Lester, Cubs shut out Brewers, 8-0

[April 06, 2018]  Jon Lester threw six scoreless innings Thursday night and the Chicago Cubs feasted on some sloppy defense by the host Milwaukee Brewers for an 8-0 win at Miller Park.

Lester (1-0), who lasted just 3 1/3 innings on Opening Day in Miami, was much crisper in this one. The veteran left-hander allowed only three hits and walked one in an 89-pitch outing. Three Cubs pitchers polished off the shutout.

Brent Suter (1-1) was touched for eight hits and five runs, four earned, in five innings. He walked three and struck out five and didn't get much help from a defense that coughed up three errors for a second straight game.

Two of the miscues came on an embarrassing sequence in the second inning shortly after Javier Baez broke the scoring seal by rifling a two-run single up the middle. Lester hit one through the box that Suter deflected with his glove, but second baseman Hernan Perez missed it for an error.

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain then bobbled the ball and Baez, who had stopped momentarily rounding third, turned on the jets and beat the throw home with a creative head-first slide.

Chicago (3-3) made it 5-0 with two runs in the third. Alberto Almora Jr. lofted a triple down the right field line that scored Willson Contreras. Almora Jr. scored when Addison Russell laced a double to the wall in left-center.

Kris Bryant, who in the fourth inning singled for his 500th career hit, upped the lead to 6-0 in the eighth with an RBI single that scored Ian Happ.

 

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester (34) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Heyward capped the scoring in the top of the ninth when he walloped a two-run homer off closer Corey Knebel, who hadn't pitched in almost a week.

It went from bad to worse for Knebel as he injured his left hamstring while facing pinch-hitter Tommy La Stella and had to be helped off the field. Perez relieved Knebel and retired La Stella on one pitch, but that was about it for Milwaukee highlights.

It was the second straight shutout loss for the Brewers (4-3).

--Field Level Media

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