CHICAGO — Craig Counsell’s shocking decision to leave the Milwaukee Brewers for the Chicago Cubs managerial job last fall ensured he would be the focus of the I-94 rivalry for the immediate future.

While Cubs-Brewers never will be mistaken for Bears-Packers, it has been one of the more entertaining rivalries in baseball over the last decade — and Counsell’s defection only increased the intensity.

The low-key Counsell, who might be the most unexcitable Cubs manager in recent history, was unsurprisingly unenthused.

“Look, we’re just trying to win a baseball game,” he said before Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field. “This is a good team. You spend most of your time trying to figure out how to beat the team. There are people there I have really good relationships with. … You miss people for sure.”

What could have been a memorable day for Counsell turned into an ugly one in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss before 33,557 at Wrigley.

Counsell threw caution to the wind and brought in Adbert Alzolay with a 1-0 lead, only to watch the struggling reliever give up three runs on four singles to the five batters he faced.

Alzolay left to a chorus of boos after being yanked following his major league-leading fifth blown save — and the eighth blown save in 18 opportunities by the Cubs bullpen.

“It feels awful,” Counsell said. “It feels bad for sure, and you feel for Adbert for sure. He’s struggling right now for sure, but we need Adbert to be an effective member of the bullpen and we need to keep giving him opportunities to do that.”

That’s the question Cubs fans are asking: Why keep tempting fate?

Counsell said the current stretch of 16 games in 16 days factored into his decision to use Alzolay in a high-leverage situation.

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