CHICAGO (Interstat) — Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Monday night at Wrigley Field, pulling within a half-game of first place in the NL Central. Bauers had a two-run single in a four-run fourth inning and added a three-run homer in the fifth. Christian Yelich also homered and doubled, driving in two runs. Shane Drohan (2-1) allowed four hits over 4 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the win. Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer and Michael Busch doubled in a run for the Cubs, who had won four of five. Shota Imanaga (4-4) took the loss. Milwaukee improved to 27-18 with its 13-hit attack, while Chicago fell to 29-19. Attendance was 37,647, and the game lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes.

CHICAGO (Interstat) — Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Monday night at Wrigley Field in the first meeting this season between the longtime NL Central rivals. Christian Yelich also homered for the Brewers, who collected 13 hits and improved to 9-2 in their last 11 games. Milwaukee pulled within a half-game of Chicago for the division lead. The Brewers won the Central in 2025 for the third consecutive year and then eliminated the Cubs in a five-game NL Division Series. Milwaukee struck first in the second inning when Yelich led off with a solo homer to right field, his third of the season. The Brewers broke the game open in the fourth, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs. William Contreras singled, Christian Yelich grounded out to move Contreras to second, and Andrew Vaughn singled to put runners at the corners. Bauers then singled to center, scoring Contreras and advancing Vaughn to third. After Luis Rengifo struck out, Sal Frelick doubled down the left-field line, driving in Vaughn and Bauers. Joey Ortiz walked and Jackson Chourio delivered a sharp single to center that brought home Frelick for a 5-0 lead. Milwaukee added three more in the fifth. Yelich walked, Vaughn doubled to left, and Bauers crushed a three-run homer to right, his seventh of the year, extending the advantage to 8-0. Chicago finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Carson Kelly singled, and after Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out, Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer to left, his seventh. Nico Hoerner walked and Michael Busch doubled to center, scoring Hoerner and cutting the deficit to 8-3. The Cubs could not push across any more runs as Milwaukee’s bullpen locked down. The Brewers added an insurance run in the sixth. Brice Turang walked, Contreras singled, and Yelich doubled to left, scoring Turang to make it 9-3. Shane Drohan earned the win in relief, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out five. Drohan, now 2-1 on the season, entered after starter Brandon Sproat worked 4 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Ty Blach tossed three scoreless innings of one-hit relief for Chicago. Shota Imanaga took the loss, dropping to 4-4. Imanaga allowed eight runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out three. Ethan Roberts gave up one run in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Bauers finished 2 for 4 with the homer and four RBIs. Yelich was 2 for 4 with a homer, a double and two RBIs. Frelick had a double and two RBIs, and Vaughn had two hits and scored twice for Milwaukee. For Chicago, Busch went 2 for 2 with a double and an RBI, and Swanson drove in two runs with his homer. The Cubs managed only seven hits against Milwaukee pitching. The attendance was 37,647, and the game lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes. Milwaukee’s season record is 27-18, while Chicago fell to 29-19. The teams meet again Tuesday night at Wrigley Field in the second game of the three-game series. The Brewers then return home for three against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday, while the Cubs host the Houston Astros for a three-game set beginning Friday. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Milwaukee 7, Chicago 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Cubs a 51.70 percent probability to win. Chicago was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total of 12 runs went under the over/under line of 10.5.

AP Sports Preview CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Monday at Wrigley Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. under partly cloudy skies and 82-degree heat. Milwaukee (26-18) will start right-hander Brandon Sproat (1-2, 4.50 ERA). The Cubs (29-18) counter with left-hander Shota Imanaga (4-3, 3.12 ERA). Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-5 Milwaukee victory. The Brewers dropped Sunday’s series finale 5-4 at Minnesota. Left-hander DL Hall worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, extending a stretch in which he has allowed zero earned runs in eight of his past nine appearances. Hall has struck out 12 over 11 2/3 innings in that span. Outfielder Sal Frelick went 2-for-5 with an RBI against the Twins. Milwaukee has won seven of its past 10 games, including three of four at home against San Diego before splitting the two-game set at Minnesota. The Cubs rallied from a 7-1 deficit Sunday before falling 9-8 in 10 innings to the crosstown White Sox. Designated hitter Michael Conforto homered and drove in three runs, going 2-for-4. Conforto is batting .325 over his past 10 games with three home runs and six RBIs. Right-hander Jacob Webb threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Chicago has dropped three of its past four, but the Cubs hold a three-game lead over Milwaukee in the National League Central. Sproat is making his eighth start. The rookie has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his seven outings. Imanaga has been the Cubs’ most consistent starter, working at least six innings in six of his nine starts. The Brewers placed in the win column Friday and Saturday at Minnesota before the loss Sunday. Chicago split its two-game crosstown series with the White Sox after winning 10-5 on Friday and losing 8-3 on Saturday. After Monday’s opener, the teams play again Tuesday and Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Milwaukee then returns home for three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday, followed by a three-game home set versus St. Louis. Chicago remains home for three against Houston beginning Friday before a four-game road trip to Pittsburgh and a three-game series at St. Louis.