Braun scores on wild pitch as Brewers edge Cubs in 11
MILWAUKEE -- Mike Montgomery threw a wild pitch with one out and the bases loaded in the 11th inning, allowing Ryan Braun to score and the Milwaukee Brewers posted a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Miller Park.
Pitching in his third inning of work, Montgomery (0-2) opened the 11th with a base hit to Braun and a flyout by Travis Shaw. Jesus Aguilar drew a walk and Montgomery loaded the bases by hitting pinch-hitter Jett Bandy.
The Cubs moved six players to the infield and kept left field open for Manny Pina, but Montgomery's 0-2 offering skipped past home plate to allow Braun to score the winning run.
Jimmy Nelson worked six innings for Milwaukee, holding the Cubs to one run on four hits and a pair of walks.
Ben Zobrist got Chicago on the board with a leadoff home run in the second. While the Cubs threatened by putting runners on each of the next four innings, they couldn't cash in on those opportunities.
The Brewers had their chances, too. A second-inning double from Pina went to waste as did singles in the fourth and fifth from Aguilar and Orlando Arcia, respectively.
Brett Anderson retired his first two batters in the sixth but Shaw followed with a single and Aguilar drove him home with a base hit to right. The hit chased Anderson, who allowed just the one run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
With Justin Grimm on in relief, Hernan Perez followed with a pop fly to shallow center but reached when Javier Baez collided with Jason Heyward trying to chase down the play. The two got tangled up, Baez crashed to the ground and ultimately had to leave the game.
That left runners at second and third, but Grimm worked out of the jam.
Chicago loaded the bases against Jared Hughes (1-0) in the ninth but Ben Zobrist bounced into a double-play to end the inning.
NOTES: After claiming him off waivers from Tampa earlier in the week, Milwaukee officially added INF/OF Nick Franklin to its active roster Friday. To make room Franklin, the Brewers optioned RHP Taylor Jungmann to Double-A Biloxi. ... Brewers OF Keon Broxton was not in the starting lineup but available to pinch-hit if needed a day after he was struck in the helmet by a pitch. ... Cubs 3B Kris Bryant recorded his first hit of the season in the fifth inning Friday. He'd begun the season 0-for-14 at the plate, the longest hitless stretch to start a season by the reigning MVP since Ryne Sandberg in 1985.