For nine innings, this game belonged to nobody. Then the 10th inning opened, and the Chicago Cubs took it all at once.
Brandon Woodruff had done his part beautifully. The Milwaukee right-hander held Chicago to one hit over 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out six while walking two on 84 pitches. With a 2.16 ERA, Woodruff gave the Brewers every reason to believe the night was theirs. It wasn't enough.
Gary Sanchez had given Milwaukee the early edge, homering to left in the second inning — a 415-foot shot that put the Brewers ahead 1-0. The Cubs answered in the seventh when Ian Happ scored on a wild pitch by Ashby, tying the game at 1-1. That's where things stood heading into extras.
The 10th inning broke open for Chicago. Dean scored on a walk by Michael Busch to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead — the go-ahead run. Seiya Suzuki then singled to left, scoring both Bregman and Crow-Armstrong to push the advantage to 4-1. Milwaukee fought back in the bottom half: Christian Yelich singled to right to score Ortiz, and Garrett Mitchell drew a walk to score Yelich, cutting the deficit to 4-3. But Jordan Wicks retired the side to earn his first career save, and Joel Kuhnel absorbed the loss. Jacob Webb picked up the win, his third of the season.
Milwaukee managed 10 hits on the night but could not convert when it mattered most in extras. Kuhnel allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in one inning of work, walking two and striking out one.
The loss snapped Milwaukee's five-game winning streak; the Brewers remain 50-29 and hold first place in the division. Chicago improved to 44-38. Two milestones loom nearby: Gary Sanchez is 3 home runs away from 200 in his career, and Seiya Suzuki — whose two-run single proved critical — sits one home run shy of 100 for his career.