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MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee tweaked its top of the batting order recently and it has been paying off. On Friday night, the rest of the Brewers lineup joined in on the fun. Ryan Braun homered to highlight a five-run first inning and the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 11-5 on Friday night. "Everybodys swinging the bat well," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said, "and theres no doubt when everybody is hitting like this and there are mistakes made, were not missing them like we were earlier." Braun had three hits and three RBIs for Milwaukee, which has won 25 of its last 31 games against Chicago. Rickie Weeks and Martin Maldonado had three hits and two RBIs each as the Brewers scored a season-high runs in its most lopsided victory of the year. "Youve got to cherish moments like this when you come out swinging and it lasts the whole game," Weeks said. "Its always a good thing." Marco Estrada (5-2) allowed three earned runs and six hits in six innings. Travis Wood (5-5) turned in his shortest outing of the season when he lasted only 2 2-3 innings. He gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs for the Cubs (19-33), who have the worst record in the majors. "They hit everything I threw up there," said Wood, who allowed two hits and struck out seven in seven innings of a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee on May 18. "It didnt matter what I threw. They were hacking early and they got to me. ... Three pitches into it, I was two runs downs. Its tough to get into a rhythm there." Chicago, shut out in its last two games at San Francisco, ended its scoreless streak at 22 innings. "We scored a couple of runs but we fell behind the 8 ball early, and it was just kind of tough to recover," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. The change to the top of Milwaukees lineup has paid dividends. Jean Segura has batted leadoff the last eight games and is 14 for 38 (.368) with seven runs scored during that time. Braun has hit second in each of the last six games and is 13 for 27 (.481) with seven RBIs. Before this season he had not batted anywhere in the starting lineup but third since Sept. 30, 2010. And Carlos Gomez batted cleanup for his seventh straight game -- Aramis Ramirez is on the disabled list -- and is 13 for 27 with one homer and eight RBIs. He led off his first 42 games this season. Against Chicago, they were a combined 4 for 5 with a walk in the first two innings to help Milwaukee take a 6-0 lead. "We just need to do what works for us," Segura said. "This is good for us." All three reached base in the first, as Chicago allowed five runs in an inning for the first time since April 12, against St. Louis. "When you come out in the first inning like we did, thats outstanding," Roenicke said. "It allows your pitcher to do some different things, and then we added to it, which a lot of times weve been scoring in the first inning or second inning and then we dont do much the rest of the game." On the first pitch of the game, Segura reached on an infield single. Two pitches later, Brauns blast sailed over the wall in right-centre field for his eighth homer -- and first at Miller Park. "When you get guys on base early, things usually escalate pretty well after that," Weeks said. Gomez walked and scored on a double by Khris Davis for a 3-0 lead. Weeks followed with a run-scoring single before Maldonado gave Milwaukee a 5-0 lead with a two-out double. In the second, Gomez extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single that drove in Braun for the six-run lead. A four-run fifth padded Milwaukees lead to 11-2. "It makes things a little easier, especially when Im kind of scuffling," Estrada said. "My last two outings before this Ive kind of been all over the place. Tonight I just felt much better. I located better, but still walked four guys and cant keep doing stuff like that." NOTES: Ramirez will begin a rehab assignment Sunday with the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. ... Chicagos 20 road losses are the most in the NL. ... Braun moved into sole possession of fourth place on the franchises all-time RBI list with 707. ... Wood was trying to become the fourth Cubs pitcher in the last 20 years with five victories in May. ... Milwaukee tied a team record by collecting at least 10 hits in its ninth straight game. ... Starlin Castro has reached safely in his last 14 games at Miller Park dating to Aug. 22, 2012. ... Chicago is 7-25 at Miller Park since the start of the 2011 season. . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor. http://www.footballtexansgearsshop.com/ ... ml?cat=910. -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two. . Van Slyke drove in a career-high four runs with two homers off struggling left-hander Tony Cingrani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, a rare comfortable win in their pitching-dominated series. . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion.The month of May seems like so long ago for the Blue Jays. Since building a healthy lead in the East with an incredible 21-9 record in the second month of the season, the Jays have fallen off dramatically. Since June 1, they are only 14-19 and have actually only won eight of their last 27 games. They are still only two games back of first place Baltimore in the East but if the slide doesnt stop now, its going to be all over by the end of this month. A boost to the starting rotation would have been a good thing when the Jays were in first place and tearing up the league at the plate. But with Brett Lawrie gone for the rest of July with his broken finger, and now Edwin Encarnacion on the 15-day DL with a Grade 2 quad muscle strain, the Jays need to add a bat - preferably someone who can play second base or third or both. It almost has to be a right-hand bat considering the Jays are the worst hitting team in the American League against lefties. Since the Jays are in buying mode theyll probably have to target the teams that have no reasonable hope of getting even a Wild Card berth. In the American League, I count six teams that are realistically out of it, although Im still hesitant to count out Tampa Bay because the East is so weak. So for arguments sake, the six are Tampa Bay in the East, the White Sox and Minnesota in the Central and Texas and Houston in the West. Since Boston and Tampa Bay likely wont trade within their own division, that leaves four teams the Jays can talk with. Since Houston wont give up Jose Altuve and the Twins likely wont surrender Brian Dozier who fit the bill as right-handed hitters and solid second baseman, youre down to Texas and the White Sox. Since the Rangers are so injury ravaged, I cant see them making any significant deals until the off-season. That leaves Chicago. The White Sox have a right-hand hitting second baseman in Gordon Beckham, whom the Blue Jays were rumoured to be interested in in the off-season. Beckham is hitting .248 this season with seven homers and 24 runs batted in. Hes 24 years old. Cleveland is hanging around the .500 mark and isnt technically out, but in a week or two could decide to move some people. Theyve got 33-year-old utilityman Mike Aviles - yes, the same guy the Blue Jays got as compensation from Boston for manager John Farrell. Hes a .272 career hitter who can play second or third and maybe even shortstop in an emergency. In the National League, the six teams on the outside looking in include the Mets and the Phillies in the East, the Cubs in the Central and San Diego, Colorado and Arizona in the West.dddddddddddd The Phils have a good one in Chase Utley, but he reportedly wont waive his no-trade clause to go to a team with artificial turf such as the Blue Jays. The Mets Daniel Murphy is rumoured to be available, but he is New Yorks only All-Star rep and hits left handed. Still, hes hitting .294 with seven homers and 35 runs batted in go with 11 stolen bases. The Cubs Darwin Barney at 28 is having his second straight down year at the plate, hitting .219 though he does hit right. The Jays may have an interest in a man they originally drafted in second baseman Aaron Hill. Aaron is two years removed from his last great season with the D-Backs and is hitting only .241 this season with six homers and 42 runs batted in. The right-handed hitter is also 32 years old and is owed just shy of $30 million through 2016. J.P Morosi of Fox Sports has heard that the Jays are talking with San Diego about third baseman Chase Headley. The 30-year-old switch hitter, who has had back trouble on and off over the past couple of years, is only hitting .217 with six homers and 25 runs batted in. On top of that, any team acquiring him would have to make a qualifying offer of about $15 million to retain a draft pick at the end of the first round should Headley decide to walk. Then again if he decides to stay, a team is on the hook for $15 million for a player who may or may not be worth anything close to that. The Padres also have a 25-year-old right hand hitting second baseman in Jedd Gyorko, who cracked 23 homers last year in his first season. But this time around hes only batting .162 with five homers and 24 runs batted in. Of that entire bunch, I would probably opt for the Mets Murphy with Aaron Hill a close second. Unusual Repair Talk about the miracles of modern surgery. On Monday Arizona GM Kevin Towers is having surgery to repair a damaged vocal cord. Hes having it replaced with the vocal cord from a cadaver. Towers figures he will be able to talk again in three or four days and should be back at work in a week. Boston Turnaround They still have over 70 games to go, but the Boston Red Sox are close to doing something very unusual: going from last place, to first and a World Series victory, and back to last place. The Bosox dropped back into the basement behind Tampa Bay at 39-49. In 2012 under Bobby Valentine, they finished 69-93. Then a year ago John Farrell led them to a 97-65 mark and a World Series victory over St. Louis and now they are cellar dwellers again. ' ' '