Chicago Cubs carried to 6-1 win over Brewers by Soler, Lester

The Chicago Cubs put up a five-spot in the first inning thanks to a three-run dinger from left fielder Jorge Soler. That’s all the support Cubs lefty Jon Lester seemed to need, tossing 6 2/3 of three-hit ball while striking out seven Brewers batters to earn his 13th win of the season.

Chicago (76-43) got the scoring started early in the first inning. Second basemen Ben Zobrist laced a ground ball through the hole into right field to score Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler for the first run of the game.

Rookie shortstop Addison Russell would then step up to the plate. With two strikes on him, he blooped a soft line drive that just made it over Brewers’ second basemen Scooter Gennett into right field to score Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. 

Left fielder Jorge Soler would then step up. With two on and only one out, Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson would throw a fastball right down Broadway that Soler would crush 450 feet into the bleachers in left-center to give the Cubs an early 5-0 lead.

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Cubs veteran catcher David Ross would also go deep for a solo shot in the sixth inning.

Jon Lester (13-4, 2.86 ERA) kept the Brewers offense on their heels all evening, mixing in a lot of off-speed pitches. He would sit down ten Milwaukee (52-67) hitters in a row at one point. Lester’s fastball velocity only sat around 90-92, but he was hitting his spots all night long.

After his first rough outing of the season a few nights ago against the Cardinals, where he gave up five earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning, Cubs rookie Carl Edwards Jr would come in to relieve Lester in the 7th.

He looked like his usual self once again, tossing 1 1/3 innings while only giving up one hit and striking out one. Edwards has been one of the Cubs most reliable arms out of the pen this year. At just 24 years of age, Edwards features a powerful fastball that sits in the mid 90’s and a filthy curve ball he uses to finish hitters.

Next: La Stella will report to Double-A

Veteran reliever Travis Wood would come into the game in the 9th and finish it off to secure the Cubs third victory in a row, after sweeping the Brew Crew in a doubleheader yesterday afternoon.

Chicago will look for the sweep as they play the finale of the series tomorrow at 11:20 CT. Chicago will then travel to the Mile High City to take on Carlos Gonzalez and the Colorado Rockies for a three-game set starting on Friday.