LDN - Sports

Brewers blast Cubs to stretch NL Central lead

[July 07, 2017] CHICAGO -- The Milwaukee Brewers jumped on the Chicago Cubs early and rolled to an 11-2 victory in a game some felt should not have been played on a hot Thursday afternoon.

"Everybody's mindset was a little upset that we had a night game yesterday and they scheduled a day game after they (the Cubs) had a day game yesterday," said Brewers starter and winner Zach Davies, who improved to 10-4. "I think as a team we wanted to put it on them early and that kind of showed right out of the gate."

The Brewers jumped on two Chicago pitchers in a seven-run third inning and never looked back.

Milwaukee (48-40) opened a 4 1/2-game lead over the Cubs (42-43) in the National League Central with the win.

Thursday's standalone game was rescheduled from an May 20 Wrigley Field postponement -- a day when it did not actually rain. It was listed on both teams' schedules as a day game, originally a mutual off-day.

"Off days are precious, you never want to give those away and obviously the game that got rained out ended up being a beautiful day," said Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun. "We would have loved to have had the off day but if you have to play, it's always nice to get the win."

The Brewers had played a Wednesday night game, a 4-0 victory over the Orioles, before traveling to Chicago. The Cubs beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

Davies worked six innings for his third straight win and fifth in his last seven starts. Cubs left-hander Mike Montgomery (1-6) suffered the loss in a 2 1/3-inning start, his shortest of the season.

Domingo Santana went 4-for-5 and walked once, Jesus Aguilar was 3-for-5 while Hernan Perez added two hits to lead an 13-hit Milwaukee attack.

The Cubs managed just six hits.

"There's not a whole lot to talk about," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "That game goes in the trash can as quickly as any game we've ever played. We just didn't pitch well early and it's very difficult to fight back."

The Brewers jumped to a first-inning 1-0 lead when Jonathan Villar drew a walk on four pitches and Santana drilled a 1-1 pitch into the left-field corner for a run-scoring double.

Santana reached third on Braun's fielder's choice groundout and came home for a 2-0 lead on Perez's two-out single up the middle.

Braun made it 4-0 in the third with his one-out home run to center that also brought home Santana. After back-to-back singles by Aguilar and Perez, Manny Pina followed with a one-out base hit to drive in Aguilar for a 5-0 lead.

That was it for Montgomery, who left with two runners on and one out. He was ultimately charged with seven earned runs on six hits while striking out four and walking two.

Cubs left-handed reliever Jack Leathersich walked Keon Broxton to load the bases and then issued back-to-back four-pitch bases on balls to Orlando Arcia and Davies to score Perez and Pina for a 7-0 lead. Villar's sacrifice fly to left brought Broxton from third an 8-0 lead.

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Cubs starting pitcher Mike Montgomery (38) throws the ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Santana's two-out double to right drove in Arcia to make it 9-0. The seven-run inning was the most allowed by the Cubs this season.

The Cubs loaded the bases with none out in the third but managed just one run as Kris Bryant's fielder's choice grounder scored Javier Baez. Willson Contreras hit his 11th home run of the season with one out in the fourth to make it 9-2.

Milwaukee's 10th run came in the fifth on a double steal and Contreras' throwing error as Villar took third and then scored. Santana reached third on the error and made it an 11-2 game on Aguilar's single to center.

Davies allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out three in his third straight six-inning effort.

"Personally, (10 wins is) something that kind of makes you happy," Davies said. "There are personal goals that you want to hit, but at the same time, we want to play in October."

Maddon wanted to preserve his bullpen for the weekend Pittsburgh series and called on outfielder Jon Jay to pitch the ninth. He allowed one hit in a scoreless inning.

"For all the folks that stuck around, they were definitely rewarded," Maddon said. "It was entertaining, you've got to find a bright spot in the game."

NOTES: Milwaukee 2B Eric Sogard was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a strained left ankle suffered last week while running the bases in Cincinnati. ... INF Yadiel Rivera was recalled Thursday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he had a .231 average with four home runs and 33 RBIs in 68 games. ... The Brewers travel to New York for a three-game weekend series with Yankees, sending RHP Junior Guerra (1-3, 4.93 ERA) against LHP Jordan Montgomery (6-4, 3.62 ERA) in Friday's opener. ... The Cubs remain home for a three-game series with the Pirates, sending RHP Eddie Butler (4-3, 4.18 ERA) against Pittsburgh RHP Trevor Williams (3-3, 4.67 ERA). ... Along with calling up OF Kyle Schwarber from Triple-A Iowa, on Thursday, the Cubs also put RHP John Lackey on the 10-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis of the right foot. ... Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (right hand tendinitis) has been out 26 games while LHP Brett Anderson (low back strain) has missed 54.

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