Brewers beat Cubs in 1st half of doubleheader

CHICAGO - Freddy Peralta allowed one hit and struck out six batters and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 7-0 in the first half of a Monday doubleheader.

All-Star pitcher Peralta (15-5, 2.78 ERA) shut Chicago out over six innings to help Milwaukee advance to an MLB-best record of 79-45. The Brewers, which had their franchise-record 14-game winning streak snapped by the Reds on Sunday, have won 23 of 28 games since the break.

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Brice Turang and Caleb Durbin each had two hits, two RBIs and a solo home run to lead the way. Milwaukee’s Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig and Grant Anderson held Chicago to one combined hit over the final three innings of relief.

The Brewers attacked Cubs pitcher Cade Horton (7-4, 3.08) early. After Turang’s homer in the third, Horton allowed three of the next four batters to reach base and was removed from the game with a blister on his right middle finger. Reliever Drew Pomeranz retired the ensuing batter to escape the inning with a one-run deficit.

Chicago called up two hitters on Monday in Luke Little and Gavin Hollowell. Little’s throwing error in the sixth allowed a run to score, while Hollowell gave up four earned runs on four walks and two hits in the seventh.

Key moment

Down 1-0, the Cubs had an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Peralta walked three consecutive batters to load the bases with one out, but he struck out rookie Owen Caissie and retired Nico Hoerner to end the inning.

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Key stat

Milwaukee surrendered just two hits to Chicago, which drops nine games behind the Brewers in the National League Central.

Up next

The Cubs and Brewers are set to play the second half of Monday’s doubleheader at 7:05 p.m. CT. Neither team had named its starting pitcher. Chicago and Milwaukee will continue the series until Thursday.