CHICAGO -- Chris Capuano held the Cubs scoreless for eight-plus innings and the Brewers slugged four home runs for a 6-0 win over the Cubs on Monday in front of 39,698 at Wrigley Field.

Carlos Lee hit a first-inning, two-run home run and Prince Fielder and Gabe Gross went deep in the seventh off Cubs starter Greg Maddux (7-8), sending Maddux to just his fourth loss in 22 career starts against the Brewers. Fielder added a second solo shot in the ninth for his second multi-homer game at Wrigley Field this season.

Capuano (8-4) limited the Cubs to seven hits -- all singles -- to win his third straight start at Wrigley Field dating to last season.

But there was reason for concern as the Brewers wrapped up their third straight win here. With Capuano at the 115-pitch mark and members of a rested bullpen starting to stretch down the first-base line, Brewers manager Ned Yost elected to send Capuano out for the start of the ninth inning, seeking his second shutout at Wrigley Field this season.

Capuano was at the 120-pitch mark after Derrek Lee blooped a single into right field, and still the Brewers stuck with Capuano. Aramis Ramirez followed and lined Capuano's 125th pitch off the left-hander's pitching arm for an infield single. Head athletic trainer Roger Caplinger joined Yost on the mound and Capuano immediately walked off with a bruised left forearm.

Derrek Turnbow worked around an error by third baseman Corey Koskie to preserve the Brewers' third shutout win this season.

Dave Bush set the tone for what the Brewers hope is a long, but rewarding road trip. Doug Davis will try to continue the trend against a Royals team that might be struggling in the standings, but is not being overlooked by the visitors.

"I'm a little surprised they're not going better," Bush said after he pitched 7 1/3 innings in Friday's series-opening win. "They have some good, veteran hitters near the top of that lineup mixed in with some younger hitters. They're playing a lot better lately, too. I think they're a lot better than their record says."

Davis will try to hold them off on Satuday night. He is 2-1 in six career starts against Kansas City despite a 5.74 ERA, and has no decisions and a 9.95 ERA in three outings at Kauffman Stadium. Like the Brewers at large, Davis has struggled on the road this season, posting a 6.87 ERA vs. 3.67 at home, but had something to build on in his seven scoreless innings against Detroit earlier in the week.

It was his fourth consecutive quality start, and Davis has a 2.57 ERA over that span.

Duckworth makes his third start as a Royal since being acquired from Pittsburgh and his first at Kauffman Stadium. He took the loss in his Kansas City debut June 13 at Los Angeles, allowing six hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. Duckworth had the same line five days later at Houston but got a no-decision.

The former Astros, Phillies and Pirates right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.26 ERA (12 earned runs, 11 2/3 innings pitched) in five career appearances versus Milwaukee.

Pitching matchup
MIL: LHP Doug Davis (4-4, 4.69 ERA)
The Brewers are 10-6 in Davis' starts this season and 7-2 in his quality starts.

KC: RHP Brandon Duckworth (0-1, 3.18 ERA)
Duckworth has not won a Major League start since April 24, 2004, at Colorado, while pitching for Houston.

Player to watch
Geoff Jenkins had two hits and three RBIs on Friday, but the longest home run drought of his career reached the triple-digits. Jenkins has not homered since May 20, a span of 104 at-bats.

Rick Helling might not be on a first-name basis with all of the 2006 Detroit Tigers, but he will not go into his Tuesday start completely blind.

"There are a couple of my old teammates there, one of my ex-managers is managing," Helling said, referring to ex-Texas Rangers like Ivan Rodriguez and Craig Monroe and former Florida Marlins manager Jim Leyland. "Knowing the guys that I know over there, and Leyland, I'm guessing their clubhouse is a lot like ours. Leyland wouldn't have guys on the team if they don't play the right way."

Helling, sidelined since the second week of April because of a right elbow injury, will be activated from the 60-day disabled list in time to make his first start of the season on Tuesday against Tigers right-hander Zach Minor in Game 2 of an Interleague series.

The 35-year-old Helling will have to be particularly careful with "Pudge" Rodriguez, his former catcher in Texas, who caught Helling in parts of every season from 1994-2001.

"He's caught as many of my games of mine than anybody else," Helling said. "Probably twice as many. Pudge is going to know what I'm throwing at him."

Helling was a pleasant surprise for the Brewers last season, going 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA after a midseason callup, including a 2-1 record with a 1.69 ERA in six September starts. He did not allow a run in either of his 2006 relief appearances before he suffered a sprained ligament in his right elbow.

Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Rick Helling (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Helling spent much of his career in the American League and is 8-5 with a 4.81 ERA in 15 career starts against Detroit.

DET: RHP Zach Miner (2-1, 2.65 ERA)
Miner threw 32 pitches in the first inning of his third career start on Thursday against Tampa Bay before settling down.

Player to watch
Prince Fielder's seventh-inning home run on Monday extended his hitting streak to eight games, and he leads National League rookies in home runs, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. Fielder's 14 home runs this season rank third on the team behind Carlos Lee and Bill Hall.

I'm a freak and a geek now, watch out now.

After ending an eight-game losing streak on Monday, the Brewers will look to make it two wins in a row on Tuesday at Miller Park against the Padres.

Monday saw an end to the Brewers' woeful ways of their losing streak. Timely hitting, solid defense and effective pitching were the keys for the Brewers to end their slide.

"Most of the time, just in the ups and the downs of a season, a single win is just another game," Gabe Gross said. "But when you're coming off losing eight it can definitely give you a lift and get us coming to the ballpark with a little more expectancy that we're going to win every ballgame. I think this team can turn it around and reel off a bunch of wins."

Gross has been a catalyst for the team and has hit a home run in back-to-back games.

Brewers manager Ned Yost said Monday's performance "was good in all phases of the game."

Right-hander Dave Bush will get the start for the Brewers. In his last start on Thursday at Pittsburgh, Bush threw seven strong innings and allowed only two runs before watching the Brewers bullpen let the Pirates come back in the ninth.

Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Dave Bush (3-5, 4.95 ERA)
Bush is 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA in five starts at Miller Park this season.

SD: RHP Jake Peavy (4-5, 4.15 ERA)
Peavy faced the Brewers on May 11 in San Diego, striking out 13 batters in seven innings and getting the win.

Player to watch:
In 14 career at-bats against Peavy, Geoff Jenkins is 4-for-14 with three home runs and four RBIs. Jenkins collided with Prince Fielder on Sunday and left the game with a mild concussion, was listed as day-to-day and didn't play on Monday. If Jenkins doesn't play, the recently surging Gross would most likely fill Jenkins' spot again.

The Brewers have played five road series so far this year and lost four of them. With an off-day to contemplate the need for picking it up away from Miller Park, Milwaukee will take a deep breath and try to accomplish that goal beginning Tuesday night when it opens a three-game series in San Diego.

The Brewers have dropped road series at St. Louis, New York, Houston and Los Angeles. The lone successful road series came at Chicago when the Brewers won two of three at Wrigley Field.

Milwaukee appears to have the right guy on the mound to open a road series with a bang. Left-hander Doug Davis has been coming on in recent days, throwing six shutout innings in his last start vs. San Francisco. Furthermore, Davis had a strong record against the Padres last year, going 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA in two starts.

One area where Davis still wants to improve is in the control department. He has 29 walks in 37 innings.

"I still have work to do," Davis said.

The Milwaukee defense has work to do as well. The Brewers committed two errors on Sunday, and they have 30 for the season.

Pitching matchup
MIL: LHP Doug Davis (2-2, 5.35 ERA)
Davis has a 0.73 ERA over his previous two outings.

SD: RHP Clay Hensley (1-2, 4.28 ERA)
Hensley will carry a 3.53 ERA as a starter into Tuesday's game.

Player to watch
Maybe Brady Clark is starting to come around. Clark went 2-for-4 on Sunday after going through a 7-for-40 stretch.

 Winners of six of their last seven games, the Brewers will look to sweep their two-game series against the Astros when Ben Sheets heads to the mound on Tuesday night.

Sheets held the Braves to two runs in six innings of his last start for his first win of the season. He would have had a chance for his second straight double-digit strikeout game had the Brewers not faced a run-scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth that called for a pinch-hitter, but, nonetheless, it was another positive step for Sheets, who started the year on the disabled list with a muscle strain behind his shoulder.

In his last two starts, Sheets has looked like his old self again. He has worked 13 innings, surrendering four runs on 12 hits with just one walk and 19 strikeouts.

On Tuesday, his Brewers teammates will face a bit of an unknown. Houston right-hander Fernando Nieve has never pitched against Milwaukee, and will be making his third start and sixth appearance of the season.

The Brewers have outscored their opponents over three consecutive wins, 29-4, and have clubbed 12 home runs over that span, giving Milwaukee a total of 40 this season. Bill Hall has finished with three hits in three straight games and was one hit shy of the cycle in the last two contests.

Pitching matchup
MIL: RHP Ben Sheets (1-2, 4.00 ERA)
Sheets is holding left-handers to a .216 average and righties are hitting .313 off Milwaukee's ace.

HOU: RHP Fernando Nieve (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Nieve has allowed four earned runs over two Major League starts and has never faced the Brewers.

Player to watch
Lance Berkman has given Sheets fits throughout his career. Berkman is a .341 lifetime hitter against the Brewers right-hander (14-for-41) with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs. But Sheets has struck out Berkman 13 times.

 MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers padded their National League-leading home run tally, but it was the little things that led to another win on Monday night.

"I don't want us to live and die by the home run," said hitting coach Butch Wynegar. "Home runs are nice, they're beautiful things and everything, no doubt. But the winning clubs are the ones that do the little things, too."

And not just with the bats.

Damian Miller and Brady Clark each hit sacrifice flies in the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Brewers got equally important contributions from the pitching and the defense that added up to a 4-2 win over the Astros in the opener of a two-game series at Miller Park.

And, yes, there was some explosive offense. Carlos Lee and Bill Hall both homered for the second straight day, and Hall once again finished one hit shy of the cycle. During their three-game winning streak, the Brewers have outscored their opponents, 29-4, and have clubbed 12 home runs over that span, giving Milwaukee a total of 40 this season.

"Maybe one day I'll get it, but right now I'm content with getting three hits," said Hall, who was a double shy of the cycle in Sunday's win at Chicago and a triple short on Monday. "It's fun right now. Everybody on the team is swinging the bats well and it's just fun. I always said we were going to get on a roll like this, and here we go."

Tomo Ohka pitched five strong innings before exiting with what the team hopes is a minor shoulder injury. He combined with three relievers to hold the Astros to just two hits over the final seven innings. Matt Wise (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Derrick Turnbow worked around Lee's error in the ninth for his ninth save.

But the game may have turned on a defensive play by second baseman Rickie Weeks in the eighth inning.

With one out and the game knotted at 2, Astros veteran leadoff man Craig Biggio lined a Wise pitch into the right-field corner and had visions of stretching a double into a triple. Geoff Jenkins fielded the ball and got it to the cutoff man, Weeks, who fired a strike all the way to Hall at third base, just in time to nail Biggio.

"The game changes right there. If [Biggio] gets to third and they score the run, they can bring in [Brad] Lidge," said Hall, referring to the Astros struggling -- but still nasty -- closer. "We don't want to face him. We want to keep him on a two-day vacation in Milwaukee."

Weeks, whose defense has been under the microscope since he became a regular last June, said it was, "Just playing baseball. You just have to catch the ball and throw the ball. When you do that, good things happen."

Jenkins was a big part of the big play, too.

"The dirt is real soft down there and I didn't really plant very good; I just tried to get rid of it and tried to get it in there," Jenkins said. "We had two perfect throws and we made it happen. It was a huge play in the game, a huge momentum swing there."

The Brewers cashed in. Hall followed Prince Fielder's leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth inning with a double that left runners at second and third and set up the Brewers for their sixth win in seven games.

Miller drove home the go-ahead run when he lifted a 2-1 pitch from Houston right-hander Dan Wheeler (0-1) deep enough into right field to score Fielder from third base and advance Hall. Brady Clark then followed with another sacrifice fly that scored an insurance run.

"They did what they needed to do," Wynegar said. "Get the ball up in the zone a little bit and get something you can hit to the outfield. Don't try to do too much. Shoot, I'd love to lead the league in sac flies."

Lee and Hall hit solo home runs off Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez, who worked six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits.

"He got a pitch in on Carlos that Carlos hit out of the park, and Billy drove a pitch out over the plate, but other than that we couldn't muster much offense off him," said Brewers manager Ned Yost.

Hall has three hits in each of his last three games and now leads the team with a .348 batting average. Yost has used him at three different infield positions this season (he started Monday's game at third base) and says Hall will get a start in center field in the very near future.

Any way to get Hall in the lineup is fine with his teammates.

"Billy's a guy that we need to have in our lineup," Jenkins said. "He's a heck of a hitter and a great defensive player, no matter where we put him."

The only blemish on Monday came after the fifth inning, when Ohka exited after reporting some stiffness in his shoulder. After the first two Astros hitters singled, Ohka retired 13 straight batters before a pair of walks in the fifth and allowed one unearned run, a result of his own throwing error.

He will be re-evaluated on Tuesday, when the Astros and Brewers conclude their series.

I've finally reaced level 21!

They have to win this game. Milwaukee (24-22) at Cleveland (27-19) 7:00 pm EST CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday welcome their Central Division rival Milwaukee Bucks for the last time this season. All-Star swingman LeBron James scored 31 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributed 26 and 11 rebounds as the Cavaliers dropped a 100-95 decision to Philadelphia on Saturday. Cleveland connected on just 3-of-11 3-pointers and committed 19 turnovers. The Cavs hope to get better support from starting point guard Eric Snow. He's averaging just 3.3 points and 3.0 assists over his last three games in which the team has a 1-2 record. Sharpshooter Michael Redd scored 23 points after missing one game with back spasms and rookie Andrew Bogut added 12, 10 rebounds and five blocks in Saturday's 88-78 triumph over Memphis at home. In their last meeting on January 7, James had 35 points, seven boards and six assists in a 96-88 victory here. Redd was the lone bright spot for Milwaukee with 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting.