Brewers 5, Cubs 2
Matt Garza pitched seven strong innings against his former team and Lyle Overbay homered as host Milwaukee claimed the opener of a three-game series with Chicago.
Ryan Braun had three hits and an RBI and Carlos Gomez added three hits and scored twice for the Brewers, who have won six of their last seven. Garza (1-2) struck out seven and limited the Cubs to two runs on four hits and Francisco Rodriguez worked a perfect ninth for his 10th save, tying the franchise mark for the most saves before the end of April.
Emilio Bonifacio and Ryan Sweeney drove in runs for the Cubs, who have lost three straight since their first consecutive wins of the season. Starter Carlos Villanueva (1-5) was tagged for five runs on 11 hits over five innings.
The Brewers jumped on Villanueva early as left fielder Junior Lake misplayed Scooter Gennett's fly ball into an RBI double and Braun singled home Gennett for a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Cubs didn't have a baserunner until the third, when Sweeney drew a leadoff walk and scored on Bonifacio's single to center.
Milwaukee got that run back in the bottom of the frame on Jonathan Lucroy's RBI single and added another on Overbay's first homer of the season in the fourth. Former Cub Aramis Ramirez plated another with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Sweeney's groundout pushed across a Chicago run in the seventh before Milwaukee's stingy bullpen posted two scoreless frames to finish it off.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Brewers improved to 13-0 when they have more hits than their opponent. … Cubs RHP Neil Ramirez made his major-league debut in relief of Villanueva, striking out one and working around a walk in a scoreless sixth inning. … Chicago C Welington Castillo went 0-for-3, snapping his hitting streak at six games.