Rogers gets first win as Brewers crush Cubs

• Milwaukee Brewers

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MILWAUKEE - Mark Rogers finally got his first Major League victory last night, when the Milwaukee Brewers crushed the Chicago Cubs 9-5 at Miller Park.

Rogers had a lead in three of his four starts since replacing the departed Zack Greinke in late July. The bullpen blew those leads, but they didn’t let it happen this time. The Brewers scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez hit back-to-back homers. Lucroy homered twice on the night – and his three-run blast in the fifth gave him four RBI’s. Corey Hart also drove in a pair for the Crew.

Rogers went five innings, giving up three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. The win improved his record to 1-1. Justin Germano was tagged for seven runs in four-and-two-thirds’ frames. The loss dropped him to 2-3. Josh Vitters belted his first career homer for the Cubs. Anthony Rizzo had two hits, including an RBI ground-rule double, as the Cubs lost their fourth game in their last five. Cubs’ second baseman Darwin Barney extended his errorless streak to a team-record 106 games. Milwaukee improved to 6-2 over the Cubs at Miller Park this season – and the Crew is now 3-2 on its current home-stand.

The Brewers are virtually locked into fourth place in the National League Central, 10 games behind third-place Saint Louis and now eight ahead of the fifth-place Cubs. Milwaukee and Chicago will face each other again tonight at Miller Park. Right-hander Marco Estrada will face Cubs’ left-hander Chris Rusin, who will make his big league debut.

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Brewers’ manager Ron Roenicke says he and general manager Doug Melvin could decide today which of their young pitchers to shut down – and when. The Brewers have been monitoring the innings of starters Mark Rogers, Mike Fiers, and Marco Estrada. The team says their arms could be at risk if they pitch too many more innings than the year before. Roenicke says Rogers is the closest to hitting his innings limit. He has thrown 124 frames – including 95 with Triple-“A” Nashville before he was called up in late July. Rogers had carpel tunnel surgery on both wrists a year ago, when he was limited to just 44-and-a-third innings in the minors. Meanwhile, the Brewers expect to get starter Shaun Marcum back this weekend in Pittsburgh. He pitched six innings last night in his third rehab start for the Class-“A” Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Marcum gave up one run on four hits with three strikeouts and got the win in an 8-1 pounding of Peoria near Appleton. Roenicke says prospects Tyler Thornburg and Wily Peralta may be called up to start in September.

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Former Brewers’ first baseman Lyle Overbay has signed a minor league contract with Atlanta. The 35-year-old Overbay was cut by Arizona on August fifth. He hit .292 in 45 games with the Diamondbacks with two homers and 10 RBI’s. Overbay is a 12-year Major League veteran. He’s a career .271 hitter with 133 homers and 581 RBI’s. Overbay played two seasons with the Brewers. He still holds the team record for doubles with 53, set in 2004. But Aramis Ramirez in a position to break that mark this season.

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Ex-Milwaukee pitcher Bob McClure has been fired as the Boston Red Sox pitching coach. He joined the Red Sox last winter after spending six years as Kansas City’s pitching coach. Boston has struggled to a 59-63 record this season, 13 games behind the New York Yankees in fourth place in the American League East. McClure was a starter for the Brewers from 1977-through-’86, and he played 19 years in the Majors. Assistant Red Sox pitching coach Randy Niemann will replace McClure, at least for the rest of the season. Niemann joined the Red Sox this year after 24 seasons in the New York Mets’ organization.

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