Cubs' Renteria gives Rondon a shot to finish

MILWAUKEE - The Cubs weren't in a save situation Sunday, but manager Rick Renteria turned to second-year man Hector Rondon to close out a 4-0 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park.

Pedro Strop, who seemed to be in line to be the closer after Jose Veras lost his job, worked the eighth inning after Jason Hammel went 7-plus. Strop got a flyout and a double play before Rondon came on and struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Rondon was hitting mid- to upper-90s (mph) with his fastball.

Renteria has not officially designated a closer.

"We used Stropie, obviously, yesterday," Renteria said of Saturday's game. "But we got to the point where we wanted Rondon to throw today. It just worked out that way right now."

Left-hander Wesley Wright, who was little used early in the month, has come on of late and turned in 6 straight scoreless outings. It's important for Wright to do well to take some of the load off James Russell, a left-hander who has been used a lot the past few seasons.

"Wesley's been very impressive, especially the last outing he had for us here," Renteria said. "You could see that his pitches have a little more life. His breaking ball has a little more sharpness to it. Maybe that is a result now of having used him a little bit more over the last week or so. He's maybe getting a better feel for what he's doing."

Rotation roulette:

Right-hander Jake Arrieta will rejoin the team Monday in Cincinnati. He tuned up with 2 innings in a rehab start for Class AA Tennessee on Saturday.

Arrieta has been battling a shoulder ailment since the start of spring training, but he appears healthy now. Carlos Villanueva will start Wednesday's finale against the Reds, but Arrieta could be back in the rotation after that, with Villanueva heading back to the bullpen.

"We need to see him," said Rick Renteria. "We need to put our eyes on him and see where he's at. We're edging toward that position."

This and that:

The Brewers played without Ryan Braun and Jean Segura Sunday. Braun suffered an intercostal strain Saturday, the same night he hit Segura in the head with his bat while swinging it near the dugout. Segura was said to be OK after getting stitched up ... Backup Cubs catcher John Baker recorded his first hit of the season, a single in the second inning. That snapped an 0-for-18 drought.