William Contreras hit a double in the ninth inning that broke the tie, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
Blake Perkins started the inning with a single off Héctor Neris (8-3). One out later, Contreras doubled to left-center field, helping the NL Central leaders finish a challenging day with a victory.
Earlier, the Brewers had placed Christian Yelich on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his lower back, and there were concerns that the All-Star outfielder could be out for an extended period.
“Losing Christian is a big blow,” manager Pat Murphy acknowledged. “It could have a significant impact. But this team doesn’t give up easily. They continue to battle no matter who is on the field.”
Milwaukee’s Bryse Wilson entered the game in the second inning and allowed only one run over four innings against Chicago. The lone hit he surrendered was a home run by Seiya Suzuki. Jakob Junis (3-0) followed with three innings of one-hit ball before Joel Payamps closed out the game in the ninth for his fifth save.
Jackson Chourio gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single. Pinch-hitter Brice Turang tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Despite leaving 10 runners on base, Milwaukee managed to win two out of three games against Chicago, despite scoring only five runs in the series.
“Credit to their pitching staff,” Contreras commented. “They pitched well throughout the series. We had good at-bats as an offense, but we struggled to find gaps. With the wind blowing in, flyballs weren’t going far.”
The Cubs finished their homestand with a 2-4 record, having faced Arizona and Milwaukee. They allowed 14 runs but scored only nine, and were shut out twice.
“We pitched well but didn’t score enough runs,” said manager Craig Counsell.
Suzuki doubled and scored in the first inning against Brewers starter Rob Zastryzny, then gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the third inning with a solo home run off Wilson.
