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 By the time Wood (5-5) faced Milwaukee again Friday at Miller
Park, the streaking Brewers had done their homework and it showed as
they tagged the Cubs' left-hander for seven runs on four hits and
chased him after just 2 2/3 innings in an 11-5 victory.
"That was a rough one," Wood said. "They had a game plan, they stuck
to it and they got me."
Four Brewers -- shortstop Jean Segura, right fielder Ryan Braun,
second baseman Rickie Weeks and catcher Martin Maldonado -- finished
with three hits as Milwaukee finished with 16 on the day, extending
a streak of 10 or more hits to nine games.
"We are, no question (a different team offensively)," Brewers
manager Ron Roenicke said. "Everybody's swinging the bat well and
there's no doubt when everybody's hitting like this and there are
mistakes made, we're not missing like we were earlier."
Segura and Braun got things started early against Wood.
Segura lined the first pitch right back at the mound and off Wood's
glove, allowing him to reach on an infield hit. He scored two
pitches later when Braun went opposite-field for his eighth home run
of the season.
"It's one of those rare occasions where everybody up and down the
lineup is really swinging the bat," said Braun, who is 13-for-27
with seven RBIs since being moved into the No. 2 spot six games ago.
"Typically you have a couple of guys swinging well and a couple of
other guys not swinging the bat well. I said a few days ago that I
thought we were a lot better than we had been up until that point in
the season."
Center fielder Carlos Gomez drew a one-out walk then scored on left
fielder Khris Davis' RBI double to center. Davis then scored when
Weeks singled and Maldonado made it a 5-0 game with a two-out double
before Wood finally got out of the inning.
"They hit everything I threw up there," Wood said. "It didn't matter
what I threw. They were hacking early and they got to me. ... Three
pitches into it, I was two runs down. It's tough to get into a
rhythm right there. They got to me early and they did what the
needed to do. That's a great team."
Milwaukee added a runs in the second and third before Wood gave way
to right-hander Carlos Villanueva.
Villanueva retired the Brewers in order in the fourth but he, too,
struggled in the fifth as Milwaukee put four more on the board.
"He tried to battle back, we tried to help him out there," Cubs
manager Rick Renteria said. "Tough, tough start for him today. That
happens. 'Villa' tried to come in and hold it down for him a little
bit. I know he ended up giving up a four-spot but he gave up some
innings."
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All that offense made up for a less-than-sparkling start by Brewers
starter Marco Estrada (5-2). The right-hander went six innings and
struck out five but also allowed six hits and four walks.
"First inning, he came out outstanding," Roenicke said. "That's as
good as I've seen him throw the ball. And I'm thinking, 'OK, he's
got it, he's going to have a great game' and then all of a sudden he
comes out and walks a couple guys and then for some reason his
rhythm gets messed up and the great command he had the first inning
is gone."
If there was a bright side for the Cubs, it was a return of their
offense. Chicago was shut out in its last two games and had gone 20
innings without scoring a run -- a streak that reached 22 before
second baseman Emilio Bonifacio's RBI single in the third.
Chicago scored two in the inning and added another in the sixth on
right fielder Nate Schierholtz's second home run of the season.
"We didn't give up," Renteria said. "We scored a couple of runs but
we fell behind the eight-ball early and it was just kind of tough to
recover."
The Cubs scored two more in the ninth against Milwaukee right-hander
Tyler Thornburg.
NOTES: The Cubs made several roster moves on Friday. RHP Hector
Rondon was placed on the paternity list and LHP Wesley Wright
returned after missing the last two games. RHP Pedro Strop was
reinstated from the 15-day disabled list after missing the last
three weeks with a strained groin and RHP Blake Parker was optioned
to Triple-A Iowa. ... Cubs manager Rick Renteria said RHP Neil
Ramirez would close games until Rondon returns. ... Brewers 3B
Aramis Ramirez is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Sunday
with Class A Wisconsin. Ramirez has been out since May 11 with a
strained left hamstring.
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