Brewers 4, Cubs 2
Ryan Braun hit his 24th homer and added an RBI double as the Milwaukee Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 4-2 victory on Thursday afternoon.
Casey McGehee chipped in a sacrifice fly and Yuniesky Betancourt doubled in a run for the Brewers, who maintained their slim lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.
Shaun Marcum (10-3) posted his third straight win, scattering two runs and seven hits over six innings before handing it off to the bullpen. LaTroy Hawkins and Francisco Rodriguez each tossed a perfect inning in front of closer John Axford, who struck out a pair en route to his 30th save.
Braun finished with three hits - his third multi-hit effort in the last four games - and homered for the fifth time in the last eight contests. The All-Star slugger gave Milwaukee some breathing room in the third when he took a 3-2 offering from Randy Wells and drove a solo shot deep over the fence in right-center.
Wells (2-4) was charged with all four runs in six innings for Chicago, which traded away outfielder Kosuke Fukudome earlier in the day.