CHICAGO _ A lengthy winning streak sparked by consistent starting pitching and run production might not arrive this season for the Cubs.
But at this point, being good enough may be good enough for the Cubs to hold serve in the National League Central Division.
After an 8-4 win over the second-place Brewers on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, the Cubs maintained the three-game lead they held at the start of the two game series. Since taking over first place on July 14, the Cubs have not won more than two consecutive games as their division lead has hovered between { and three games.
In that span, their starters have struggled to string together good outings, and the offense has alternated between outstanding and ineffective efforts.
Both phases were solid Wednesday. Kyle Hendricks provided six solid innings before struggling in the seventh, and the offense resurrected its ability to hit to the opposite field _ a trait that helped them climb into first place.
"For us to get really on that roll, you got to see them simultaneously," manager Joe Maddon said.
The importance of winning enough to hold off division foes will be essential this weekend, when the Cubs open a four-game series against the pesky fourth-place Pirates while the Brewers visit the resurgent third-place Cardinals for a three games.
"There are a lot of folks who would have been running for the hills had we lost," Maddon said one day after the Cubs suffered a 7-0 humbling. "The fact you win the game settled down that method. There's still a long way to go.
"If you want to ride that emotional roller coaster, it will wipe you out."
For the Cubs, the whatever-it-takes method fully applies to the offense. Anthony Rizzo batted cleanup for the first time since July 11 and responded in the first inning with a two-run, opposite-field home run.
Rizzo, who added a soft RBI single in the fourth, had only five at-bats with runners in scoring position from the leadoff spot, where he had spent his last 27 starts.
"It was nice coming to the plate with a runner on in the first," Rizzo said. "Other than that, you hit when you hit. And it worked out."
Addison Russell's single to right field sparked a three-run fourth and accounted for his first RBI since Aug. 4, a nine-game span.
"That's who we need to be," Maddon said of hitting to the opposite field. "We need to be tougher in two-strike counts and not pull off pitches or expand and give the other team some escape hatches."
With the exception of an error by Rizzo, the defense provided no easy paths for the Brewers. Third baseman David Bote made a barehanded play to retire Jonathan Schoop in the second, and Jason Heyward made two exceptional running catches in the eighth and ninth.
The decision to insert Ian Happ in left field in the ninth paid off handsomely when he made a running catch before crashing into the brick wall to rob Christian Yelich of extra bases to start the inning.
Rizzo was careful not to place extra emphasis on Wednesday's result following Tuesday's shutout loss.
"I think early on we knew it was going to come down to the wire," Rizzo said. "I don't see us or any team pulling away. But winning games against your division is always big."
