Crew lacks big hit after Hiura's early heroics

MILWAUKEE -- A wall-banging catch one moment, and a wall-clearing home run the next.

But Keston Hiura and the Brewers needed more on Wednesday afternoon to avoid the late letdown of a 2-1 loss to the Cubs at American Family Field.

Hiura smashed into the out of town scoreboard after making a running catch in the top of the fifth inning and then launched a tie-breaking 440-foot home run in the bottom half of the frame. That lead carried all of Corbin Burnes’ seven scoreless innings before getting away from Brad Boxberger and Josh Hader in Milwaukee’s second straight loss. The result was the Brewers’ first series loss to the Cubs at home in nearly two years, since Sept. 11-13, 2020.

“If we are able to get Burnes and a lot of our pitching staff some runs, there’s a good chance we are able to come away with a ‘W,’” Hiura said. “Sometimes it’s just baseball. We gave ourselves opportunities to put runs on the board, and it didn’t happen to work out our way.

“You have to be able to execute and do your job moving forward. That’s what our focus is, that’s what our goal is. Baseball is a tough game, and you can’t always succeed.”

This tough game turned on a series of moments after Burnes departed his fifth straight stellar start, one in which he scattered three hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings and matched Yovani Gallardo’s franchise record with his 18th career double-digit strikeout performance.

• In the top of the eighth, with Boxberger pitching because Devin Williams was unavailable -- manager Craig Counsell called it a workload issue -- center fielder Jonathan Davis clipped the padding on the way up as he leaped for a Christopher Morel triple that led to the tying run. Davis said he makes that catch eight out of 10 times.

• In the bottom of the eighth, Davis reached third with one out and the Brewers’ 2-3-4 hitters all coming up, only to be stranded. Willy Adames momentarily considered breaking his bat over his knee after fouling out to first base. After Rowdy Tellez took first on an intentional walk, Luis Urías struck out.

• And in the ninth, the Cubs started their winning rally with a rare four-pitch walk issued by Hader to lead off the inning. Three batters later, Cubs backup catcher P.J. Higgins punched a two-out hit to right field for the winning run. Hader surrendered a run in back-to-back outings for the first time since last July 11-12.

“We had 27 outs to try to score, but we only put up one run,” Counsell said. “There’s not many days when that’s going to be enough.”

“We were kind of missing that one big hit tonight,” Burnes said.

Higgins’ big hit for the Cubs was especially satisfying because it was he who’d been robbed by Hiura back in the fifth. Hiura caught Higgins’ fly ball a split second before smashing face-first into a fence that protects a video screen displaying scores and advertisements. It was a critical moment, since Burnes had just allowed the game’s first extra-base hit on an Alfonso Rivas double.

Burnes wound up stranding Rivas at second before Hiura gave the Brewers the game’s first run with a two-out solo home run that sailed a Statcast-projected 440 feet and nearly flew all the way out of the stadium. It came at the end of a nine-pitch at-bat against Cubs starter Adrian Sampson, who’d only allowed one baserunner to that point on a single.

Yes, Hiura said, the adrenaline was pumping.

“I’m still getting used to running in from left field and catching my breath before the at-bat,” Hiura said.

Wednesday marked Hiura’s second big league start in left field this season and in his career, and only his fourth regular-season appearance in the outfield. He came up as a second baseman but more recently has gotten his playing time at first.

Hiura does work extensively in the outfield, however, getting reads during batting practice and during weekly one-on-ones with Brewers first-base coach and former Major League outfielder Quintin Berry.

“I thought I had at least one more step in me before the wall,” Hiura said. “Thankfully, it was a chain link fence and it ‘caught’ me a little bit. It was kind of a weird swing; I think it was a slider and he kind of one-handed it a little bit and it kept going. I was on the ball the whole time, and I wanted to secure it. It just happened to be right at the wall. I’m glad it stayed in the glove, that’s for sure.”

“He hasn’t played much out there for us,” said Burnes, “but he looked like a natural on that play.”