Brewers 7, Cubs 0: Hitters finally figure out Quintana

CHICAGO -- Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell proved to be quite prescient Tuesday morning.

After noting the conditions were ripe for offense - in great contrast to the last time his team faced the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in late April - the Brewers went out and dominated their Central Division rivals.

Ryan Braun slugged two of Milwaukee's four home runs and Jhoulys Chacín tossed seven standout innings as the Brewers blanked the Cubs for the third consecutive time, this one by a score of 7-0

Lorenzo Cain and Erik Kratz also went deep as the Brewers finally solved the riddle of José Quintana, the left-hander who'd proven virtually unhittable in each of his three previous starts against them this season.

"He's thoroughly dominated us every time he's pitched against us," Braun said. "It was important to get off to a good start."

And that the Brewers did, as Cain homered to left-center on the second pitch of the game. It was the third leadoff homer of Cain's career.

Then three batters later, Braun sent a two-run shot out to left-center to give the Brewers one more run against Quintana than they'd managed in his two previous starts against him (19 innings).

"Cain set the tone and we were able to get a couple of runs off him early," Braun said. "He's had so much success against us, and he's had a lot of success in this league.

"When he's facing us he's always been really comfortable, so it was important to get off to a good start."

BOX SCORE: Brewers 7, Cubs 0

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Milwaukee tacked two more runs onto its lead in the third, with Braun once again getting to Quintana. He crushed another breaking ball, with his 443-foot homer falling one row shy of going completely out of the ballpark in left-center.

The homers were Braun's 16th and 17th in 78 career games at Wrigley Field, his second-highest total at any ballpark. He's hit 26 in 88 games at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

"I've always enjoyed playing here," said Braun, who's hitting .440 with three homers and seven RBI over his last seven games. "As a competitor, there's no more enjoyable atmosphere to play in than this."

With Quintana having a hand in it, the Brewers were shut out in three of the four games they'd played in Chicago in that late April series that Counsell referenced and managed to score a total of two runs in being swept.

With temperatures in the 40s for three of the four games and winds blowing 16-18 mph in two of the four, the offense for both teams was limited to a total of 11 runs and one homer (by the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber).

It was 87 degrees and humid with an 8-mph breeze blowing in at first pitch Tuesday.

"I think our home runs were pretty fair today," Counsell said. "Nothing cheap about them."

With how well Chacín was pitching, those five early runs were more than enough.

He allowed a pair of base runners in the first inning then largely sailed from there. The Cubs managed to get a runner to third base with two outs in both the third and the sixth, but each time Chacín was able to strand him.

While the Brewers chased Quintana after five innings - his shortest start in four outings against them this season - Chacín (12-4) had tied his season high with seven innings and set a new season high with 10 strikeouts.

"Look, this was a big game," said Counsell. "When a guy puts up a game like that and throws seven scoreless on the road against the team you’re chasing, that’s an important game and an important performance."

Chacín is now 2-0 and hasn't allowed an earned run in 13 innings in two starts against the Cubs. He also has struck out 17 while issuing five walks.

"Anytime you pitch against the team you’re chasing, you get pumped up,”  said Chacín. “After we scored those three runs in the first inning, it got me more pumped up. I just went out and tried to do my thing, go out and throw zeroes.

"I know we haven’t been winning a lot of day games, but we scored those runs early against Quintana, who has been tough on us. That gave me more confidence and room to work."

Kratz's two-out, solo homer in the sixth and two-out RBI double in the eighth capped the scoring.

Corey Knebel and Dan Jennings pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, to give the Brewers their 10th shutout victory of the season.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

FLASH THE LEATHER: Hernán Pérez got the start at second base with a slightly better career track record at the plate against Quintana compared to Jonathan Schoop, but it was his glove that made the difference in the third. Twice on the shift he took away potential base hits from the Cubs, including a hard shot off the bat of Anthony Rizzo that he fielded in short center. He then made a strong, one-hop throw to first to just get Rizzo.

FIREWORKS: Cubs manager Joe Maddon was ejected by home-plate umpire Phil Cuzzi in the sixth inning after a called third strike on Ben Zobrist. Zobrist argued with Cuzzi until Maddon quickly intervened and was tossed. Zobrist was also ejected from the game.

BEEN AWHILE: Cain's homer was his first since June 13 and Kratz's homer his first since June 11. Both of those also came against the Cubs, but at Miller Park.

DAVIES UPDATE: Right-hander Zach Davies will remain with the Brewers for the two-game series in Chicago, then make his final minor-league rehab start Thursday for Class AAA Colorado Springs.

"He’s going to throw a side with us and then he’ll have another rehab start this week and then we’ll have to make a decision," Counsell said. "He’s pitching Thursday against Iowa and then we’ll decide what we’re going to do at that point."

BROXTON'S TAKE ON SANTANA: Outfielder Keon Broxton, back for a second stint with the Brewers this season, said rightfielder Domingo Santana has been swinging the bat great for Colorado Springs after a slow start. Through 40 games, Santana was batting .285 with a .401 on-base percentage and .854 OPS with five homers and 23 RBI. "He's doing well," Broxton said. "He's just being Domingo. His spirits are pretty good. He's being very positive about everything. Just working to get better like everybody else."

RECORD

This year: 68-54

Last year: 63-59

COMING UP

Wednesday: Brewers at Cubs, 1:20 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (6-7, 3.40) vs. Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 4.02). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.