» Brewers win:
Early homers ignite Crew on cold night
Eric Thames (above) hits his seventh home run in a 6-3 win against the Cubs. The dinger puts Thames in elite company among Brewers bashers.
BREWERS 6, CUBS 3
CHICAGO - The Milwaukee Brewers’ incredible early season power surge continues.
Led by the seemingly unstoppable Eric Thames, the Brewers homered three times in the first three innings and never looked back as they beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3, on a chilly, breezy Monday night at Wrigley Field.
Thames went 3 for 4 and has now homered six times in his last five games, becoming one of the biggest stories in the major leagues in the process. He has seven homers on the season, which was tops in the majors earlier in the evening, and the Brewers took the overall lead as a team with 25.
They also ran their record on their current road trip to 6-1 while winning their third straight game in Chicago dating to last season.
The Cubs, meanwhile, have lost four straight.
Ryan Braun got things started in the first, following a Thames double with Milwaukee’s first round-tripper off Chicago starter John Lackey. Braun, like Thames, had a productive series in Cincinnati and came into the game a career .342 hitter in 66 appearances at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs got a run back in the bottom of the first against Brewers starter Chase Anderson, then Jett Bandy led off the second with his second homer of the season.
Albert Almora Jr.’s two-run double tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second, then Thames gave the lead back to the Brewers by lifting an opposite-field homer just over the wall to start the third. It gave Thames homers in five straight games, tying him with Jeromy Burnitz (Aug. 1-5, 1997) for the longest such streak in franchise
history.
The Brewers have now homered in nine consecutive games as a team.
Anderson (2-0) kept the Brewers in front over his final three innings and departed after five. He allowed seven hits, three runs (two earned) and a walk while striking out five in an 87-pitch outing.
After reliever Jacob Barnes flirted with 100 mph on the radar gun in a scoreless seventh, Milwaukee padded its lead in the eighth. Thames led off with a single and Braun doubled to center to make it 5-3, then Braun stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Willson Contreras to cap the scoring at 6-3.
Neftali Feliz allowed a pair of runners on in the ninth but still managed to keep the Cubs off the board in recording his fifth save. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Kyle Schwarber owes the grounds crew lunch after the hit he picked up to open the bottom of the first inning. He laid down a bunt that rolled down the third-base line and onto the chalk, staying fair all the way before hitting the bag as Anderson and Travis Shaw watched in hopes it would break the other way.
One of the most obvious new changes to Wrigley Field is the fact both bullpens have now been moved out of foul territory and underneath the outfield bleachers. There are now dugout monitors that allow the coaching staff to keep an eye on the relievers, who used to be seated inches from front-row spectators and always needed to be on alert for foul balls.
“I think it’s a quick adjustment for guys,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I think guys will find ways, if they feel like (the game atmosphere) is something they’re missing, something they need, they’ll step outside between innings.
“It’s new, it’s different, but they’ll make a quick adjustment.” STAT SHEET
With his first-inning homer and eighth-inning double, Braun passed Paul Molitor for second place on the franchise’s all-time list with 652 extra-base hits.
Thames has now hit safely in each of his first 11 starts, tying him with Dickie Thon (April 6-27, 1993) for the franchise record.
TAKEAWAY
Thames has been amazing over the last week, and is powering an offense that is clicking on all cylinders. He finished a triple shy of the cycle while the Brewers put together an impressive all-around performance with the bats against a Cubs pitching staff that is more than a little better than what they’d just seen in Cincinnati. RECORD
This year: 8-6 (2-5 home; 6-1 away)
Last year: 6-8 NEXT GAME
Tuesday: Brewers at Cubs, 7:05 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Jimmy Nelson (1-0, 1.38) vs. Chicago LHP Brett Anderson (1-0, 0.84). TV: FS Wisconsin Plus. Radio: AM-620.