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CHICAGO -- Zach Davies pitched seven strong innings for his major league-leading 17th win, Travis Shaw launched a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Sunday. The Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champions at Wrigley Field and closed to two games behind NL Central-leading Chicago. Milwaukee outscored the Cubs 20-3 in the series.
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With the game tied at 1, Shaw put the Brewers ahead 3-1 when he tagged Kyle Hendricks (6-5) for a towering drive that bounced off the message board in front of the party deck in right field. It was Shaw's team leading 29th homer.
Davies (17-8) allowed one run, scattering seven hits while striking out six and walking one. The 24-year-old entered tied for the major league league in wins with three big-name aces Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Chris Sale.
Davies, in his second full major league season, is 10-4 in his last 15 starts.
After Anthony Swarzak pitched a 1-2-3 eight inning, Corey Knebel struck out the side in the ninth for his 34th save.
Stephen Vogt drove in the Brewers' first run with a groundout.
Rene Rivera had two hits and drove in the Cubs' lone run with a double.
Hendricks, locked in a tidy duel with Davies until Shaw's homer, allowed three runs on four hits through six innings. The righty struck out seven and walked two.
The Cubs jumped ahead 1-0 in the second when Rivera's liner to right with two outs glanced off Hernan Perez's glove and Ian Happ raced home from second. It looked like Perez was lined up to catch the ball, but Rivera was awarded a double.
The Brewers tied it 1-1 in the fourth without hitting the ball out of the infield. Ryan Braun, who led off with a bunt single, scored from third on Vogt's groundout to second.
Shaw's drive in the sixth put Milwaukee ahead for good.
NOTES: The Cubs activated C Willson Contreras from the disabled list on Sunday and he struck out swinging as pinch hitter in the seventh. Manager Joe Maddon plans to ease Contreras back into action this week. Contreras went on the DL on Aug. 11 after suffering a right hamstring strain at San Francisco on Aug. 9. In 42 games from June 19 until the injury, the 25-year-old hit .299 with 16 HR and 39 RBIs. ... Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he was shocked when he learned on Saturday that RHP Jimmy Nelson's right shoulder injury was season-ending. Nelson pitched five innings for his career-high 12th win on Friday in a 2-0 Milwaukee win, but jammed the shoulder diving back to first base after lining an single off the wall and rounding the bag. Initially, both Counsell and Nelson thought the injury wasn't serious, but tests showed it was a right rotator cuff strain and partial anterior labrum. "You thought you dodged a bullet," Counsell said.
