CHICAGO — Kolten Wong was back with a vengeance, even if the Milwaukee Brewers showed little else in the way of fight against the Chicago Cubs.
Wong hit a home run and finished with three hits in his first game since April 8, a 15-2 Brewers loss. He had been sidelined by an oblique injury.
“It was kind of like a high oblique, maybe a super low lat strain, one of those things where we were trying to figure out what was the best way to go,” Wong told MLB.com. “It was probably about three days or so [before] today where I felt really good, things started to feel better. I would take full swings, even did some check swings to see how that would hold up and it felt great, so I’m excited to get back out there.”
Jake Marisnick homered and matched a career high with five RBIs as the Cubs won their fourth straight.
Milwaukee had won three in a row. Wong and Billy McKinney hit consecutive homers in the sixth, but that was it for the Brewers’ offense.
“That’s a great sign, to come off feeling good,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Wong, who registered his first RBI of the season. “We didn’t do a rehab assignment or anything like that, so it’s great to show up and have some success and feel good about where you’re at right away.”
Along with stealing his second base of the season, Wong’s three-hit day was more than he compiled in 19 at-bats entering the game. He’s now 5 for 23 (.217).
Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez and Willson Contreras also connected for Chicago, which was coming off a three-game sweep of the New York Mets. Nico Hoerner had three hits in his first start of the season.
Marisnick, a reserve outfielder known mostly for his defensive prowess, had two hits and scored three times in his third straight start.
“I just stay ready,” he said. “I’m going to try to find a way to impact the game one way or another.”
Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (1-2) pitched six innings of two-run ball in his first win of the season. He struck out six and walked one, bouncing back nicely after a rough start against Atlanta.
“I made better pitches overall,” he said. “I just need to continue down that road.”
Milwaukee had won three in a row. Wong and Billy McKinney hit consecutive homers in the sixth, but that was it for the Brewers’ offense.
Brewers left-hander Brett Anderson (2-2) departed with right knee discomfort after throwing just 11 pitches. He said after the game that he will undergo an MRI to determine the source of pain that came from his lower hamstring.
“I went to try to stretch it out a little bit and then the next pitch, it kind of grabbed on me,” Anderson said. “Nothing was an issue up until that point.”
After Contreras grounded out, Kris Bryant and Rizzo doubled and Báez singled before Anderson was replaced by Josh Lindblom. Marisnick added a three-run double and Hoerner capped Chicago’s six-run first with an RBI double.
Rizzo and Báez hit consecutive homers in the second, and Marisnick added another solo drive in the fourth. Contreras hit his sixth homer off Angel Perdomo in the sixth.
The Brewers gave up 17 hits Friday after allowing 15 hits and three runs during a three-game sweep at San Diego. Manager Craig Counsell didn’t seem too concerned.
“The last thing I wanted was to get us kind of behind the eight ball for the first day of this stretch here,” he said. “I think Josh threw 80 pitches, kind of sucked it up, helped us out.”
