Cubs rely on Feldman in middle tilt with Brewers

Towering right-hander Scott Feldman faces the Milwaukee Brewers for the second time in 2013 on Wednesday night when the Chicago Cubs travel to Miller Park for the second of three games.

Feldman, who turned 30 in February, was a 4-2 loser when he faced the Cubs on April 21 in Milwaukee and gave up an earned run on three hits in five innings while walking three batters and striking out six.

That was his third start with the Cubs after he signed as a free agent in the offseason.

He subsequently won four straight decisions and has won six of nine overall since the initial meeting.

In his last outing on June 20 at St. Louis, he dropped a 6-1 verdict and allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings.

For the Brewers, Mexican-born righty Yovani Gallardo aims for an eighth win in his 15th career start against the Cubs.

The 27-year-old has gone 7-2 with a stingy 2.95 earned run average in his initial 14 meetings with Chicago, though he did not face the Cubs during the teams' first two series in 2013.

Gallardo dropped four consecutive starts between May 10 and 26, but has since won three of four decisions across his last five starts.

He got a tough luck no-decision in his last time out, allowing three unearned runs in seven innings of a game the Brewers lost, 7-4, at Houston on June 20.

On Tuesday, Rickie Weeks went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Brewers to a 9-3 win.

Juan Francisco also homered and scored three times, while Jonathan Lucroy drove in a pair of runs and Jean Segura had an RBI double for the Brewers, winners in three of their last four games.

Kyle Lohse (3-6) was charged with three runs on eight hits over seven innings to earn the win. He struck out three without issuing a walk to win his second consecutive decision.

Nate Schierholtz went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer for the Cubs, who have dropped six of their last nine tilts.

Edwin Jackson (3-10) gave up six runs on six hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings to absorb the loss.

"We just can't control some innings when they start going bad. From the beginning, Jackson didn't have much of a fastball. Its tough to pitch when you have that kind of velocity," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

The Brewers won four of the first five games between the teams in 2013 and 13 of 17 between them in 2012.