Brewers 0 - 3 Cubs
Final
  for this game

Peralta hopes to secure 15th win in start vs. Cubs

Aug 12, 2014 - 3:01 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Wily Peralta tries to become the majors' first 15-game winner when he leads the Milwaukee Brewers into Tuesday's second test of a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Peralta is one of four pitchers with 14 wins and has a 14-6 mark with a 3.42 earned run average. St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright is also 14-6 and gets the nod Tuesday in Miami.

The right-handed Peralta has won five straight starts and owns a sparkling 1.64 ERA in that time and hasn't tasted defeat since July 8 versus Philadelphia. Peralta threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball and posted a career- high nines strikeouts in a 3-1 win over San Francisco on Thursday.

Milwaukee has scored three or more runs in each of Peralta's last 12 starts.

Peralta is 10-1 in his last 11 decisions and has a 6-2 record in 10 starts on the road. In seven career starts against the Cubs, Peralta is 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA. He has lost both of his starts against the Cubs this season.

Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo didn't have a problem with the Cubs in Monday's 3-1 win and held the hosts to just a run in seven innings with six strikeouts and no walks.

"I made pitches whenever I needed to," said Gallardo. "I just gotta keep it (close) and let the guys come back and swing the bat."

Will Smith threw a scoreless eighth inning and Francisco Rodriguez nailed down his 36th save in the ninth.

Mark Reynolds homered and Scooter Gennett went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Milwaukee, which is 2 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh and three games in front of St. Louis for the NL Central lead.

The Cubs are 1-3 on a seven-game homestand and provided Jake Arrieta with little support in Monday's loss. Arrieta pitched well in defeat and permitted two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings.

"In the seventh, a couple pitches that really didn't have the bite stayed in the zone with not a lot of movement, and they put some good swings on it," said Arrieta. "They have a really deep lineup, and it shows by what they're doing and how they're playing as a team thus far this year."

Chris Coghlan had the lone RBI in the fifth inning and Starlin Castro recorded a team-best two hits for the last-place Cubs, who are still a decent 9-5 in the last 14 games. Castro is riding a 10-game hitting streak, batting .415 with five RBI and 17 hits in that stretch.

Kyle Hendricks will make the sixth start of his career for the Cubs Tuesday and is 3-1 with a 2.10 earned run average in five appearances. Hendricks has won back-to-back starts and delivered a career-high eight innings of two-run ball in a 6-2 victory at Colorado last Thursday.

Hendricks, who has lasted six or more innings in every start, will face Milwaukee for the first time and is 1-1 with a 0.68 ERA in two home starts.

Milwaukee has a 6-4 lead in the season series with Chicago.






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