After a short two hour drive down I-94 from Milwaukee to Chicago, we arrived at Wrigley Field on the northside of Chicago. An overall dreary day gave up temperatures in the low 40s, a rain and snow mix, and a howling Lake Michigan wind that made any batter have really earn a home run. After searching the Wrigleyville neighborhood for a parking space that would not get us towed, we found ourselves a short few blocks from the ballpark. This being the first game without $1 hot dogs, a trip to McDonald's ensured we get our daily dose of future diabetes, and then we were on to the game.
We arrived in the center field entrance in plenty of time to receive our Babe Ruth bobbleheads. Our seats were General Admission in the bleachers so we made sure to reserve a good spot as soon as we could. We sat in the first two rows in left-center field. The group was hoping we would be there in time for batting practice, but unfortunately because of the weather, the teams did not take batting practice on the field.
It was a battle between the 1st and last place teams in the NL Central, the Brewers and Cubs respectively. Pitching for the game was the Cubs ace, Jeff Samardzija, who despite having a superb 1.45 ERA in his first eight starts, had incredibly not recorded a win. Opposing him was the Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse, who had an ERA below 3 and came into the game 4-1. The scoring for the Brewers started early with two in the first off of two Cubs errors and a wild pitch. The Brew-Crew tacked on two more off of a Jean Segura single.
The atmosphere in Wrigley definitely had a very young and drunk feel to it. Fans found themselves taunting Brewers fans and the center fielder Logan Schaefer more than actually watching the Cubs bat. One man near us treated getting acknowledgement from Cubs center field Emilio Bonafacio in incredibly high regard. While insults spewed and beer flowed, I will say that no one went "too far" with their insults and the mood remained light and overall happy.
After an early 4-0 deficit, the Cubs found themselves in a hole. They responded off of a 2nd inning Darwin Barney 2 run home run to cut the lead in half. The Cubs added another in the 3rd with a Junior Lake solo shot down the left field line to bring the score to 4-3. After later squandering an opportunity with runners on first and third with one out, the Cubs could not manage another run. The Brewers bullpen did a great job after Lohse left the game, and the Brewers won 4-3. After the game it was back to the car and then sitting for almost two hours in Chicago Friday rush hour. It was back to Iowa for the weekend and then Kansas City on Monday.
Until Later,
Ryan Adolfson
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