Cubs tip their caps to Crew’s Anderson

MILWAUKEE — The Cubs came into Tuesday night playing .750 baseball and scoring runs at a ferocious pace, 5.94 per game.

Their mound opponent for this game, Chase Anderson of the Brewers, had a 6.11 earned-run average for the season. Over his last five starts, his ERA had been 8.88.

The Cubs had won seven straight games at Miller Park, dating back to August of last season. With the roof closed, this is a hitters’ park. With the roof open this is a hitters’ park. The Cubs hitters, who have been battling pitcher-friendly winds nearly all season at Wrigley Field, would be happy to hit in Tuesday night’s climate-controlled circumstances, with the roof closed and the wind merely a rumor of outside activity.

It was all set up for the Cubs to clobber Anderson and the Brewers and underscore their position as the juggernaut of 2016. The whole situation fairly shouted: “Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!”

But, this being baseball, the night was ruled by surprise. The Cubs didn’t have a runner on base against Anderson until the sixth. And they didn’t get a hit against him until the eighth, when Ben Zobrist doubled leading off the inning.

It is true, that with two outs in the ninth, with Anderson one strike away from a one-hit shutout, Jason Heyward hit his first home run of the season. And then Kris Bryant homered.

This was the way the Cubs were supposed to be hitting all night, wasn’t it? The Brewers’ lead had been cut in half, maybe there was still time. Nope. Brewers closer Jeremy Jeffress struck out Anthony Rizzo to end the game, a 4-2 Brewers …

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