Brewers survive awful strike zone in high-scoring win over Cubs on Thursday afternoon

In recent years, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs' rivalry has produced no shortage of dramatic, and at times frustrating, moments. Thursday afternoon's bout was no different. The Brewers not only outlasted the Cubs' late-inning rally, but their bullpen group escaped a nerve-wracking jam, caused almost entirely by a strike zone that tightened considerably in the later innings. Luckily, the Brewers built themselves a large enough lead that the poor late-game umpiring didn't force them into the loss column, instead resulting in a series split between the two NL Central division rivals.

The Crew got off to a hot start thanks to a first-inning double from Jackson Chourio, that was followed by a ringing RBI single from Christian Yelich. Both Yelich and Chourio had multiple hits in this afternoon's contest, playing an integral role in the Brewers’ win.

However, the Cubs came right back in the bottom of the first frame with two runs of their own on a two-out, two-run home run by Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA, as he is often referred to, now has 20 HR and 23 stolen bases on the season, making him the first player in MLB to reach the mark in 2025. However, his efforts weren't enough to earn the Cubs a win in today's game, as the Brewers offense came alive.

Milwaukee slugged two home runs in the top of the second, a solo shot from Rhys Hoskins and a two-run homer from Caleb Durbin, to grab the lead right back. In the following inning, Chourio, Yelich, and William Contreras hit three-straight singles to tack on another run, giving the Crew a 5-2 lead after three innings.

On the other side of the ball, Freddy Peralta, the Brewers starter this afternoon, was good, not great. He toughed out five innings on 86 pitches, allowing just two hits, but three earned runs, and striking out six. With the unexpected off-day yesterday, Pat Murphy turned to his bullpen early, and though they didn't have their best stuff today, much of the struggles can be attributed to an inconsistent and tight strike zone that seemingly came out of nowhere in the last few innings of the game.

Brewers split Cubs series with an 8-7 win on Thursday afternoon, despite a brutal strike zone at the end of the game

Aaron Ashby, who hadn't worked in a week, was first out of the pen for the Brewers and looked really sharp in his first frame. In fact, Ashby's sinker touched 100 mph at one point today. But in his second inning of work, Ashby surrendered a two-run bomb to Ian Happ. Luckily, the red-hot Isaac Collins had slugged a three-run homer a few innings prior, so the Brewers still had a comfortable 8-5 lead after Happ’s homer.

With a three-run lead and six outs to get, Murphy turned to his back-end one-two punch of Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill, which is when home plate umpire Adam Beck's strike zone tightened considerably. Two strikes were called balls during Dansby Swanson's at-bat against Uribe, which ended in a walk and forced Uribe to essentially earn four outs in the bottom of the eighth. Additionally, Swanson scored the second of two runs that came around to score in the inning, cutting the Brewers' lead to 8-7 when Megill entered for the ninth.

Happ, the first batter Megill faced in the bottom of the ninth, was the recipient of two missed calls and, as a result, drew a leadoff walk. However, Megill hunkered down and got the next batter, Kyle Tucker, to strike out swinging before inducing a game-ending ground-ball double play to Seiya Suzuki, much to the relief of Brewers fans everywhere.

While the strike zone didn't end up affecting the outcome of the game, extra pitches were thrown by the Brewers' relievers, and extra runs were had by the Cubs offense. Despite it all, the Brewers pulled off the win and improved their season record to 40-35. They now head to Minnesota for a matchup with the scuffling Twins, who have won just three of their last ten games, before returning home for a matchup with the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates. It's an excellent opportunity for the Crew to string together a few wins and climb in the standings, and it all starts with Jacob Misiorowski's second career MLB start tomorrow night.