Cubs Wake Up With Solid 5-3 Win Against Brewers

The conditions were right for a potential victory on Saturday. The Chicago Cubs were looking to turn the tide in this series with ace Justin Steele on the mound.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Cubs are nearing a decision that will impact the trajectory of their 2024 season. If they want to be buyers, they will need to go on a hot streak to put to bed the rough patch they've experienced for most of the first half.

On Saturday, the team gave one of their better efforts on the season and could be a sign that they are getting out of the funk that they are in.

Tale of the Tape

The Cubs opened this game with a bang as the first two pitches of the ballgame gave them a 2-0 lead. Nico Hoerner led the game off with a single and Michael Busch promptly brought him home with a two-run homer off Brewers' rookie Tobias Myers.

It was the perfect way to start this game after the disaster of a day on Friday . Once again, it was up to them to preserve the lead.

Turning things over to Justin Steele, the Cubs were looking good to start out. The first two innings were solid for the lefty as he only gave up a single to William Contreras.

Unfortunately, the lead came and went thanks to a second hit from Contreras and another from Brice Turang to tie the game up 2-2 in the bottom of the 3rd. The momentum was fading and it was once again not going to be easy for the Cubs.

Thankfully, Pete Crow-Armstrong did his job and put the Cubs back in front thanks to a RBI single of his own.

The Brewers came right back in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a force-out RBI from Sal Frelick. Things were becoming evermore frustrating for a team in desperate need of a win in this game.

To Justin Steele's credit, he was able to overcome for the rest of his day on the mound by not allowing anymore runners. Lasting 6.0 innings, he was able to leave the game with a tie for the bullpen.

Luke Little and Porter Hodge gave great efforts on the mound to keep things even as well. The Cubs are going to need them to spearhead a bullpen that has been dreadful this season.

By the top of the 8th inning, the offense came alive thanks to the heroics of Ian Happ and his two-run shot that got the Cubs' fans at "Wrigley North" jumping.

With the game heading into the 9th, Craig Counsell brought in Hector Neris in search of his 100th career save. It certainly wasn't going to be easy with "Heart-Attack Hector" trying to close things out.

A Rhys Hoskins' single and Jake Bauers' walk gave the Brewers late life, but back-to-back strikeouts from the veteran pitcher shut the door and gave the Cubs their 39th win of the season.

Takeaways

As its been with every game lately, the Cubs could not afford to lose this game. The conditions were dire against a division rival that they hope to chase down in the NL Central standings.

It was a feel good win for this team and the hopeful start of better things to come. The turning point in this game came from a pep talk in the dugout from Justin Steele. What this team has been missing is emotion. It was good to see that someone on this team still cares.

By saying the quiet part out loud, the lefty may have given the shot of adrenaline that this team desperately needs. For the Cubs' sake, they should use this as motivation to resurrect their postseason hopes.

What's On Tap Next?

With the series even, the Cubs will look to keep their momentum in the rubber match on Sunday. Kyle Hendricks looks to build off his recent success against Brewers' ace Freddy Peralta. First pitch is at 1:10 PM CDT on Marquee Sports Network.

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