Brewers experiencing late-season power surge

CHICAGO — All it took to put a smile on Ryan Braun’s face Saturday morning was one look at Lake Michigan as the Brewers’ bus headed toward Wrigley Field.

They had the dubious task of facing Cubs starter Jake Arrieta, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner, but the state of the lake made it seem at least a little less daunting.

“Obviously, as a hitter, when the wind’s blowing out, you’re a lot more excited to have to face Jake Arrieta than when the wind’s blowing in,” said Braun, who hit a pair of two-run homers and had five RBIs in the Brewers’ 11-3 win. “Usually the lake on the way over is telling. When the water’s calm, the wind is typically blowing out. We saw calm water, so obviously you’re more excited about the challenge of having to face him.”

As the water predicted, the ball was jumping off the bat for the late-afternoon start. The Cubs took a 3-0 lead on Zach Davies just three hitters into their first inning, on a run-scoring triple by Kris Bryant and two-run homer by Chris Coghlan, but Milwaukee responded with 11 unanswered runs over the next eight …

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