Brewers fall in 10 innings to Cubs

DiFelice walks in winning run on close pitch with two outs

Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Jeff Suppan was very good on the mound Friday afternoon, but he wasn't fast enough on the basepaths.

Suppan allowed one run on four hits in seven innings, but was thrown out at home plate as he tried to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. It was the closest the Brewers got to scoring over the final six frames, as Cubs third baseman Jake Fox worked a bases-loaded walk from Mark DiFelice with two outs in the 10th, and the Cubs celebrated a 2-1 win in front of 41,204 at Wrigley Field.

"It was a tremendous game," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "It's a shame it has to end like that."

Two close calls sent the Brewers to their third straight loss. With the teams knotted at 1, Suppan was out at home in the seventh thanks to a pinpoint throw by Cubs center fielder Kosuke Fukudome. In the 10th, Fox fouled off four consecutive pitches from DiFelice (4-1) before looking at a borderline ball four.

The last call was so close that DiFelice had to ask umpire Bill Welke where his pitch missed. Welke said he saw it high.

"I saw the replay, and it looked like a strike to me. I think he missed it, and that's the ballgame," said DiFelice, who suffered his first Major League loss in his 47th appearance. "I shouldn't have put us in that situation. I should have pitched better."

The Brewers haven't been able to get the bats going during their three-game mini-slump. After dropping the finale of their homestand to the Mets, 1-0, on Wednesday, Milwaukee hitters are 4-for-22 with runners in scoring position and have stranded 20 men on base in two games against the Cubs.

They had a number of opportunities on Friday against Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano, who dueled Suppan through seven innings. Milwaukee's first two hitters reached base in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, but the result was only one run.