings, then hit the showers with two Chicago relievers retiring Milwaukee's final six batters in succession.
The upshot? The Brewers head to Cincinnati with the same eight-game lead they held when they arrived at Wrigley Field.
"I think we're playing good baseball," Henderson said. "I think this is a good time to be playing good baseball. We played a good team over there, so we've just got to keep going.
"One day at a time."
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a two-run home run during the third inning against the Brewers on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Wrigley Field.
What is the Brewers' record?
87-54, best in the major leagues. Milwaukee holds an eight-game lead over Chicago in the Central Division.
Brewers probable pitchers and schedule
Brewers at Reds, Sept. 4, 5:10 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP Shane Drohan (7-5, 3.75) vs. Cincinnati RHP Rhett Lowder (6-8, 5.14). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
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Brewers at Reds, Sept. 5, 5:40 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Dustin May (6-9, 4.69) vs. Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (6-10, 4.49). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers at Reds, Sept. 6, 11:10 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP Kyle Harrison (10-4, 3.45) vs. Cincinnati RHP Brady Singer (5-13, 4.83). TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cubs 2, Brewers 1: Logan Henderson out-dueled by Kevin Gausman
