Misiorowski Extends Scoreless Streak to 24⅓ Innings, Brewers Take First Place With 5-2 Win

CHICAGO — For the fourth straight start, Jacob Misiorowski took the ball and gave his team nothing to worry about.

The 24-year-old right-hander allowed three singles and extended his scoreless streak to 24⅓ innings as the Brewers beat the Cubs 5-2, moving one-half game ahead of Chicago in the NL Central standings. At 28-18, Milwaukee has won 10 of its last 12. The Cubs, now 29-20, have lost four in a row and eight of their last ten. They had first place a day ago. They don't anymore.

The Streak That's Becoming a Problem

Misiorowski (4-2, 1.89 ERA) hasn't allowed a run in four consecutive starts, dating to April 24. He's not just limiting damage — he's been dominant. On Tuesday he struck out eight, walked one, and needed just 74 pitches to get through six innings. The Cubs touched him for a walk and a fielding error in the bottom of the first, putting two men on with no outs — and then he retired eleven straight batters. Seiya Suzuki's single to right in the fourth was Chicago's first hit of the night.

The stuff was clean and the command was crisper. Ground ball after ground ball. The Cubs had no answer for him in the early innings and by the time they started getting to the bullpen in the eighth, it was already 5-0. Misiorowski finished with a Game Score of 73 — the third time this month he's crossed that threshold.

Brown Had No Margin for Error

Ben Brown (1-2, 2.09 ERA) gave the Cubs five innings — his longest outing of the season — and allowed three earned runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked two. The ERA is still respectable. But Tuesday night, against a Brewers lineup that grinds and makes contact, a few too many mistakes found holes.

Garrett Mitchell's first-inning RBI single made it 1-0. Then in the third, Brown threw a wild pitch that let Jackson Chourio score from third — a pitch that looked like it slipped out of his hand on a full count, with the bases loaded — and Jake Bauers followed with a single to right that scored William Contreras and pushed it to 3-0. Three runs over five innings against a lineup this disciplined isn't a disaster — but with Misiorowski on the other side, molehills are mountains. That's the kind of matchup where the Cubs needed their own offense to show up, and it didn't.

Turang Ends the Suspense

The eighth inning gave Wrigley something to cheer about. David Hamilton — who swiped two bags on the night — singled and stole second off Trent Thornton. Turang then lined his seventh homer of the season to left-center, 370 feet, off a Thornton fastball, and it was 5-0.

That's when the Cubs made it interesting. Ashby came in and Hoerner singled to center to score Crow-Armstrong — 5-1, nobody out, Amaya at third — and Wrigley woke up. Ashby then struck out Busch and Bregman back to back, the second punchout coming on a particularly nasty curveball, before walking Happ to load the bases with two outs. Suzuki stepped in representing the tying run.

He hit it 108 mph. The rocket went right at third baseman Luis Rengifo, who got a glove on it but couldn't make a clean play. Amaya scored to make it 5-2 and the bases were still loaded. Patrick replaced Ashby, Conforto stepped in with a chance to give the Cubs the lead, and grounded out to end it.

Abner Uribe threw a clean ninth for his fifth save.

The entire Cubs offensive output — all seven hits, both runs — came against Milwaukee relievers. Misiorowski left without a scratch.

The Bats Go Quiet Again

Four straight losses and eight out of ten — it's a rough stretch, but it's May. The Cubs are barely a quarter of the way through the season, and a half-game behind a division lead they held going into Tuesday night.

Alex Bregman went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Dansby Swanson, who's down to .195 on the season, was 1-for-4 with two more Ks. Michael Busch went hitless again. The offense struck out 13 times as a team against Milwaukee pitching on Tuesday, and the lineup went a combined 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position across the game.

The rotation has held up its end this series. Brown gave them a chance. But Misiorowski was simply better — and in Game 1, so was everyone else Milwaukee ran out. The offense has been quiet for a week and a half, and the standings are starting to reflect it.

Pitching Lines

What's Next

The Brewers go for a sweep on Wednesday night at Wrigley. Milwaukee sends left-hander Kyle Harrison (4-1, 2.09 ERA) to the mound. The Cubs counter with Edward Cabrera (3-1, 4.06 ERA). First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CT on Marquee Sports Network.