Cubs stun Brewers with B2B HRs off Hader

The Cubs had been waiting for something to stir their quieted offense. And for most of Saturday night, it looked like Chicago might be dealt another frustrating shutout as each game carries more weight with October approaching.

In the ninth inning, the Cubs woke up.

"That was unbelievable," Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said.

Facing Brewers relief ace Josh Hader, Jason Heyward and Ildemaro Vargas launched back-to-back home runs, propelling the North Siders to a 4-2 victory at Miller Park. Heyward's was a three-run, go-ahead shot that snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak for the Cubs' lineup. Hader hadn't allowed a home run all season until Saturday.

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Prior to Chicago's four-run ninth inning, the offense had produced eight runs in the previous 39 innings, dating back to Tuesday. All eight of those runs came on Thursday night, when the lineup snapped out of a separate 17-inning drought. There was a steady stream of strikeouts and mounting frustration.

The postseason looms and the National League Central-leading Cubs continue to wait for their offense to perform to expectations.

"We haven't felt great offensively, right?" Cubs manager David Ross said. "For a while. So, the fact that these guys continue to push and focus in moments when you can give up ... that's a really nice win right there."

After Kyle Schwarber fouled off a two-strike bunt attempt to begin the ninth, the Cubs were two outs from a second consecutive shutout. Lefty Jon Lester gave Chicago a stellar effort on Friday, but it went for naught. One night later, the Cubs were at risk of squandering a strong 7 2/3 inning showing by Hendricks.

Then, Javier Báez pushed an inside heater from Hader into right field for a one-out single that sailed just over the glove of leaping first baseman Jedd Gyorko.

"Inside out, nice and easy swing," Heyward said. "I feel like that's one of the balls that's been getting caught for the last few games. It barely got over a guy's head to start the inning off."

That prompted Ross to summon Anthony Rizzo off the bench. After a scheduled day off, the veteran entered to face Hader, who had held Rizzo to a 2-for-11 showing with five strikeouts in their career meetings.

"He had been talking about that at-bat the entire day," Ross said of Rizzo. "Before the game even started."

Rizzo fell into an 0-2 hole, but then slapped his bat on a slider that dropped low and outside. He flipped the ball into right field for another single, and Báez sprinted to third to put runners on the corners.

"Rizz dumping one in," Heyward said. "I feel like a lot of guys have been getting shifted and we've been hitting right into the shifts."

That set the stage for Heyward, who saw two fastballs and a slider to fall into a 1-2 count. He took the slider for a strike and swung through a heater, putting Hader in an optimal position for the two-strike pitch.

"He had options," Heyward said. "He could've made whatever pitch he wanted there, obviously."

Hader went with an inside fastball.

"I was trying to go inside," Hader said. "I'm not sure where it went, but I'm going to guess it was probably down and in. It was probably a good pitch for him to just drop the barrel on.”

That was, in fact, essentially the way Heyward described it.

"That one kind of found me," said Heyward, who became just the second left-handed batter to ever hit a two-strike home run off Hader. "He threw a fastball in a good spot for me to just stay short. When a guy like that is supplying power, you take a short swing and you make it work. Make a good pass at it, it's got a good chance to get out of here."

The Cubs were not done, though.

Vargas, who was added to the roster Monday after being claimed off waivers from the Twins, was next. The switch-hitting infielder faced Hader on Aug. 18 with the Twins, and though he struck out, their battle lasted 10 pitches.

Even after Heyward's blast gave the Cubs a 3-2 advantage, Vargas fought his way to a full count against Hader. Ross was impressed, especially when the at-bat concluded with another no-doubt blast -- this one to left-center field to give the Cubs some breathing room.

"It's easy there to start celebrating," Ross said. "But [Vargas] put a nice swing on one, give us a little cushion."

It was just one rally within a single game. Given the backdrop of all the offensive issues of late, however, this was undoubtedly a win of magnitude for the collective psyche of the Chicago's players.

"These type of things carry into other games," Ross said. "If we want to continue on the championship path that we want to be on, those types of wins, you log those in your brain and you remember."