MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer in the fifth then was ejected three innings later, and the Milwaukee Brewers won their seventh straight, 4-2 over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
The Brewers are 18-2 over the past 20 meetings with the Cubs at Miller Park. Milwaukee improved to 9-8 after losing eight of 10 to start the year.
Wily Peralta (1-1) pitched 6-2/3 innings for Milwaukee, giving up two runs and five hits. John Axford got the final out of the seventh inning. Tom Gorzelanny pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but walked leadoff hitter Nate Schierholtz in the ninth inning. Jim Henderson replaced him and got three outs for his fourth save in four chances.
Scott Feldman (0-3) gave up four runs on three hits in five innings.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Braun connected after the Brewers received some help putting two runners on. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a line drive to the wall that Cubs center fielder David DeJusus got a glove on but could not hang on to. Then with two outs, Jean Segura hit a ball that Feldman's tried to field but it bounced away for an error.
Braun has been struggling at the plate recently and his frustration showed in the eighth. Having struck out the first two times up before homering, Braun fanned looking in the eighth, threw his bat in the air and was tossed. Braun is five for his last 32 at-bats.
Chicago grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Starlin Castro singled with two outs to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the Major Leagues. Anthony Rizzo followed with his sixth home run of the year.
Milwaukee cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning without a base hit. Feldman walked the bases full with one out. Alex Gonzalez knocked in a run on a groundout, but Feldman struck out Carlos Gomez to end the inning.
Notes: Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he was unsure if rookie pitcher Hiram Burgos would start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday as the team has an off day on Thursday. Burgos allowed one hit in five innings in his major league debut on Saturday in the Brewers 5-1 win over the Cubs. . . . After starting the season 2-1, the Cubs have now won only three of the team's last 14 games. . . . Gomez's third inning single was the 500th hit of his Major League career.
