Brewers power their way past Cubs
MILWAUKEE -- Cubs rookie Kris Bryant is on the board with his first Major League home run, but his milestone happened amid the Brewers' biggest offensive outburst of the season.
Bryant's third-inning, three-run home run off Brewers starter Kyle Lohse became a footnote in Milwaukee's 12-4 win at Miller Park that was so lopsided by the eighth inning that the Cubs called on veteran catcher David Ross to pitch.
Ross retired the side on 11 pitches, but the rest of Chicago's pitchers had trouble.
Video: CHC@MIL: Backup catcher Ross tosses 1-2-3 8th inning
Gerardo Parra homered and drove in four runs for the Brewers, while Jason Rogers and Khris Davis had three RBIs apiece. Rogers' pinch-hit, three-run home run in the fifth inning was the first of his career, and capped a five-run rally that sealed a victory for Lohse despite another five-inning, 100-plus pitch outing.
"He took my homer, man! I was ready," Lohse joked. "That was pretty cool to watch him step up and do that, and just kind of extend the lead and take some of the pressure off."
Video: CHC@MIL: Brewers push across five runs in the 5th
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Brewers strike first: Parra made his first home run of the season count, hitting a high cutter from Travis Wood to straightaway center field for two runs in the second inning. With that swing, Parra improved to 4-for-10 this season against left-handed pitchers, including a triple and a homer. More >
Video: CHC@MIL: Parra takes Wood deep to straightaway center
Bryant strikes back: Homerless in his first 73 Major League at-bats after hitting nine home runs in Spring Training, Bryant finally connected in the third inning against Lohse, lifting a first-pitch slider 392 ft. to left-center field.
"It's kind of been a while, but I did it," Bryant said. "It's a cool feeling and we had fun with it. It would have been nice to get a win out of it, but it will still be a day I'll be able to remember." More >
Video: CHC@MIL: Bryant drills his first Major League homer
Davis stays hot: Davis stays hot: The Brewers left fielder entered the series in a 6-for-49 funk, but finished a triple shy of the cycle during Friday's opener and kept hitting Saturday night. He reached on an infield single and scored in the second inning, swung away against Wood in a 3-0 count for a go-ahead, two-run double in the third, and added another RBI double in the fifth.
"There's too much momentum going our way, so you might as well collect," said Davis, who is 7-for-8 with four extra-base hits and six RBIs in the first two games of the series.
Video: CHC@MIL: Davis doubles home Braun in the 5th
Another first: Bryant's wasn't the only maiden Major League home run on Saturday. Rogers hit a three-run homer of his own off left-hander Phil Coke to cap Milwaukee's five-run fifth inning, extending the lead to 11-5. The Brewers' first pinch-hit home run this season "was the hit that closed it out," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
"Surreal. It was a relief, actually," Rogers said. "I know a lot of my balls I've been hitting have been warning track, or hitting the top of the fence. Just to get it over and get my first one out of the way is a blessing."
Video: CHC@MIL: Rogers' pinch-hit homer breaks game open
QUOTABLE
"We have a choice of how we see it. There's no choice but to move forward on it. What's done is done. You have to see it as an opportunity. What kind of team do we want to be from here forward? Hopefully we continue to look at it like that." -- Counsell, on the Brewers needing 31 games to reach double-digit victories
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
When the teams meet for the rubber match Sunday, the Brewers will try to take a series from the Cubs for the second time in a little more than a week. The Brewers' .604 winning percentage on Mother's Day (29-19) leads Major League Baseball.
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
Cubs reserve infielder Jonathan Herrera, who stayed in at second base after pinch-hitting in the sixth inning, was wearing the wrong jersey. Herrera's jersey said "Chicago" on the front, while everyone else's said "Cubs."
Video: CHC@MIL: Herrera dons a different Cubs uniform
WHAT'S NEXT
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks is hoping to move his Wrigley Field success some 90 miles north on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CT. Hendricks, making his Miller Park debut, was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts at home last season against the Brewers..
Brewers: Matt Garza has produced three straight quality starts but was fuming after his most recent outing against the Dodgers, a 8-2 loss in which Garza surrendered Justin Turner's go-ahead, three-run home run. A former Cub, Garza posted a 5.82 ERA in three starts against Chicago last season.
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