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It appeared as if Sunday afternoon's game was going to go the way many of the first 24 did for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Shaky defense allowed the Chicago Cubs to tie the game in the sixth inning, while Ryan Braun failed to break the tie by grounding into a double play with the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth.
But Aramis Ramirez's broken-bat flare plated a pair in the eighth to send the Brewers to their first series win of the season with a 5-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
"A lot of great things happened in the game," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "The bad thing would be giving them two runs and letting them back in the game. Besides that, everything was really nice.
"We got another break with Rami with the broken bat. It is nice to see. I know luck has a lot to do with what happens, and we were fortunate there."
After sitting out the first two games of the series with left hamstring soreness, Ramirez homered in the first pitch he saw from Cubs starter Jason Hammel to put the Brewers up 1-0 in the second.
Chicago tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Hammel in the bottom of the second, but a RBI single from Carlos Gomez in the third and a sacrifice fly by Khris Davis in the fourth gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead.
Jimmy Nelson appeared to get through the fifth inning with the two-run lead intact until Milwaukee's defense faltered.
With two outs in the fifth, Carlos Gomez misplayed a drive by Anthony Rizzo into a RBI triple. Second baseman Elian Herrera then dropped a flare off the bat of Kris Bryant, allowing Rizzo to score to tie the game.
"We gave them two runs," Roenicke said. "We gave them three outs that inning."
The Brewers loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth against Pedro Strop, but Braun hit into a grounder to Bryant at third base for a routine home-to-first double play.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon opted to intentionally walk the red-hot Adam Lind to face Ramirez, who came in hitting just .214 on the season.
Ramirez made the move backfire by dumping a jam-shot single just fair down the left field line to score two to give the Brewers a 5-3 lead.
"That's the right move," Ramirez said. "I mean, Lind has been hot all year. The guy is hitting over .300, I'm hitting .220. That's a no-brainer. And he's a left-hander. I think that's only the second or third hit that Strop has given up on a righty. It was the right move, it just didn't work out."
After beginning the season 9 for 57 at the plate, Ramirez was showing signs of returning to form prior to being forced to sit out Friday and Saturday with hamstring soreness. The veteran now has hits in eight of his last 16 at-bats with two doubles, two home runs and six RBI.
Ramirez credited the work he's done with his hands and his balance for the turnaround.
"I've been swinging the bat well the last week or so," Ramirez said. "I worked hard. Struggled in the beginning, but I think I'm starting to turn it around.
"I was chasing a lot of pitches, and that's because of my balance."
Ramirez's three-RBI afternoon snapped a span of 11 straight series losses for the Brewers since they two of three from the Cincinnati Reds from Sept. 12-14, 2014. It was Milwaukee's first road series win since it swept the Dodgers in Los Angeles last Aug. 15-17.
The Brewers now hope the way they closed out the road trip will carry over when they open a 10-game homestand Monday against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.
"With all the good things that happened today, it is nice to get out of here with a win," Roenicke said. "It would have been a tough loss. To let them back in the game like that, it would have been a tough loss."
Scare for Segura: Jean Segura hasn't had a whole lot of luck over the past two years, but it appears as if he avoided serious injury Sunday after he was hit in the head by a 95-mph fastball from Strop.
The young shortstop was hitting with runners on the corners and nobody out in a 3-3 game in the eighth inning when an 0-1 fastball got away from Strop.
Cubs catcher Miguel Montero immediately called for help, as Segura remained down. Replays showed the pitch caught Segura square on the top of the helmet.
"I was just hoping it hit him in the head, not in the face, and that's actually what happened," Ramirez said. "You never want to see that, even with the opposing team. You don't want to see anyone get hit in the head. That's dangerous out there."
Segura tried to remain in the game but eventually was pulled for pinch-runner Hector Gomez when he reported feeling nauseous to first base coach Mike Guerrero.
Roenicke said Segura was feeling all right but would see a doctor in Chicago for further evaluation before returning to Milwaukee later Sunday night.
It wasn't the first time the 25-year-old has been hit in the head this season, as Colorado's Jordan Lyles drilled him in the helmet on April 7. Segura stayed in the game and didn't miss any time after that incident.
"That's two in the helmet," Roenicke said. "That's not a good thing. You hope a guy doesn't get a little tentative in what he's doing. He does such a nice job doing the things we ask that you hope it doesn't start to bother him."
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