Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs on Monday night to help the visiting Milwaukee Brewers earn a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Christian Yelich homered and knocked in two for Milwaukee, which won its ninth game in 11 tries.
Brewers pitchers Brandon Sproat and Shane Drohan combined to strike out 10 batters. Sproat started and tossed 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits, striking out five and walking three.
Drohan (2-1) threw 4 1/3 scoreless frames, permitting four hits and no walks while striking out five as the Brewers pulled within a half-game of the National League Central-leading Cubs.
Shota Imanaga (4-4) absorbed his worst outing of the year for the Cubs, who dropped their third straight and seventh in the past nine. He allowed eight runs on nine hits across 4 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking three.
Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer in the defeat.
Yelich drilled his third home run of the season to begin the second inning, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead.
William Contreras and Andrew Vaughn singled to place runners on the corners with one out in the Milwaukee fourth. Bauers drove in a run with a single before Sal Frelick’s two-out, two-run double gave the Brewers a 4-0 lead.
Imanaga then walked Joey Ortiz and allowed Jackson Chourio’s RBI single to make it 5-0.
In the third, Yelich walked with one out and Vaughn doubled before Bauers launched a 419-foot, three-run homer to break open the game and give the visitors an 8-0 lead.
Ethan Roberts then relieved Imanaga, who threw 79 pitches.
Chicago cut its deficit to six on Swanson’s two-run blast in the fifth. Nico Hoerner followed with a walk and scored on Michael Busch’s double to center. After retiring Alex Bregman, Sproat was pulled for Drohan.
Roberts allowed a walk and three hits in the sixth, including Yelich’s RBI double that extend Milwaukee’s lead to 9-3.
