8/30/23 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday
30 August 2023 Sports
From Wayne Mausser
Justin Steele struck out eight in six effective innings, shaking off a comebacker that hit him on his left leg, and the Chicago Cubs stopped Milwaukee’s nine-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory over Corbin Burnes and the Brewers on Tuesday night.
Steele (15-3) allowed six hits and walked one, throwing 80 of his career-high 111 pitches for strikes. The All-Star left-hander improved to 6-0 with a 3.09 ERA in his last eight starts.
Bouncing back from a 6-2 loss in the series opener, Chicago (70-62) pulled within four games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee (74-58).
Steele was struck near his left knee by Victor Caratini’s one-out liner in the second. After a visit from manager David Ross and a trainer, along with a few warmup throws, he stayed in — drawing a big cheer from the Wrigley Field crowd of 33,294.
Burnes (9-7) also was terrific, striking out seven in seven innings. But the three-time All-Star remains winless in seven starts since he pitched eight sparkling innings in a 4-0 victory at Philadelphia on July 20.
The Brewers had seven hits and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position in their first loss since Aug. 17. It was the team’s longest winning streak since an 11-game run in 2021.
After Steele departed, Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather each got three outs before Adbert Alzolay worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 22nd save in 23 opportunities.
Merryweather got some help when Yan Gomes threw out Christian Yelich when he attempted to steal second in the eighth. Ian Happ also made a solid catch against the ivy-covered wall in left on Tyrone Taylor’s drive in the fifth.
One day after a four-run first inning in the opener, the Brewers looked for another fast start. They put runners on second and third with one out, but Willy Adames lined to second and Monasterio struck out swinging.
The Cubs then jumped in front in the bottom half of the first. Nico Hoerner was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on Ian Happ’s double before scampering home on Cody Bellinger’s groundout to second.
Chicago threatened in the fifth, loading the bases on two singles and a walk. Hoerner then hit a liner right to third baseman Andruw Monasterio, who stepped on the bag for an inning-ending double play.
Right-handers Brandon Woodruff (3-1, 2.65 ERA) ad Kyle Hendricks (5-7, 3.80 ERA) take the mound Wednesday for the series finale. First pitch is at 1:20 from Wrigley Field.
Elsewhere in the NL Central Tuesday the Cardinals nipped the Padres 6-5, the Pirates beat the Royals 6-3 and the Giants downed the Reds 6-1. The Brewers now lead the Cubs by 4 games and the Reds by 7 in the division.
In the Midwest League Tuesday the Timber Rattlers won at Beloit 5-0. They meet again tonight with the first pitch at 6:35.
The Packers’ made their cuts Tuesday to get down to their 53-man roster. Three undrafted rookies make the team. They are RB Emanuel Wilson, OLB Brenton Cox Jr., and WR Malik Heath..
The team did part ways with two of its 2023 draft picks, releasing WR Grant Dubose and waiving injured RB Lew Nichols.
Green Bay is keeping 6 wide receivers and 6 outside linebackers on its roster. There are only 4 cornerbacks on the active roster right now as Eric Stokes remains on the PUP list.
The team has 3 running backs right now as Wilson joins Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Last year the team kept only 2 running backs out of camp.
The Packers don’t have a long snapper on the 53-man roster, though that is reportedly just a temporary move that will allow the team roster flexibility. It gives the Packers a chance to roster a player on Tuesday, then place him on injured reserve on Wednesday with the chance to return in 4 weeks. If the Packers place a player on injured reserve right away, he is done for the team. Green Bay will reportedly add long snapper Matt Orzech.
The team has kept punter Daniel Whelan.
Below is a position by position breakdown of the initial 53-man roster.
QB (2): 8 Sean Clifford, 10 Jordan Love
RB (3): 28 AJ Dillon, 31 Emanuel Wilson, 33 Aaron Jones
WR (6): 9 Christian Watson, 11 Jayden Reed, 13 Dontayvion Wicks, 18 Malik Heath, 83 Samori Toure, 87 Romeo Doubs
TE/FB (3): 81 Josiah Deguara, 85 Tucker Kraft, 88 Luke Musgrave
OL (11): 50 Zach Tom, 63 Rasheed Walker, 69 David Bakhtiari, 70 Royce Newman, 71 Josh Myers, 72 Caleb Jones, 73 Yosh Nijman, 74 Elgton Jenkins, 75 Sean Rhyan, 76 Jon Runyan, 78 Luke Tenuta
DL (6): 93 T.J. Slaton, 95 Devonte Wyatt, 96 Colby Wooden, 94 Karl Brooks, 97 Kenny Clark, 99 Jonathan Ford
OLB (6): 47 Justin Hollins, 52 Rashan Gary, 55 Kingsley Enagbare, 57 Brenton Cox Jr., 90 Lukas Van Ness, 91 Preston Smith
ILB (5): 7 Quay Walker, 24 Tariq Carpenter, 45 Eric Wilson, 58 Isaiah McDuffie, 59 De’Vondre Campbell
CB (4): 23 Jaire Alexander, 25 Keisean Nixon, 29 Rasul Douglas, 37 Carrington Valentine
S (5): 6 Dallin Leavitt, 20 Rudy Ford, 26 Darnell Savage, 34 Jonathan Owens, 36 Anthony Johnson Jr.
Spec. (2): 17 Anders Carlson, 41 Daniel Whelan
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