MILWAUKEE — After a moment of silence for Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg on Tuesday night at American Family Field, the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers continued their fight for the National League Central lead and the league’s best record.
Sandberg’s death, announced in the middle of Monday’s game, took some focus off the opener of an important end-of-July series, but a sense of normalcy returned one night later, beginning with the now-traditional booing of Cubs manager Craig Counsell at his old ballpark.
But the Cubs played what Counsell called “uncharacteristic” baseball, losing 9-3 to the Brewers before 40,136 and falling two games back in the NL Central race.
Former Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn hit a grand slam off Ryan Pressly and drove in a career-high six runs, while two of the game’s best fielders, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner, committed costly errors.
“I don’t think you’re going to have another game this year where Pete and I both drop balls and things like that,” Hoerner said. “Obviously more to it than that, but move on.”
The Cubs might have to move on Wednesday without left fielder Ian Happ, who fouled a pitch off his left shin in the eighth inning, became lightheaded and was forced to leave the game. X-rays were negative, Happ said, though Counsell might want to be cautious and rest Happ with a day off Thursday.
“If I can’t walk (Wednesday), we’ll know something is wrong,” Happ joked.
The Cubs desperately need a spark after dropping the first two games of a very big series.
“We’ve said it, or you’ve said it?” Happ asked.
Uh, so it’s not a big series?
“No, I think going into the series, the top two records in baseball, and they’ve played really well,” he said, adding: “That wasn’t our best tonight, but two months of baseball left and a lot of games.”
Hoerner confirmed the importance of the moment.
“Of course this series means a lot, playing the other top team in our division,” he said. “The (trade) deadline does carry some weight. I don’t think it’s affecting anything on the field right now, but it is a unique time of the season.”
While the game goes on, stories of Sandberg’s brilliant career continued to be retold as Cubs fans mourn the death of a beloved athlete who was the embodiment of an old-school ballplayer.
A patch on the Cubs’ shoulders honoring Sandberg, with his number 23 and signature, will forever bind this 2025 team to the late Hall of Famer, just as the ’25 Brewers are paying tribute to the late broadcaster Bob Uecker with a patch that includes a “ring of plaid” — a nod to the loud sport coats he wore on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and in Miller Lite commercials.
Former Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston said on MLB Network that this year’s Cubs team features several players who “act like Ryno,” playing the game the right way without calling attention to themselves.
“They come to the plate, they battle and they’re out to beat you,” Dunston said. “And they’re quiet. And then they go home and they go about their business and that’s that. That was Ryno. He was boring, but I liked that a lot.”
Counsell said he recently thought the same thing.
“There’s a lot of (truth to) that,” he said. “I hope (Sandberg) really enjoyed watching this team because of some of the things that we’ve been able to be successful with.”
Counsell pointed to the baserunning and savvy plays such as Hoerner letting an infield fly drop Sunday to bait a White Sox runner into a double play.
“Those are things that make players (like Sandberg) stand up and smile,” Counsell said.
The comparison to Sandberg was considered a supreme compliment.
“That’s very kind of him to say that,” Dansby Swanson said. “There’s a lot of us in this clubhouse that just want to win. We do everything we can to win. It doesn’t matter who gets the glory because it’s always a team effort. We were just raised to play the game hard and do what’s right to win.”
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But the Cubs need to step up in all phases. The recent pitching woes suggest one or two acquisitions by Thursday’s trade deadline might not be enough. Starter Colin Rea was fortunate to allow only four runs over four innings Tuesday, while Pressly issued two walks before serving up the grand slam to Vaughn that sealed the game in the seventh.
Entering Tuesday, the Cubs bullpen had posted a 6.28 ERA in July, the third-worst in the majors. Chris Flexen, who had a strong first half, was designated for assignment after his recent struggles. Gavin Hollowell was promoted from Triple-A Iowa, but more changes are likely as President Jed Hoyer deals with another potential bullpen crisis.
Injured starter Jameson Taillon is slated to begin his rehab stint Saturday at Iowa, while Javier Assad starts at Iowa on Wednesday. Before Wednesday’s series finale, the Cubs recalled catcher/designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros from Iowa, designated infielder Vidal Bruján for assignment and activated reliever Porter Hodge from the injured list and optioned him to Iowa.
Brewers star Christian Yelich insisted Monday the team is playing with “house money” because no one believes it can fend off the big-market Cubs.
“Look, whatever motivations you want to use, or whatever chip you want to use, that’s all on you to develop that,” Counsell said of Yelich’s theory. “Use whatever you want.”
Didn’t Counsell use that same “chip” when he managed the Brewers?
“I don’t know if you ‘use’ it,” he replied. “I’m not really sure how to answer that. Like (any) team in your division, you’ve got to beat them. You’ve got to beat the Cardinals, too, got to beat the Reds, whatever.”
Shota Imanaga heads back to the mound Wednesday, hoping to get back on track after a season-worst outing against the White Sox on Friday. It’s not a do-or-die game, but for panicky Cubs fans it feels like one.
Hoerner said the Cubs have more opportunities against the Brewers, but they can’t afford to waste too many.
“It’s on us to seize them,” he said.
