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 But in baseball, expectation and reality rarely go hand-in-hand.
That is probably the only way to explain how Chase Anderson, 1-5
with a 6.11 ERA coming into the game Tuesday, flat-out dominated the
Cubs and came within one strike of his first career full game and a
shutout, powering the Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the NL Central
leaders at Miller Park.
"Of all these old baseball cliches, the one that's true is 'momentum
is your starting pitcher,'" Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "It
holds true, Chase established the momentum, the way he went out
there and pitched the first couple of innings. That's what really
does it for a team."
Anderson retired his first 16 batters in order, needing no more than
six pitches to retire any of them, before Miguel Montego broke up
the bid for perfection with a one-out walk in the sixth.
He struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning. In the
eighth, Zobrist slapped Anderson's first offering -- his 88th of the
night -- off the wall in center.
 "I think I got too hooked up in that moment, trying to make too good
of a pitch," Anderson said.
The Cubs went down in order and Anderson got two quick outs in the
ninth before Hayward hit his first home run of the season.
"That was really the only mistake he made tonight," Counsell said.
Bryant followed with a solo shot to make it a 4-2 game chasing
Anderson and bringing on closer Jeremy Jeffress, who struck out
Anthony Rizzo on three pitches to earn his 11th save in 11 chances
this season.
"You throw 8 2/3 innings, you want to finish it -- I know he wanted
to finish it -- but he did his job."
Anderson needed 110 pitches to get through his outing but after
throwing 18 in the first inning, never needed more than 16 to get
through a frame.
"If you execute pitches, it's hard to hit," Anderson said. "When you
don't execute, those guys make you pay ... you saw it in the last
inning."
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (2-3) worked into the sixth and allowed
four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six.
He got off to a good start, facing just two over the minimum through
his first three innings. Jonathan Lucroy gave Anderson a lead in the
fourth with a solo home run -- his third in as many games -- and
Milwaukee broke things open by tagging Hendricks for three in the
sixth.
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Jonathan Villar drew a leadoff walk, advanced on a Scooter Gennett
single then scored on Ryan Braun's RBI base hit. Chris Carter
followed with a two-run double that brought Hendricks' day to an
end.
"He was cruising along and I think that (walk) got him out of
(rhythm)," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "It's a walk, a softie to
left and then a ground ball on the first-base line and it was a
really well-struck ball. The walk set that whole inning up for
them."
Zobrist's hit leaves Juan Nieves as the only pitcher in Brewers'
history to throw a no-hitter, having accomplished the feat on April
15, 1987, against the Orioles at Memorial Stadium.
The Cubs own the only no-hitter in the history of Miller Park, which
opened in 2001. It came on Sept. 18, 2008, when Carlos Zambrano
struck out 10 in a 5-0 victory over the Houston Astros; a game moved
to Milwaukee because of Hurricane Ike.
While Anderson was perfect through his first five innings of work,
Kyle Hendricks was sharp as well.
He only allowed two hits, but one of them was a solo home run by
Lucroy in the fourth that gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
NOTES: After sitting out two games with a sore right wrist, LF Ryan
Braun was back in the Milwaukee starting lineup Tuesday night. ...
Looking to add depth to their bullpen, the Cubs signed RHP Joe
Nathan to a one-year contract Tuesday and immediately placed him on
the 60-day disabled list as he continues to rehab from his second
Tommy John surgery. ... Brewers manager Craig Counsell said
embattled RHP Wily Peralta would make his next scheduled start
Friday against the Mets at Citi Field despite his 2-4 record and
7.30 ERA.
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