CHICAGO _ The Cubs had seven All-Stars and the second-best record in the National League.
The Braves started a pitcher who just seven weeks ago washed out of Class Double-A and was signed off the street.
Who you like? Turns out it wasn't that simple.
On a wild night at Wrigley, after Nick Markakis's second homer of the game tied the game 3-3 in the ninth inning, Tyler Flowers' single scored Freddie Freeman in the 11th to send the Braves past the Cubs 4-3 on a long night on the North side.
With two outs and Freeman on second after leading off the inning with a walk, Flowers overcame an 0-for-4 night by punching a grounder through the infield's right side. Ex-Brave right fielder Jason Heyward made a strong throw home but not in time to catch the sliding Freeman. The Braves ended a four-game losing streak while now-vulnerable Cubs fell for the 13th time in 18 games.
Add a brief benches-clearing moment in the ninth, when Jeff Francoeur and Cubs catcher Willson Contreras exchanged words over an inside pitch _ OK, the Cubs were hit by pitches three times and starting pitcher Jason Hammel nearly took one to the head _ and this one had a little something for the whole family.
This all overshadowed Lucas Harrell, who in his second start as a Brave, allowed the Cubs just one run in 72/3 innings before leaving the eighth with two outs and a 2-1 lead. Contreras then turned the night inside out with a two-out two-run triple off Hunter Cervenka that gave the Cubs a brief 3-2 lead.
Staked to a two-run lead from Markakis's first-inning homer, Harrell may not have been exactly domineering but was enough to maneuver into position to win. He drew a no decision, despite the Braves going 24 consecutive at-bats without a hit in his support.
Markakis, who started the night with two homers, recorded the third multi-home run game of his career. He began the night a career .208 hitter in Wrigley.
The game, which was delayed one hour and 35 minutes by an early evening rain storm, was the makeup of a rained-out April 30 date. Less than half of the 41,480 of the announced crowd were around at the end.
Harrell remains with a 2-0 record in Wrigley _ vs. 17-33 anywhere else _ where in 2011-12 as an Astro he beat the Cubs twice in two starts. Counting one relief appearance, he lowered his ERA in the Friendly Confines to 0.79 (2 earned runs in 222/3 innings.
He allowed four singles, struck out five, walked two and hit Kris Bryant twice but left with Bryant at first with Cervenka brought in to face Anthony Rizzo. After Cervenka hit him with a 3-0 pitch, Ben Zobrist delivered a soft opposite-field RBI double to score Bryant and close the gap to 2-1.
Jim Johnson came in to face Contreras, who lined a ball sharply past a charging Ender Inciarte, the ball going all the way to the wall to clear the bases.
Harrell sailed through the early going until the fourth, when he hit Bryant with a full-count fastball and yielded single through the second base hole to Rizzo. Zobrist whistled a liner up the middle that Inciarte ran down and pitched to second for a double play after Bryant broke too far to third. He ended the inning with a fielder's choice grounder by Contreras.
An inning later, the Cubs advanced runners to second and third with two outs and ex-Brave Tommy La Stella at the plate. Harrell struck him out on a full-count change-up.
After yielding three hits to the first five Braves he faced, Hammel quickly shut down the lineup, retiring nine straight hitters through the fifth. But with Gordon Beckham leading off the sixth, Hammel drew a visit from manager Joe Maddon due to cramping in his right pitching hand. Maddon allowed him to stay after visiting the mound but then pulled him after he walked Beckham on four pitches.
Markakis provided Atlanta a 2-0 lead just four batters into the game, launching a 1-0 fastball just inside the right-field foul pole for his third home run, scoring Jace Peterson, who had led off the night with a soft opposite-field single. With the homer, Markakis has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. He entered the night batting .313 over his past 17 games.
