Cubs' Quintana dominant in win over Brewers

The Cubs have gone a full turn in their pitching rotation and have gotten five straight quality starts.

Not surprisingly, they've won four of those games.

That includes Saturday's gem by lefty Jose Quintana, who worked 7 innings of 2-hit ball in a 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at chilly and windy Wrigley Field, where the elements played a factor.

The victory was the third straight for the Cubs, who improved to 14-10 and have their first three-game winning streak of the season.

"You have to be able to win games like that, low-scoring games," said manager Joe Maddon. "We had not been able to early on. We just weren't pitching well enough, but now we are. And the elements. I know it was a beautiful blue sky, but I tell you what, it was kind of cool out there, and the wind was obviously severe.

"Today's game was pretty much determined by the elements. I thought yesterday's was, too. They missed a couple homers (Friday). Earlier this year, we pulled out a win against Atlanta, same thing. It's been a tough beginning of the season regarding weather, but I've said it before, our guys, they're not complaining. They're just out there playing baseball. It's pretty interesting to watch. The dugout's good. The vibe is lively. Give our guys credit."

The Cubs got a run in the third off Junior Guerra on a pair of two-out hits by Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez, each of whom extended hitting streaks to career-best 11 games.

Almora singled to left field. Baez then lifted a high fly to center. The sun and a north wind at 18 mph created havoc. Center fielder Lorezno Cain couldn't see the ball. Shortstop Orlando Arcia made a long run and got a glove on the ball, but couldn't catch it. Baez got an RBI double out of it.

Heads-up baserunning allowed the Cubs to score 2 in the seventh. Ben Zobrist, fresh off the disabled list, led off with a single. Jason Heyward doubled to the gap in left-center. Pinch hitter Tommy La Stella looped a single to left, to score Zobrist. Heyward stopped at third base, but when he saw left fielder Christian Yelich hesitate and hold the ball, he scampered home.

"I just tried to watch him (Yelich) the whole time to see if he was going to keep his eyes on me and see if he was going to stay ready for me to move," Heyward said. "As soon as he kind of looked away and didn't, I'm rolling."

Quintana improved to 3-1 and lowered his ERA from 7.78 to 5.74. In 6 career starts against the Brewers, including 2 this year, he is 4-1 with an 0.63 ERA. He has a streak of 24 scoreless innings against the Brewers.

"I don't know," he said of his dominance of Milwaukee. "In my mind, I try to be focused on every single pitch. This is the place you want to be."

Making a good first impression:

Ben Zobrist came off the DL after suffering with back tightness. He made a nice catch from his spot at second base and went 1-for-3.

To make room on the roster, the Cubs optioned infielder David Bote back to Class AAA Iowa. Bote made a positive impression even though he went only 1-for-9 in three games. Joe Maddon will file that for future reference.

"I wanted to believe that after he had this brief experience, that he knows that he belongs here, he can do this," Maddon said. "That's really important. When you're a young player coming up, once you get past survival and just trying to hang on and you figure out, 'I could do this well,' that makes a big difference because that's the guy who can help us win. I think he's a guy that can help us win. He's got that kind of an attitude."