Christian Yelich and Mark Canha homered during Milwaukee's four-run first inning, and the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Monday night in the opener of a big three-game series between NL Central rivals.
Wade Miley pitched six effective innings as Milwaukee moved five games ahead of second-place Chicago in the division. The nine straight wins is the longest streak for the Brewers since an 11-game run in 2021.
Returning home after a 5-2 trip, Chicago committed two costly errors and finished with five hits. Ian Happ and Patrick Wisdom homered, but Jameson Taillon got off to a rough start.
Yelich drove Taillon's third pitch to left-center for his 17th homer. It was Yelich's fifth leadoff homer of the season and No. 9 for his career.
Taillon (7-9) was charged with four earned runs and nine hits in six innings. The right-hander, who signed a $68 million, four-year contract with Chicago in December, dropped to 0-3 with a 7.84 ERA in his last four starts.
Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-6, 3.65 ERA) and Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (14-3, 2.80) take the mound Tuesday night. Burnes is looking for his first win since July 20. Steele is 5-0 with a 3.54 ERA in his last seven starts.
