Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames each had a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers roughed up previously undefeated Shota Imanaga en route to a 10-6 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
Yelich put the Brewers up 2-0 in the first and Milwaukee added five runs in the third off Imanaga, who entered the contest with a 0.84 ERA. He had allowed a total of five earned runs in his first nine starts.
But Imanaga (5-1) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday, striking out one and walking one as his ERA climbed to 1.86.
Jared Koenig (5-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.
Yelich’s sixth homer of the season produced the first runs allowed in the first inning by Imanaga this season. Joey Ortiz doubled to right to open the game. After William Contreras grounded out, Yelich sent the first pitch he saw 441 feet to right-center for his first homer since April 10.
The Brewers hadn’t scored against Cubs starters in 32 2/3 innings this season prior to Yelich’s blast.
Ian Happ got one run back in the second for the Cubs with a one-out solo shot, his fifth home run of the year.
Perkins prevented a two-run homer with a leaping grab above the center field wall on Christopher Morel’s fly ball to end the third inning.
The Brewers jumped on Imanaga for five runs in the bottom half of the frame to go up 7-1. Ortiz singled to start the inning, and consecutive one-out singles by Yelich and Adames made it 3-1, with Adames’ knock plating Ortiz. Gary Sanchez followed with a two-run double. After Jake Bauers flied out, Perkins belted his fifth homer of 2024.
Chicago got one run in the fourth on Dansby Swanson’s run-scoring groundout.
The Cubs pulled within 7-4 with two runs in the fifth, but they left the bases loaded when Perkins hauled in Swanson’s fly ball to right-center just in front of the wall.
Adames’ homer, his ninth of the season, capped a three-run seventh that put Milwaukee up 10-4.
Chicago got two runs in the ninth, as Morel reached on an error to bring home Mike Tauchman and Happ hit a sacrifice fly.
–Field Level Media
