Chicago, IL – Scott Hairston's sacrifice fly broke a tie game and the Cubs scored three runs in the eighth to take a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
David DeJesus went 3-for-5, scored twice and his two-run single gave the Cubs a three-run cushion. Newly anointed closer Kyuji Fujikawa then worked out of trouble in the ninth to notch his second save.
Anthony Rizzo knocked in a pair of runs and Cubs starter Travis Wood settled in to throw 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball on six hits with five strikeouts.
Carlos Marmol (1-1), who was removed from his role as closer, pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win.
Chicago manager Dale Sveum is hoping the move will help his confidence.
"We're just getting him into more comfortable situations, where you don't have to deal with the stress of those last three outs," said Sveum.
After a miserable first outing, Wily Peralta bounced back with a solid performance, but John Axford (0-2) was touched for three runs on two walks and a hit in the eighth. Peralta surrendered three runs -- two earned -- on six hits with five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work.
Ryan Braun and Jean Segura both went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Brewers, who had snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-4 win on Monday against the Cubs.
The Brewers had a 3-0 lead after four innings, but the Cubs chipped away and jumped ahead in the eighth when they loaded the bases. Hairston delivered a sac fly to center, and Nate Schierholtz just beat the tag at the plate.
DeJesus then provided a two-run single on a line drive to right.
"Its always tough to pitch when you're behind," said Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke. "Things just aren't working out."
Chicago chased Peralta in the seventh after Starlin Castro produced a run with a groundout. Miguel Gonzalez replaced him on the mound and immediately gave up the lead on Rizzo's RBI double. Rizzo had driven in a run in the fifth as well, via groundout.
Wood got out of a jam in the first, but the Brewers produced three runs against him in the second.
Milwaukee had three straight hits to start the inning, with Segura contributing an RBI double and later scoring on a fielder's choice throwing error on shortstop Castro. Braun then provided a run-scoring single to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead.
Game Notes
Milwaukee was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and is now 8-for-54 through its first eight games ... The Cubs left eight men on base ... The team's will wrap up the three-game set on Wednesday. Milwaukee will send Kyle Lohse to the hill to counter Chicago's Scott Feldman.
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