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MILWAUKEE -- To beat the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers needed a little bit of everything Friday night, and they got it. Strong pitching. Good defense. Timely offense. The Brewers did all that and the result was a 2-1, 11-inning victory over the Cubs at Miller Park.
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Milwaukee scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Cubs reliever Mike Montgomery with one out in the bottom of the 11th.
"It was a fun game, for sure. There was a lot going on," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "There was great pitching on both sides, for sure. There was good defense on both sides, for sure. There certainly were a lot of decisions to be made. The bottom line was we pitched really well. We pitched outstanding."
Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson set the tone, striking out eight over six innings in his first start of the season. He held the Cubs to six hits and two walks while allowing just one run -- a solo homer to Ben Zobrist in the second inning.
The Cubs put runners on base in each of the next four innings but couldn't do anything with them.
After getting through the sixth, the Brewers' offense tied things up for Nelson when Ryan Braun scored on a single by Jesus Aguilar that chased Chicago starter Brett Anderson, who was charged with the run on five hits and a walk while striking out four over 5 2/3 innings.
Justin Grimm got Chicago out of the inning and it was a bullpen duel from there. The Cubs allowed just one Brewers baserunner through the next four innings while Milwaukee escaped a big jam in the 10th when Jared Hughes loaded the bases with one out but got an inning-ending double play.
Addison Russell led off the 11th with a base hit for the Cubs. But Aguilar snared a line drive off the bat of Jason Heyward to start his second 3-6-3 double play of the day, and Hughes got Miguel Montero on a weak grounder to end the inning.
"We were able to make some really good defensive plays behind me, even that second inning, Aguilar with that play was unbelievable," Hughes said. "So, yeah, I'm really happy to be a sinker-baller pitching with this defense behind me."
With the tie still intact, Montgomery came out for his third inning of work for Chicago and quickly found himself in trouble as Braun opened the inning with a base hit.
"The problem there was I did not want to use (Pedro) Strop or (Carl) Edwards," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "They were both down today."
Montgomery retired Travis Shaw on a fly to left but walked Aguilar then plunked pinch-hitter Jett Bandy, loading the bases.
Maddon put five defenders in the infield while left field remained open for Manny Pina, who fell behind in the count. Montgomery's 0-2 offering, though, skipped past Montero to the backstop, allowing Braun to score easily, giving the Brewers the victory.
"Give them credit," Maddon said. "They beat us at our own game. They played some good defense."
Chicago got a scare in the sixth when second baseman Javier Baez collided with right fielder Heyward trying to chase down a pop fly into shallow right. Baez's head appeared to smack into Heyward's elbow on the play and he had to leave the game after suffering what the team described as a left eye contusion.
"It looked like it was going to start swelling," Maddon said. "He said he was all right but I didn't feel good about it. There was a large divot out there. He insisted he was good but I wasn't convinced. I'm certain he'll be fine by tomorrow. But I wasn't feeling really strongly about it at that moment."
NOTES: After claiming INF/OF Nick Franklin off waivers from Tampa earlier in the week, Milwaukee officially added him to its active roster Friday. To make room for Franklin, the Brewers optioned RHP Taylor Jungmann to Double-A Biloxi. ... Brewers OF Keon Broxton was not in the starting lineup a day after he was struck in the helmet by a pitch. However, he entered the game in the 10th inning as a center fielder and struck out in his only at-bat. ... Cubs 3B Kris Bryant recorded his first hit of the season in the fifth inning Friday. He had begun the season 0-for-14 at the plate, the longest hitless stretch to start a season by the reigning MVP since Ryne Sandberg in 1985.
