Suddenly hot Crew wins 3rd straight vs. Cubs

“We could sit here again in five days,” Craig Counsell was saying as the Brewers headed into the weekend, “and think the offense looks pretty good.”

Sure enough, a few days later the Brewers’ offense was looking pretty good.

Keston Hiura snapped a long 0-for with a three-run home run, and Orlando Arcia led a flurry of contributions from the players at the bottom of the batting order Sunday in a 6-5 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field that gave Milwaukee its first three-game winning streak of a shortened season that is already one-third complete.

• Box score

Nos. 8-9 hitters Luis Urías and Arcia combined to go 6-for-8 with three singles, two triples, a home run and five runs scored, including Arcia’s go-ahead tally on Ryan Braun’s single in the seventh inning. When Josh Hader struck out Nico Hoerner to end an epic, 13-pitch battle in the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers were back to even at 10-10.

It was a 12-hit afternoon, following a 10-hit, 10-inning win on Saturday, following a Friday win decided by Christian Yelich’s chewing gum-aided, three-run homer. All three victories were of the come-from-behind variety, all against a Cubs team that has the best record in baseball and entered the series having allowed the sixth-fewest runs.

“It’s good to see the offense coming alive, breaking into the potential of what this lineup can do,” Hiura said. “There were some big hits today.”

Here are three of the biggest:

1. Hiura’s homer

The Brewers needed the bats after starter Josh Lindblom struggled with Cubs hitters and an inconsistent strike zone in a three-run first inning, forcing Milwaukee to play from behind for the 15th time in 20 games this season. Hiura got those runs back against Cubs lefty Jon Lester in the third when Hiura, hitless in his last 14 at-bats and 1-for-21, tied the game with a two-strike, two-out, three-run home run.

“It’s a game of small adjustments,” Hiura said. “A game of inches, where a little thing can change an outcome, whether it’s an at-bat or pitching or on defense. It changes your state of mind.”

Hiura’s problem lately has been “chase,” evidenced by a 36.4 percent strikeout rate that is fifth-highest among qualified MLB hitters. He has struck out multiple times in 10 of 14 games so far in August, including Sunday, but with that swing and miss comes power when Hiura is right.

“I think Keston is going to swing-and-miss and I also think he's going to do a lot of damage,” Counsell said. “I think that will gradually improve as he gets more experience and at-bats in the Major Leagues, but he didn't come through the Minor Leagues as a high-contact guy. When you see strikeout rates under 15 percent in the Minor Leagues, those would be high-contact guys.”

2. Arcia’s homer

Hiura’s home run scored Urías and Arcia, who combined to strike again in the fifth with a leadoff triple for Urías followed by a go-ahead home run for Arcia. It was a huge day for that duo, and a huge weekend for Urías, who matched his career high with three hits both Saturday and Sunday.

For Arcia, it continued a productive start that has helped prevent Urias from claiming everyday shortstop duties. Arcia is slashing .304/.347/.457. His wRC+ jumped to 118 on Sunday, up from 61 last year. His strikeout rate is 10.2 percent, down from 20 percent last year.

“You know, the pitchers have been doing a good job, but it’s our time to step up and give them some more run support,” Arcia said. “It’s good to have it all come together.”

Last year, Arcia was statistically the least valuable qualifying hitter in MLB, per WAR. When Urías got off to a late start because he tested positive for COVID-19, it gave Arcia a head start on taming his overaggressive nature at the plate.

“That was something I wanted to improve coming in,” Arcia said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work with Andy [Haines, the Brewers’ hitting coach] and [assistant hitting coach Jacob] Cruz, and it’s paying off. I’m getting my foot down in time to recognize pitches and still be aggressive.”

3. Braun’s single

Was this Ryan Braun’s final game at Wrigley Field? It could have been, barring a postseason matchup, or a deal between the club and Braun to exercise his mutual option or otherwise work out something to return in 2021. Braun became the Brewers’ latest unconventional leadoff hitter on Sunday, as Counsell seeks ways to get some of his hitters the at-bats they need to get going. Avisaíl García and Omar Narváez recently found themselves in that spot.

Opportunity came in the seventh, moments after the Cubs had tied the game at 5. Arcia led off the next inning with a triple just past the glove of diving center fielder Ian Happ, and Arcia scored on Braun’s go-ahead single, the highlight of Braun’s second career start in the leadoff hole. He finished the day a career .321 hitter with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs in 94 games at Wrigley Field.

“It’s a special place to play,” Braun said. “I have some tremendous memories here. Some special moments. I’m not sure if that will be the last one or not, but if it was, I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to play here for the last 14 years.”

That the Brewers strung together hits was a sign of life from a unit that still ranks in the bottom third of MLB in offensive categories, but suddenly appears on the rise.

“We never gave up,” Urías said. “Everybody is doing their part, and I think we’re going in a good way.”