MILWAUKEE (AP) Michael Busch hit his first career grand slam and Pete Crow-Armstrong added two solo shots as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-0 on Friday.
This marked the first matchup of the season between the NL Central-leading Cubs and the Brewers, who won this division each of the last two seasons.
Chicago took the lead for good by scoring two runs in the first inning off Tyler Alexander (1-3), who served as the Brewers’ opener before giving way to Quinn Priester. The Cubs scored seven runs against Priester in the second to break the game open.
Busch sent an 0-2 curve over the wall in left-center field for his sixth homer of the season, giving Chicago an 8-0 advantage. Two batters later, Crow-Armstrong delivered a 418-foot blast to center on a 1-2 changeup.
Crow-Amstrong went deep again in the seventh inning, hitting a 399-foot shot to right on a 2-1 slider from Joel Payamps for his eighth homer of the season.
Cubs starter Ben Brown (3-2) struck out four in six innings while allowing four hits and no walks. Chris Flexen worked the final three innings for his third career save, and first since 2022.
The Brewers were shut out again two nights after closing a 10-game trip with an 8-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The last time the Brewers were shut out in back-to-back games was in May 2023.
After allowing a leadoff single to Dansby Swanson in the second, Priester walked Nicky Lopez on a 3-2 sinker and then walked Ian Happ on four pitches to load the bases with nobody out. Those two walks set the stage for the Cubs’ seven-run outburst.
Crow-Armstrong’s two homers from the No. 7 spot in the lineup continued the Cubs’ run of success from the bottom third of their lineup. The Cubs have 18 homers this season from players batting seventh, eighth or ninth. They entered Friday leading the majors in that category.
Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 4.01 ERA) goes against Brewers LHP José Quintana (4-0, 1.14) on Saturday.
—
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. Happ LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .283 |
| a- J. Turner PH-3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .156 |
| K. Tucker RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .285 |
| S. Suzuki DH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .291 |
| C. Kelly C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .364 |
| M. Busch 1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .278 |
| N. Hoerner 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .289 |
| P. Crow-Armstrong CF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .271 |
| D. Swanson SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .214 |
| V. Brujan LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| N. Lopez 3B-SS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
- a-lined out for Happ in the 8th
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B. Turang 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .315 |
| V. Capra 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .065 |
| J. Chourio CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .255 |
| C. Yelich DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .212 |
| W. Contreras C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .252 |
| E. Haase C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| S. Frelick RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .307 |
| D. Cameron PR-RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| R. Hoskins 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .264 |
| I. Collins LF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .275 |
| J. Ortiz SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .191 |
| C. Durbin 3B-2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 |
- 2B – C. Kelly (2)
- HR – M. Busch (6), P. Crow-Armstrong 2 (8)
- RBI – K. Tucker (29), S. Suzuki (29), C. Kelly (22), M. Busch 4 (22), N. Hoerner (15), P. Crow-Armstrong 2 (23)
- 2-Out RBI – N. Hoerner, P. Crow-Armstrong 2 (2)
- Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out – C. Kelly, P. Crow-Armstrong 2 (2)
- Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out – C. Yelich, J. Ortiz 2 (2)
- DP – (Hoerner-Swanson-Busch)
| PITCHERS | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Alexander(L, 1-3) | 0.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5.18 |
| Q. Priester | 4.1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5.79 |
| T. Myers | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.14 |
| J. Payamps | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10.22 |
| G. Anderson | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
| J. Bauers | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
- Pitches-Strikes – B. Brown 74-53, C. Flexen 54-36
- Ground Balls-Fly Balls – B. Brown 9-3, C. Flexen 0-3
- Batters Faced – B. Brown 21, C. Flexen 12
- Pitches-Strikes – T. Alexander 19-12, Q. Priester 101-64, T. Myers 11-6, J. Payamps 15-9, G. Anderson 8-7, J. Bauers 10-6
- Ground Balls-Fly Balls – T. Alexander 1-1, Q. Priester 8-4, T. Myers 1-0, J. Payamps 0-1, G. Anderson 0-1, J. Bauers 1-4
- Batters Faced – T. Alexander 5, Q. Priester 23, T. Myers 3, J. Payamps 4, G. Anderson 3, J. Bauers 5