Brewers vs Cubs Game 1: Three Up, Three Down

The Milwaukee Brewers continued their dominance over the Cubs on Friday, beating Chicago 4-3 at Wrigley Field. The Brewers were without offensive weapons Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez, but were still able to find victory.

Brewers’ starter Kyle Lohse turned in another stellar performance and won his fifth game of the year. The 35-year-old veteran pitched seven innings, giving up three runs across seven runs. His ERA sits at 2.88 for the season.

For the Cubs, Jeff Samardzija wasn’t his usual self. In five innings, he allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits and allowed three walks. Samardzija dropped to 0-4 on the year despite having an ERA of 1.62.

Let’s see who impacted the game the most, both positively and negatively.

Three Up

1. Jean Segura: The Brewers shortstop might finally be getting hot. He went 3-for-5 today with two runs batted in. The Brewers need him to start hitting.

2. Elian Herrera: Starting in place of Braun, Herrera went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He’s hitting .263 on the season, and could eventually take over Jeff Bianchi‘s permanent roster spot.

3. Brewers’ bullpen: Milwaukee’s bullpen did it again. Will Smith and Francisco Rodriguez shut the door on the Cubs after Lohse departed from the game.

Three Down

1. Scooter Gennett: Scooter went o-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, and with the way Rickie Weeks has been swinging the bat, he might start seeing less playing time.

2. Chicago’s defense: The Cubs had three errors in today’s game and a passed ball by catcher Wellington Castillo. It’s hard to win games without defense.

3. Jeff Samardzija: Luckily for the Crew, he just wasn’t himself today.