Villar homers twice to lead Brewers past Cubs
MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Villar hit two home runs, including a first-pitch blast in the eighth that broke a 1-1 tie, to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night at Miller Park.
Villar, who also homered a day earlier, went deep from both sides of the plate and went 5-for-9 in the final two games of the series.
He took Cubs starter Mike Montgomery deep to lead off the fourth inning and sent the first offering of the eighth inning from Joe Smith (1-1) off the scoreboard in center for his 15th homer of the season.
Anthony Rizzo had two hits for Chicago and also homered for the third time in the last two games, tying the game 1-1 with a two-out shot off Matt Garza in the sixth inning.
Rizzo, facing Tyler Thornburg with two out in the ninth, came within inches of tying the game, but was robbed when a leaping Keon Broxton pulled in what would have been Rizzo's second homer of the game.
Thornburg followed that by getting Ben Zobrist to fly out, clinching his ninth save of the season.
Montgomery went five innings for Chicago, allowing two hits and a pair of walks while striking out six.
His only blemish came in the fourth, when Villar sat back on a 2-2 changeup to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.
That advantage held until the sixth, when Rizzo caught enough of a 2-2 slider for his third home run in the last two games to tie the game.
It came at the expense of Garza, who allowed three hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings of work.
NOTES: Chicago manager Joe Maddon hasn't decided upon a designated hitter for the Cubs' upcoming series at Houston. ... Maddon left 1B Anthony Rizzo in the starting lineup Wednesday after he hit a pair of home runs a night earlier in Chicago's 12-5 loss. Maddon had planned to rest Rizzo Tuesday or Wednesday but opted to keep him on the field and use a scheduled off-day Thursday for rest. ... Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he plans to add several coaches from the minor league system to his staff over the next few weeks, allowing them a chance to spend more time with players they'll see in fall instructional leagues and spring training next season. ... Despite the addition of C Andrew Susac to the roster Tuesday, Counsell gave Manny Pina the start against Chicago in place of Martin Maldonado. Counsell said he hadn't figured out when Susac would get his first start with the Brewers.