MILWAUKEE _ After being held scoreless for 19 consecutive innings, the Cubs quelled some concerns about the ability of their offense.
Thanks to the production by the bottom half of their batting order, the Cubs surged to an 8-0 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park.
Willson Contreras ignited rallies in the second and third inning with singles. Albert Almora Jr. hit an RBI triple in the third and scored on a hit by Addison Russell.
Javier Baez hit a two-run single in the second, then advanced to third on an error by second baseman Hernan Perez and scored when Lorenzo Cain bobbled the ball in shallow center field.
Jason Heyward came off the bench as part of a double switch in the eighth and smacked a two-run home run in the ninth.
Left-hander Jon Lester, pitching on six days' rest, limited the Brewers to three hits over six innings. Ryan Braun drew a walk and stole second without a throw from Lester in the first. But when Braun tried the same play attempting to steal third Lester bounced a throw to Kris Bryant, who tagged Braun for the final out.
The Brewers, who were without the services of star outfielder Christian Yelich because of an oblique injury, lost closer Corey Knebel in the ninth.
Knebel, who surrendered the homer to Heyward, fell hard after delivering a pitch to Tommy La Stella. Knebel couldn't put pressure on his left leg while being assisted off the mound.
The Cubs improved to 19-8 at Miller Park dating back to July 30, 2015. The Cubs have scored at least one run in their past 33 games at Miller Park dating back to Sept. 26, 2014.
