CHICAGO (AP) — It's purely about the math for Anthony Rizzo and the Chicago Cubs.
A three-game lead is better than a one-game advantage, and that was all that mattered Wednesday.
Rizzo homered, drove in three runs and stole two bases in his return to the cleanup spot, and Chicago beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 to strengthen its hold on the NL Central.
The Cubs bounced back nicely from their 7-0 loss in the opener of the two-game series, improving to 9-4 against the Brewers this year. But they have six more games left in the season series and St. Louis is gaining quickly, so Rizzo and company coolly packed up their three-game advantage over the second-place Brewers and got ready for a six-game trip.
It’s just about the numbers in the middle of August.
“I think early on we knew it was going to come down to the wire,” Rizzo said, “so I don’t see us or any team pulling away like crazy. Winning games versus our division is always big, and this one was nice.”
Jason Heyward added three hits and two RBIs as Chicago moved 19 games over .500, matching its season high. David Bote had two hits, scored twice and made a terrific barehanded play at third base in his first action since he hit a game-ending grand slam in Sunday night’s 4-3 victory over Washington.
Kyle Hendricks (9-9) struck out eight in six-plus innings, providing a lift for the Cubs after Jon Lester and Jose Quintana struggled in recent starts.
Milwaukee had a chance to inch closer to Chicago, but instead lost for the fourth time in six games. Junior Guerra (6-8) lasted just 3 2/3 innings, and first baseman Eric Thames committed an error that helped set up a run.
The Brewers, who are in position for a wild card, also lost left fielder Ryan Braun and catcher Manny Pina to injuries. Braun departed with tightness on the right side of his rib cage, and Pina hurt his left shoulder when he collided with Javier Baez while he was diving back to second in the seventh.
Pina stayed in after the play and scored on Mike Moustakas’ single. But Erik Kratz took over behind the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
Braun is considered day to day. He got hurt trying to make a sliding catch in the third.