LDN - Sports

Bryant's big performance fuels Cubs' latest win

[August 19, 2016] CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant went 5-for-5 with two home runs while right-hander Jake Arrieta picked up his 15th win as the Chicago Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with Thursday's 9-6 victory.

Bryant, who also scored four times and collected five RBI, now has 30 home runs to tie Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the National League lead.

Brewers starter Zach Davies (9-6) suffered his second straight loss after giving up seven runs in a four-inning outing.

Aroldis Chapman allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for his seventh Cubs' save and 27th of the season.

Arrieta (15-5) gave up five runs on three hits, walked seven and struck out three in a 5 2/3 inning effort. He matched Washington's Stephen Strasburg for most National League wins.

Chicago (77-43) won its fourth straight and 18th in 21 games. Milwaukee (52-68) has lost four in a row and six of its last seven.

The Cubs collected two runs in the first, continuing a streak of scoring first in every game in the series.

Ben Zobrist's fielder's choice grounder to first scored Bryant from third for a 1-0 lead. Anthony Rizzo, who reached on a double, moved to third and came home on Addison Russell's single to left center.

Bryant made it 4-0 in the third with a first-pitch home run to left -- his 29th of the season. The two-run shot drove in Matt Szczur, who reached on a single to center.

Chicago put two more runners on for Willson Contreras, who sent a two-out single to right to drive in Zobrist for a 5-0 lead.

Arrieta retired the first eight batters he faced in order and didn't allow a hit until the fourth when he gave up a three-run homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis with two out. Hernan Perez and Chris Carter scored after each walked as the Brewers trimmed the Cubs lead to 5-3.

Three consecutive doubles in the fourth led to two more Cubs' runs and a 7-3 lead as Bryant drove in Szczur with a one-out two-base hit to left and came home on Rizzo's double into the right-field corner.

Davies was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fifth. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits, struck out four and walked one.

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Milwaukee put runners on second and third with two out in the fifth before Arrieta got Ryan Braun to ground out to short. But the Cubs' starter gave up a solo home run to Perez to open the sixth and walked two batters before leaving the game with two out.

Reliever Spencer Patton walked Keon Broxton to load the bases and issued a base on balls to Jonathan Villar to bring home Carter and cut Milwaukee's deficit to 7-5. Scooter Gennett grounded to second to finally end the inning.

Bryant clubbed his second homer of the day -- his third multi-homer production of the season -- with one out and the bases empty in the sixth for an 8-5 Chicago lead. Milwaukee picked up a seventh-inning run on Ramon Flores' fielder's choice grounder to first to score Nieuwenhuis.

Bryant's RBI single in the eighth drove in Javier Baez for the ninth Cubs run.

NOTES: Brewers LF Ryan Braun returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Wednesday following a collision along the left-field wall that resulted in a banged up knee while chasing a fly ball on Tuesday. ... He came into the game with a career .348 batting average at Wrigley Field. ... Milwaukee travels to Seattle to open a three-game series but had not yet named a starting pitcher on Thursday. Manager Craig Counsell said Chase Anderson, sidelined by a line drive in the first inning on Tuesday, might be well enough to start. ... The Mariners will send LHP Wade LeBlanc (2-0, 4.68 ERA) against the Brewers. ... Chicago and Milwaukee meet again for a three-game series at Miller Park on Sept. 5-7. ... The Cubs hit the road Friday to open a three-game weekend series at Colorado, part of a nine games in 10 days road run that also takes them to San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... RHP Kyle Hendricks (11-7, 2.19 ERA) takes the mound in game one against Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (4-4, 3.42).

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