Game Seven: Brewers 7, Cubs 4

Box Score

The game was immensely satisfying for 8.5 innings, so I'll start by focusing on that.

Marco Estrada was the pitcher the Brewers need him to be today. With the exception of a dinger in the second, Estrada dominated the Cubs and provided the longest start of the season by any Brewers starter. He had great command all day long and his breaking stuff was fantastic. All in all it was a confidence-inspiring start from Estrada as it demonstrated that when he's on he's very effective. His RBI double in the 7th added what turned out to be some much needed insurance.

On the offensive side it was good to see Braun get three hits in his return. The Brewers desperately need his bat in the lineup and today simply demonstrated what we already know. The hit of game came from Martin Maldonado in the form of a bases-clearing double with two outs in the top of the first. The hit extended the Brewers lead to 4-0 and built a comfortable margin before Edwin Jackson inevitably settled in. Too often teams fail to tack on runs in the early inning and had Maldonado not hit the double the Brewers probably would have lost. In this hypothetical loss the culprit would have been--what else--the bullpen.

Regardless of the lead you can never relax with the Brewers. Leading 7-2 heading into the bottom of the 9th Brandon Kintzler promptly started a dumpster fire which allowed the Cubs to come far too close for an iconic Opening Day victory for comfort. In a telling sign of the state of the Brewers' embattled closer, Jim Henderson came in to shut the door. It was not easy as he first allowed a run to score on a hit and Martin Maldonado committed an error on what could have been a game-ending double play. Despite this I had an odd feeling watching him pitch the 9th, a feeling that can only be described as confidence.

One quick blurb on the last out of the game: Off the bat my first concern was a walk-off grand slam. Fortunately a stiff wind was blowing in, but on any other day it could have been much worse. Once it became apparent the ball was going to stay in the park my concern shifted to the catch being secured. I've seen many an outfielder lose a ball in the sun at Wrigley and was relived Norichika Aoki decided to save his Brant Brown impression for another day. 

The Brewers survived and now are one win away from taking the series. Tomorrow it's Wily Peralta vs. Travis Wood. The Cubs are a great team to build some confidence against, and hopefully Peralta takes advantage of the opportunity.