Jon Lester (13-4) continued the awesome stretch by Chicago’s rotation by holding the Brewers to one run and three hits over 6⅔ innings as the Cubs beat Milwaukee 6-1 on Wednesday.
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In the fifth inning, Keon Broxton of the Milwaukee Brewers hit a ball into the stands beyond first base.
Interestingly, Rizzo’s tarp catch last season also came against the Brewers.
The Cubs tacked onto their lead in the third when David Ross hit a solo homer to left that made it 6-0.
The Cubs expect to learn over the next few days whether veteran right-hander John Lackey will require a stint on the disabled list, and how much depth they might have to cover for it down the stretch.
“We have 43 games left in the season, about six weeks”, Hoyer said.
“I sprained my knee, sprained my ankle a little bit, ” Braun said.
“He gave us something to talk about”, manager Joe Maddon said.
Trevor Cahill, who was promoted from Triple-A in order to start Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, will remain on the big league roster.
Lester’s offense got started early with a five-run first, an outburst highlighted by Jorge Soler’s rocket-ship, three-run home run that threatened to pierce the video board over the left-field bleachers.
On the night the Brewers were held to four hits by Lester. Nelson (6-12, 4.07), comes in after giving up three runs in five innings against the Reds in a losing effort.
Cahill bunted a 3-2 pitch in the fourth, and first baseman Chris Carter’s flip home wasn’t in time to get Chris Coghlan. Tyler Cravy, Milwaukee’s 26th player, threw two scoreless innings.
“Where he struggled was execution with two strikes, but they deserve credit, too, for putting good at-bats together with two strikes”, Counsell said. “Granted, I didn’t have the best command today”. “Consistent. It makes our lives easier as pitchers”.
Soler is 9-for-25 (.360) since coming off the 15-day disabled list on August 5. He’s expected to miss at least a month.
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Nelson finished his night by retiring the final seven batters he faced.
