Cubs beat Brewers 3-1; wild card game to be in Pittsburgh

The emergence of several young prospects helped elevate the Cubs to their first postseason appearance in seven years despite finishing third in their division.

The Cubs went 23-9 from September 1 through the end of the season.

Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon wasn’t going to get Arrieta out of his routine even though the Cubs had already clinched a playoff berth, so having his ace skip his start was not an option.

The Cubs led off the first with a three-run inning, thanks in large part to Anthony Rizzo’s two-run double. Following along with the scores on my phone, I found, was enough for me, especially since the Reds forgot to bring their offense to Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon.

Epstein, the president of baseball operations, and general manager Jed Hoyer painstakingly rebuilt the entire organization after Chicago bottomed out just three years ago with 101 losses.

“I thought Francisco was really aggressive”, Cole said. “The thing I love is that these are major league players that are going to the playoffs and they are paying attention and are very enthusiastic about it”.

The Brewers got a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a monster shot by Khris Davis to right-center field off of Trevor Cahill. Meh. Jackson’s ninth home run this season was his first since August 30, at which time he was a member of the Seattle Mariners.

Dan Haren finished what probably is his last career regular season game with a strong performance.

Most likely right-handed veteran Jon Lester. “We need the pitching”, a Brewers fan said. Lopez is the Southern League Pitcher of the Year after going 12-5 with a 2.26 ERA in 24 starts for Double-A. The Brewers used an all-rookie rotation for the final 12 games of the season after injuries to Jimmy Nelson and Wily Peralta, and Matt Garza was pulled because of ineffectiveness.

It was pretty much over as soon as they announced the starting pitchers. “This was a big confidence builder for him“, Counsell said.

Arrieta went 3-1 with an 0.75 ERA in five starts against the Pirates this year. We saw the typical weak ground balls to second and first base, while Arrieta baffled them with his fastball and cutter. “It’s kind of nice now that it’s over, I think it’s a lot easier to be optimistic and to be able to look ahead … and try to find a few positives to take from this season”.

Drafted by the Cubs as a catcher with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft, Schwarber has played mostly left field in recent weeks. At one point in the eighth, competing full-throated chants of “Lets go Cubbies” and “Lets go Brewers” ringed the stadium.