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Cubs manager Joe Maddon tried almost every move in the book http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-christian-miller-jersey , but it wasn’t enough to prevent a second consecutive shutout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lorenzo Cain homered and Jhoulys Chacin combined with three relievers on a six-hitter to pace the Brewers past Chicago, 1-0 on Wednesday, even as Maddon used two pitchers and a catcher in left field in the eighth inning.

The Brewers improved to 3-8 this season against the Cubs and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Chicago in the NL Central. Seven of the 11 games between the two have been shutouts, five by Chicago.

”We’re a good baseball team and we know they’re a good baseball team,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ”This series wasn’t going to decide anything, but we know that that’s a team that’s going to be there in the end, so wins against them are important.”

Chacin (6-1) allowed four hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking four to win his sixth consecutive decision. Jeremy Jeffress pitched the seventh, Josh Hader struck out the side in the eighth and Cory Knebel worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

”Their guy was really good at keeping us off-balance,” Maddon said. ”He is not overpowering by any means but he pitches well. Sometimes that gives us a lot of trouble when a guy can pitch like that. We had a couple opportunities. We didn’t square him up at all really.”

Mike Montgomery (2-2) allowed only two hits in six innings, both by Cain. He struck out four and walked one in his fourth start since replacing injured Yu Darvish in the rotation.

Cain drove a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left with one out in the third for his eighth homer. He also opened the first inning with a single.

”It was the only run today, but it ended up winning us a ballgame,” Cain said. ”That just shows how great of a job the pitching has been doing. We’ve definitely got to get going and score some more runs. We’re definitely putting too much pressure on our pitchers as a whole.”

To open the eighth, Maddon brought in right-hander Steve Cishek, who gave up an infield single to Orlando Arcia. Cishek then moved to left field for the first time in his eight-year career as left-hander Brian Duensing came on and struck out pinch-hitter Eric Thames.

Duensing then moved to left, also for the first time in his career, and Cishek returned to the mound to retire Cain on a fielder’s choice. Duensing came back to pitch with left field being turned over to catcher Willson Contreras, who made a running catch on Christian Yelich’s drive into the corner for the third out.

”It just popped,” Maddon said. ”(Kyle) Schwarber making the last out, the pitcher coming up third. And the way their batting order set up, it just played out perfectly. You can’t always do it but it worked out today.”

The Cubs won Monday’s series opener 7-2 with five runs in the 11th, but managed just two hits in Tuesday’s 4-0 loss.

”We played well the first game but we only got two runs up to the 11th inning of that game and then shutout-shutout Jordan Scarlett Jersey ,” Maddon said. ”We almost should be grateful we won one out of three.”

The Brewers stranded runners at third in each of the first two innings. In the second, rightfielder Jason Heyward prevented a run, charging in for a sensational sliding grab on Erik Kratz’s one-out sinking liner and then recovering quickly to hold Hernan Perez at third.

MADDON’S MANEUVERING

Duensing, who said he last played left field in high school in 2001, was apprehensive when Cain came to the plate in the eighth. ”I was praying he would stay away from Lorenzo Cain,” Duensing said of Cishek. ”It looked like he was trying to hook one (to left) and I was not appreciative of that. Cishek got the job done so were able to get through there and give our team a chance.”

Maybe because it didn’t affect the outcome, Counsell admired Maddon’s ingenuity. ”It was creative. It was smart. They got matchups they wanted. He did a nice job.”

BRYANT RESTED

With a day off on Thursday, struggling third baseman Kris Bryant was held out to give him two days rest. Bryan is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and has not homered since May 14. Even trailing 1-0 in the ninth, Maddon resisted the urge to use Bryant as a pinch-hitter. ”He has been struggling a lot,” Maddon said. ”Theoretically it sounds wonderful. But I thought (Chris) Gimenez had some good swings today. It’s an easy dialogue to conjure up but I was really trying to give him the day off.”

CAIN JOINS COUNSELL IN BREWERS LORE

The Brewers 1-0 victory over the Cubs was only the second in the all-time series. Milwaukee’s only other 1-0 win was on July 5, 2004 at Miller Park in which Counsell provided the only run with a first-inning homer.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish, on the 10-day DL (right triceps tendinitis) and RHP Carl Edwards, also on the DL (right shoulder inflammation), each came through Tuesday’s bullpen session well, Maddon said.

Brewers: RHP Matt Albers, on the 10-day DL (right shoulder discomfort), will continue treatment throughout the weekend, and then be reassessed. … RHP Zach Davies, on the 10-day DL retroactive to May 30 (right rotator cuff inflammation), threw a bullpen session Wednesday, but is at least three weeks away and will need two or three rehab outings, Counsell said.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Chicago is off Thursday Jonah Williams Jersey , then heads to St. Louis for a three-game series against the Cardinals. Left-hander Jon Lester (7-2, 2.22) starts for the Cubs, oppose Jon Gruden has never had a promising, young quarterback like Derek Carr to develop in 11 seasons as an NFL head coach.

Carr hasn’t had the opportunity to play for a coach like Gruden, an offensive mastermind known for his maniacal work ethic and attention to detail.

The way those two fare together will determine whether Gruden’s return for a second stint as coach of the Oakland Raiders will end up as the resounding success owner Mark Davis hoped for while pining for a reunion the past six years.

”I had a chance to visit with Derek Carr this morning and I said, `Derek, this is an unbelievable opportunity and if you’ll just take advantage of the opportunity, there’s so many great things in store for you, not only professionally but personally,”’ said Rich Gannon, whose career took off after joining Gruden in Oakland in 1999.

”Jon’s excited to work with Derek and Derek’s already a good player but he’s got a chance to be a Hall of Famer and win multiple Super Bowls if he’ll just do the work.”

Carr will be tested and challenged like he hasn’t in his first four seasons. Gruden is famous for arriving at work each day at 3:17 a.m., putting in long hours each week.

He will also ride Carr hard if necessary in order to bring out the best in his game.

”I don’t care how hard Derek worked before, he’s going to have to change his work habits a little bit to fit in,” Gannon said.

Gannon became a star when he joined up with Gruden after 12 seasons as a journeyman in Minnesota, Washington and Kansas City. He became a first-team All-Pro in his second season with Gruden and won the league MVP the year after Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay.

Carr showed he was capable of being a top quarterback when he garnered MVP support in a breakthrough 2016 season. But he took a major step back this past year after signing a $125 million, five-year extension.

He matched his career high with 13 interceptions and recorded his worst totals in yards, touchdown and passer rating since his rookie year in 2014.

”I think there is a huge ceiling in Derek Carr,” Gruden said. ”I think he has proven that. Up to us as a coaching staff to improve around him, get more consistent, and come up with an offense that really allows him to soar into another level.”

Fixing Carr is just one of Gruden’s tasks. Getting receiver Amari Cooper back on track is nearly as important. After beginning his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Cooper took a major step back in 2017. He was plagued by the drops that hurt him as a rookie and only topped the 100-yard mark twice all season while finishing with career lows with 48 catches for 680 yards.

It was a puzzling drop-off for a receiver who entered the year considered one of the top in the game. Hall of Famer Tim Brown said he believes Cooper could be in for a 120-catch season if he listens to Gruden’s advice.

”Even for a guy like me http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-drew-sample-jersey , who was having a pretty good career, he was able to take me to another level, showing me how much better I could be,” Brown said. ”I thought I was doing pretty good. Sometimes you just have to turn your brain off and buy in. If you can do that great things can happen.”

Even some of the greatest players in the game’s history credit Gruden for some of their success. Hall of Famer Jerry Rice arrived in Oakland in 2001 as the most accomplished receiver in NFL history but appeared to be on the decline after failing to reach 1,000 yards in each of his final two seasons in San Francisco.

But he had a rebirth in Oakland under Gruden, catching 83 passes for 1,139 yards at age 39. He followed that up with 92 catches for 1,211 yards the following season and compared Gruden to his former coach in San Francisco, Bill Walsh.

”Could be your best friend or your worst enemy, that’s going to keep you on your toes,” he said. ”Maybe that was something that the players, they were lacking this year. Sometimes you fall into listening to the talk but you need a coach that’s going to keep you focused. With Jon Gruden, he’s that type of coach.”

While Gruden’s biggest impact is on offense, his leadership and intensity translate to the entire team. Hall of Famer Howie Long has seen just about everything. He played for 13 years, announced for more than two decades and has two sons in the NFL.

So Long knows what players want in a coach.

”They want to be great and they want to be led,” he said. ”They want to believe in the guy in front of the room. I call it the Saran Wrap factor. Players see right through that in the front of the room if you’re not authentic, you’re not genuine, you’re not that way every day. … Jon has that.”

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