CHICAGO _ The Brewers knew what had to be done, and they went out and did it.
Finishing off a three-game sweep they desperately needed to get back in the thick of the National League Central race, the Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field behind a strong start by Zach Davies and Travis Shaw's decisive two-run homer.
The sweep allowed the Brewers to pull within two games of the first-place Cubs with 19 games remaining on their schedule. Had they lost, it would have been a four-game margin, a significant difference at this late stage.
After getting swept in Cincinnati by the last-place Reds in a three-game series to start the week, the Brewers came here five games behind Chicago. That put them in must-win mode.
The Brewers hung on for a tense 2-0 victory in the opener, with Ryan Braun blasting a two-run homer into the wind in the first inning for the only runs. Jimmy Nelson would suffer a season-ending shoulder injury in the fifth inning, but the bullpen did stalwart work afterward.
The Brewers followed that with their biggest laugher of the season, pummeling the Cubs, 15-2, after scoring eight times in the third inning. That put them in position for the sweep, and they finished it off Sunday to make it a race again in the division, including St. Louis, which is tied for second.
Davies led the way with seven strong innings, allowing seven hits and one run, which was tainted by a misplay. He struck out six and recorded his 17th victory, tops in the majors.
The game started with two pitchers who use the same modus operandi for getting outs. The Brewers' Davies and Chicago's Kyle Hendricks are known for carving up hitters with kindness, and are both very good at it, so the expected pitchers' duel ensued.
Hendricks covered six innings for the Cubs, allowing four hits and three runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. But that would not be good enough against Davies on this day.
The Cubs struck for a run in the second inning, with some help from the Brewers. Ian Happ led off with a walk, was bunted to second by Javier Baez and was still there with two outs when Rene Rivera sent a fly to right field that Hernan Perez misjudged and had go off his glove as he retreated for what was called a RBI double.
The Brewers tied the game in the fourth with the use of an unusual weapon for them _ the bunt. Braun surprised the Cubs by leading off with a bunt single to the left side, his first since 2014, and stole second before Shaw walked.
Hernan Perez moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt, a ploy that worked when Stephen Vogt grounded out to second to send home Braun with the tying run.
It stayed 1-1 until the sixth, when Walker led off with a walk and Shaw defied the stiff breeze blowing in from right by blasting a 1-0 fastball from Hendricks out to right for a two-run homer and 3-1 lead.
The Cubs put a couple of runners on in the sixth against Davies but he retired Jason Heyward on a routine fly to right to strand them. In the seventh, he struck out two hitters and induced Jon Jay to ground out to first, and that would end Davies' strong performance.
Anthony Swarzak pitched a 1-2-3 eight inning, retiring dangerous hitters Kris Bryant (grounder to third) and Anthony Rizzo (strikeout) in the process.
