Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/30/23): Cubs 10, Brewers 6 – Win Goes for Naught, Cubs ‘Fought Till Very End’

The Cubs scored six runs in the top of the 1st inning, then gave the lead away before coming back to even the final series of the season. The win went for naught, however, as the Marlins defeated the Pirates to officially secure a playoff spot and eliminate the Cubs from contention.

“We all wanted and expected to be in the postseason,” Cody Bellinger said after the game. “We thought we had the group. We had a great team. We were playing unbelievable baseball in July to even put us in this situation. It could have went either way. We fought till the very end.”

Even though this result has been looming for a while, it hurts knowing the Cubs had something like 93% postseason odds on September 6. For those who are interested in such things, the silver lining is that the club did make some improvements and looked for a while like a legit contender. In order to make a real step forward next season, Jed Hoyer has a lot of work to do this winter.

Wins are always good, but this one was more than a little bittersweet. (Box score)

Key Moment

Yan Gomes stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam. Recent history tells us that shot will earn him a seat on the bench for Sunday’s season finale.

Why the Cubs Won

They hit three homers in the opening frame and didn’t wilt when the Brewers stormed right back, That’s the kind of resilience they hadn’t displayed often in the course of a 6-14 stretch.

Stats That Matter

• Jameson Taillon earned the save with four scoreless innings.
• Alexander Canario was 3-for-5 with a triple, too bad he wasn’t one of the guys that got them here.
• The Cubs walked six times with nine strikeouts.

Bottom Line

This was more of a moral victory since the Cubs were eliminated even before it ended, so we just have to hope finishing the way they did was enough motivation for the front office to kick this not-rebuild into high gear.

On Deck

The final game of the season is at 2:10pm CT as Justin Steele takes on Adrian Houser. The broadcast will be carried by Marquee and 670 The Score.