The Chicago Cubs lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field, giving the Brewers the Central Division title.
Ryan Braun and Lorenzo Cain each had RBI for the Brewers, and Jhoulys Chacin held the Cubs to one run in his start.
With the loss, the Cubs now have to prepare for the National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday night, when they'll host either the Colorado Rockies or Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
Cubs pitcher Jose Quintana had a solid game, giving up one run in five innings of work, but the team's bullpen struggled in the eighth inning, as Justin Wilson gave up two earned runs and allowed the Brewers to pull ahead late.
Brewers pitcher Josh Hader struck out three batters and gave up one hit in two innings of work to pick up his 12th save of the season.
The Brewers took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning, as Christian Yelich continued his MVP-caliber season with an RBI single to put his team ahead.
The Cubs were held hitless through the first four innings of the game, but Anthony Rizzo changed all of that in the fifth as he launched a deep home run off Chacin to knot things up at 1-1.
Chicago Baseball
The game remained scoreless until the eighth inning when the Brewers systematically dismantled the Cubs' bullpen. Cain hit an RBI single to center field to score Orlando Arcia, who had four hits on the day, and Braun hit a two-strike pitch from Brandon Kintzler into right center to put the Brewers ahead 3-1.
After that Hader came into the game and shut the Cubs down. Javier Baez drew a two out walk in the ninth to make things interesting, but Rizzo flew out to end the game, giving the Brewers the division title and two days of rest before the National League Division Series starts on Thursday.
If the Cubs can win the National League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, they will head to Milwaukee to face the Brewers, with Game 1 slated at Miller Park on Thursday.
