3 Takeaways from Brewers satisfying victory over Cubs to spoil Counsell's return

Rarely do events with so much buildup and so much anticipation end up with such a satisfying result. Brewers fans were able to get that satisfaction on Monday.

This date has been circled on the calendar since last November when manager Craig Counsell announced his decision to become the next manager of the Chicago Cubs, leaving the Brewers high and dry in the process. Milwaukee ended up promoting his top lieutenant, bench coach Pat Murphy, to the role.

The excitement for the rematch, the anticipation, the energy, all resulted in a highly satisfying 5-1 win over the Cubs and there were some key takeaways we learned from this game.

Takeaway #1: Robert Gasser is Him

In just his fourth big league start, Robert Gasser had to face a massive test and he aced it. Despite all the pressure and energy, Gasser shoved to the tune of 6+ IP, allowing just three hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, and striking out seven. Two of those three hits came in the 7th and Murphy pulled him immediately after. Gasser allowed just that one hit and one baserunner through six.

"I thought he did a great job. That's big for a young kid, a rookie making his fourth start. I wanted him to keep going because his pitch count was low" manager Pat Murphy said.

Gasser has now gone six innings in three of his four starts. When asked about the length Gasser's been able to give this team and how important he's been, Murphy said "We're almost one-third of the season in and we've used 11 starters. To have a guy that can give you six every time, it's not totally surprising but it is kind of remarkable for a kid to come up and do that."

"[Gasser's] been impressing everybody about the way that he carries himself on and off the field. The work ethic he has is incredible. For him to come up to the league and dominate the league like that, it's incredible" said Willy Adames

Gasser's down to a 1.96 ERA through his first four starts since being promoted, striking out 13 batters so far and allowing just one walk.

Takeaway #2: Willy Adames still can come through in big moments

Willy Adames has had some big moments in his Brewers career, and he had another one in this game to put it away. The Brewers already had taken a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning, and on a 3-0 count with a green light, Adames made it a 4-0 ballgame.

Adames has hit the ball hard the last couple of weeks without much for results.

"Put the barrel on a lot of balls, but today we got one down and it went out. Hopefully we can continue to put a lot of those out there" Adames said.

This was Adames' eighth homer of the season and the first one of his career on a 3-0 count. Adames is now 3-for-4 in his career when making contact on a 3-0 pitch.

Takeaway #3: All the love is lost for Craig Counsell

"The environment was great. Gotta want to be part of that" Murphy said.

"I feel like [the fans] were a little extra today just because of Counsell. But we love that because we feed off of that energy" said Willy Adames.

"It was electric" said Bryan Hudson.

As expected, this game had a special feel to it because of the manager in the opposing dugout. Craig Counsell left Milwaukee for Chicago and the Brewers fans let him know how they feel about it. They booed during a pregame tribute video, they booed his name during lineup introductions, they booed when he stepped out of the dugout to stop Dansby Swanson from getting ejected, and they booed him walking out to make a pitching change.

The players knew the environment would be like that and they fed off of it. It took them a while to get going offensively as lefty Justin Steele stymied them through seven innings. But once they got into the Cubs bullpen, that energy started to kick up again and lead to some results.

The last time Counsell was in American Family Field, he was cheered on as he was the manager of his hometown team in the postseason. This time, and all the times in the foreseeable future, this will be how he's greeted every time he steps out of the dugout as the Brewers faithful let him know.