MILWAUKEE – Geoff Jenkins homered in the first inning and Doug Davis worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh to help the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Davis (11-10) won for the second time in three starts after going 14 consecutive starts without a victory. The left-hander pitched seven innings, giving up two runs and seven hits, walking two and striking out 10, including Derrek Lee four times.
Derrick Turnbow pitched the ninth for his 33rd save.
Chicago starter Jerome Williams (5-9) gave up three runs in the first inning in failing to win for the third consecutive start. He gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings.
Trailing 4-2, the Cubs loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Davis got Neifi Perez on a fielder’s choice and Todd Walker on a popup then struck out Lee for the fourth time to end the inning. Lee came into the game leading the NL in hitting (.341) and was second in homers (44).
The Cubs were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Carlos Lee had two sacrifice flies and Brady Clark scored two runs for Milwaukee.
Clark led off the first with a single and moved to third on J.J. Hardy’s broken-bat single. One batter later, Lee’s sacrifice fly made it 1-0. Jenkins followed with a two-run home run, his 23rd.
The Brewers made it 4-0 in the fifth on Lee’s second sacrifice fly.
The Cubs pulled within 4-2 in the sixth on Nomar Garciaparra’s seventh homer, a two-run shot.
Lyle Overbay’s 19th homer made it 5-2 in the seventh.
Matt Murton’s sixth homer, off reliever Matt Wise in the eighth, brought Chicago within 5-3.
Notes: The victory moved the Brewers into third place in the NL Central, one-half game ahead of Chicago. … The Brewers purchased the contract of RHP Gary Glover from Triple-A Nashville before the game. To make room on their 40-man roster, they transferred RHP Ben Sheets to the 60-day DL. … Hardy singled in the first inning, extending his hitting streak to a career-high nine games. … Cubs C Michael Barrett returned to the starting lineup. He had been out since Sept. 14 when he was hit in the head with a pitch.
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