Gary Sanchez hit the go-ahead homer and drove in three runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the visiting Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Thursday afternoon to take three of four in the series.
Sanchez stepped to the plate after Owen Miller’s double-play ball seemed to kill a promising rally in the bottom of the eighth.
But Sanchez jumped on a 3-2 sweeper from Cubs reliever Tyson Miller and crushed it 422 feet into the shaded seats beyond the center-field wall, driving in Christian Yelich ahead of him, for a 6-4 lead. It was Sanchez’s seventh homer of the year.
The Brewers have won seven of their past 12 games, while the Cubs have lost 10 of their past 13.
In the top of the seventh, Seiya Suzuki crushed a two-run homer off Brewers lefty Bryan Hudson to tie the game at 3. The 388-foot shot to left-center was Suzuki’s fifth homer.
The Brewers got the lead right back in the bottom of the seventh, when Brice Turang’s chopper to third scored Perkins, who was going on contact and raced home from third.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Christopher Morel ripped a 3-1 fastball from Hudson 396 feet to right-center that tied it at 4. It was Morel’s 10th homer.
The Cubs struck first for a 1-0 lead when Cody Bellinger launched his eighth homer. Bellinger hooked a 2-2 fastball from Brewers right-hander Colin Rea 366 feet over the fence in the right-field corner.
The Brewers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second. Sanchez’s sacrifice fly scored Willy Adames, then Joey Ortiz doubled to left to drive in Sal Frelick. Two pitches later, Perkins singled up the middle to score Ortiz.
Hudson (4-0) got the win in relief, and Elvis Peguero got his second big-league save for the Brewers. Luke Little (1-1) took the loss.
Rea worked 5 1/3 innings for Milwaukee, allowing one run on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in a 79-pitch effort.
The Cubs starter, right-hander Jameson Taillon, gave up three runs on six hits in six innings, with a walk and four strikeouts over 87 pitches.
– Field Level Media