MILWAUKEE – Seiya Suzuki raced around the bases as his line drive bounced off the contours of the center field wall at American Family Field.
Cubs third base coach Willie Harris waved wildly as Suzuki approached third base, sending him home with the game on the line. Suzuki dodged the tag at the plate for a go-ahead inside-the-park home run off Brewers closer Josh Hader.
Suzuki’s power and speed helped the Cubs force extra innings in their 5-2 loss to the Brewers on Monday, the same day the Cubs activated Suzuki off the 10-day injured list.
Suzuki’s inside-the-park homer gave the Cubs a one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning. But reliever David Robertson gave up the tying run the next frame. He allowed a single, automatic double and hit batter to load the bases. Then, Robertson walked Brewers star Christian Yelich to knot the game at two runs apiece.
Former Cub Victor Caratini delivered the walk-off three-run home run for the Brewers in the 10th inning.
The Cubs reinstated Suzuki after over five weeks on the IL with a sprained left ring finger. Cubs manger David Ross wrote Suzuki into Monday’s lineup playing right field and batting fourth against the Brewers.
“It’s nice,” Ross said. “Getting him back and back in that lineup deepens everything, pushes some guys down [in the lineup]. … When you get a guy like Seiya back who has a real track record, when he’s hot he’s as good of a player as we have.”
In a three-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa, Suzuki went 4-for-9 with a home run and two doubles.
“This guys a workaholic, so he picked [his timing] up pretty quick,” Ross said. “We’ll see how it transitions to the best competition in the world.”
Suzuki went 2-for-4, and his inside-the-park homer was the Cubs’ first since August 2017 (Javy Báez at San Francisco).
To make room for Suzuki on the active roster, the Cubs optioned outfielder Narciso Crook to Triple-A Iowa. Crook made his MLB debut with the Cubs last week, logging an RBI double as his first major-league hit.
Steele deals
Cubs lefty Justin Steele held Milwaukee to one run in 6 2⁄3 innings. He didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings he pitched.
In the sixth inning, he issued a two-out walk to Keston Hiura, who then stole second base. Brewers catcher Pedro Severino lined a double just out of Cubs left fielder Ian Happ’s reach, tying the game.
Stroman rehab start
Ross evaluated right-hander Marcus Stroman’s rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday as “better than the line.” Stroman (right shoulder inflammation) allowed five runs in 2 2⁄3 innings.
“Stuff looked really sharp and crisp,” Ross said of the report from the outing.
Over the weekend, Stroman said he expected he’d need just one rehab outing before returning from the 15-day IL. But on Monday afternoon, Ross wouldn’t commit to a timeline, saying he hadn’t yet talked with Stroman about how he felt the day after the start.
