MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames hit home runs and the Milwaukee Brewers came to life against Shota Imanaga to beat the Chicago Cubs 10-6 on Wednesday night.
Rookie Joey Ortiz, batting leadoff for the first time, hit a double off Imanaga (5-1) in the first. Two batters later, Yelich crushed a 441-foot home run to right-center to give the Brewers an early 2-0 lead.
Imanaga entered the game with major league-leading 0.84 ERA. He had allowed five earned runs in his first nine starts before being charged with seven on Wednesday as his ERA climbed to 1.86.
Yelich’s sixth home run, his first since April 10 at Cincinnati, also halted Milwaukee’s 32 2/3-inning scoreless streak against Cubs starters this season and accounted for the only first-inning runs allowed by Imanaga.
Ian Happ’s solo homer off Bryse Wilson in the second pulled the Cubs to within a run.
Perkins made a leaping grab at the center field fence to rob Christopher Morel of a two-run homer in the third.
The Brewers scored five runs in the third. Adames had a run-scoring single, Gary Sánchez drove in a pair with a double and Perkins capped the inning with a two-run homer to push Milwaukee’s lead to 7-1.
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Imanaga gave up a season-high eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, his second-shortest outing of the season. He had one walk and one strikeout in the 82-pitch outing.
The Cubs pushed across a run in the fourth on Michael Busch’s groundout. They added two more in the fifth.
Perkins made a spectacular diving catch of on the warning track to take away an extra-base hit from Happ in the seventh. Milwaukee added three more runs in their half of the inning, two on Adames’ ninth homer of the season.
The Cubs added a pair of runs in the ninth.
Jared Koenig (5-1) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to get the win.
UP NEXT
RHP Jameson Taillon (3-2, 2.58 ERA) pitches for the Cubs and RHP Colin Rea (4-2, 3.98) starts for the Brewers in the series finale on Thursday.
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