Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Rapid Reaction: Cubs 4, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE -- The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Saturday night. Here's a quick look at the game.

How it happened: Anthony Rizzo did it again. He hit his 20th home run of the season with two men on in the third inning, breaking a scoreless tie. It came after a walk to Chris Coghlan and long at-bat by Kyle Schwarber, which resulted in a base hit. The Brewers got one back in the fourth inning on a Khris Davis RBI single. Schwarber added one in the seventh with his fourth home run of the season, a long one out to right center. Kyle Hendricks did the rest as he lasted seven innings, giving up four hits, two walks and one run while striking out six. New Cubs reliever Tommy Hunter came in to get the final two outs in the ninth.

What it means: Rizzo is simply on fire and the Cubs are taking advantage of a seemingly disinterested Brewers team. The offense has scored runs late in each game of the series, something it hadn't been doing for most of last month. Fewer and fewer hitters are struggling right now -- and the Cubs are starting to hit home runs -- which could finally mean the streak that manager Joe Maddon has been waiting for is coming. Maybe they're in it already as his team has won five of six, pushing their record to nine games over .500, tying a season high.

Key at-bat: Schwarber's 11-pitch, third inning at-bat may have changed the game. He fouled off six consecutive pitches before singling up the middle. The next four pitches to Coghlan were balls and the one after that left the yard. Schwarber started the job and Rizzo finished it.

Rizzo's streak: Rizzo has home runs in a career high four consecutive games -- two off lefties, two off righties. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it's the longest streak for a Cub since Sammy Sosa hit homers in five straight games during 1998.

What's next: The Cubs go for the four-game series sweep when Clayton Richard (1-0, 5.40) takes on Kyle Lohse (5-12, 6.24) on Sunday afternoon.

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