Cubs club Crew 4-2

Winning Pitcher: Tsuyoshi Wada

Losing Pitcher: Kyle Lohse

SV: Hector Rondon

HR: Javier Baez (4), Anthony Rizzo (27), Rickie Weeks (5), Martin Maldonado (3)

Win Expectancy Chart

Boxscore

The Brewers were easily retired in order in the first. The Cubs hitters were not. Chris Coghlan led off with a double. Then Javier Baez lined a single and turned it into a double via some poor Brewers defense. A fly out from Anthony Rizzo scored the Cubs first run and a grounder up the middle by Starlin Castro scored the second run. Kyle Lohse then walked Luis Valbuena to put runners at first and second with just one out. Arismendy Alcantara flew out and John Baker grounded out. Eight batters came to the plate and the Cubs would go into the second inning with a 2-0 lead.

The Brewers second inning went better than the first. They got a single. The Cubs got a single as well, but Coghlan was caught stealing to end the inning.

The Brewers continued mounting their offense incrementally. This inning Martin Maldonado led off with a double. Jean Segura even got him all the way over to third base with a fly out. A Kyle Lohse strikeout and a Carlos Gomez weak ground out ended the minimal threat.

It didn't take long for Javier Baez to increase the Cubs lead with a towering home run to left. He made it look routine. So did Anthony Rizzo when he followed up with a solo shot to right field on the first pitch after Baez's home run. Lohse finished off the inning by striking out the side. There was a scary moment with Ron Roenicke and the athletic trainer came out to check on Lohse. Whatever they saw, they didn't stay out there very long and Lohse finished the inning. However his night would be finished after that.

In the fourth inning the Brewers managed to accrue two base runners on a walk and a single. However, already with two outs, those runners would not come around to score as the next batter swiftly struck out.

Marco Estrada took over for Kyle Lohse in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was reported that Lohse tweaked his ankle batting in the third inning, which was the reason for removing him. Hopefully the injury ins't severe. The fact that it's not his back, shoulder, or arm/elbow is probably good news. Estrada cruised through the inning retiring the Cubs in order with 2 strikeouts and a lazy fly out.

The Brewers went quietly and quickly in order in the fifth. The Cubs mustered one base runner but otherwise did nothing of note.

In the bottom of the sixth inning the Brewers offense fought about as hard as a cat in a tight shirt. Which is to say they basically just froze and kind of slowly fell over. Thankfully Marco Estrada tied the Cubs up in knots as well.

Rickie Weeks finally broke the shutout with a two-out solo shot. Martin Maldonado would not be out done and he too hit a solo shot. I'm not sure how often two teams facing each other hit back-to-back home runs in the same game. Maybe some intrepid young reader with a subscription to B-Ref's Play Index can find out. Regardless, Wada exited the game for Justin Grimm who retired Segura on a grounder to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh Marco Estrada worked around a double from Coughlan to hold the Cubs scoreless.

Neil Ramirez took over for the Cubs in the eighth inning. He retired the first two batters before giving up a triple to Jonathan Lucroy. Ryan Braun followed up with a pop-up to end the inning.

As if this game wasn't insufferable enough, after Brandon Kintzler got one quick out, Khris Davis whiffed on a what should have been an easy fly out to give the Cubs a runner at second base. Then Arismendy drew a walk only to play a part in an inning ending double play.

Hector Rondon recorded the save in the ninth.

Brewers and Cubs have a quick turnaround with tomorrow's game starting at 1:20 pm CT. Mike Fiers makes his second start of the season for the Brewers looking to salvage a series split. He'll face the Cubs worst starter, Edwin Jackson.

Other notes:

• Pirates lost to the Tigers. They remain 1.5 games back of the Brewers.
• Cardinals crushed the Marlins to move within 2 games of the Brewers.
• The Reds dropped another one to the Red Sox to remain 5.5 games back of the Brewers.