Kyle Hendricks bombed by Brewers in series opener

MILWAUKEE — Hey, there goes another one.

The Brewers launched six home runs — three of them off Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks — in an 11-1 rout to open a three-game series at American Family Field.

This is not what the struggling Cubs (8-12) — losers of eight of their last 10 games — needed, but such nights have become the norm at this ballpark and against this opponent. The Brewers (14-7) owned the Cubs like never before last season, beating them in 15 out of 19 games overall and in seven of nine in Milwaukee. That’s the sort of thing that happens along the way to one team finishing 24 games ahead of the other in the standings.

Hendricks (1-2) saw his ERA balloon from 3.98 to 5.47 as Jace Peterson, Andrew McCutchen and Christian Yelich all took him deep. A three-run second inning, punctuated by Peterson’s drive that bounced off the top of the wall in right, could have been very different had shortstop Nico Hoerner made a clean play on a slow roller by Lorenzo Cain with two out and no runs yet in. Hoerner’s bobble was ruled a hit.

Three weeks after handcuffing the Brewers in the Cubs’ Opening Day win at Wrigley Field, Hendricks gave up six earned runs on seven hits in 4¹⁄₃ innings.

“Being a starter, taking the ball every fifth day, consistency is what you’re striving for,” Hendricks said. “And it starts with pitch to pitch for me, and yet I’m just not having that right now. It’s kind of been one game to the next.”

The Cubs got nothing going against big right-hander Adrian Hauser (2-2), who went six scoreless innings. They scored their only run in the seventh on a wild pitch.

Hunter Renfroe homered twice off Cubs relievers Daniel Norris and Sean Newcomb. The final two runs came home on Willy Adames’ towering drive down the left field line off Ethan Roberts in the eighth.

Lefties Justin Steele and Eric Lauer are scheduled to start on Saturday. The winning team will take a 3-2 lead in the season series.

“I don’t think it’s important to play better or worse against one team or the other,” manager David Ross said. “I think the mentality we want to try to emphasize is just being good and playing championship baseball as often as we can, being consistent as often as we can.”