Greg Maddux wins fifth straight, Cubs down Milwaukee

Greg Maddux continued his hot start to the season with a six-inning two run effort to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to open a three-game series at Wrigley Field. Maddux (5-0) scattered eight hits and one walk while striking out six to start the season with five straight wins for the first time in his illustrious career. He is the first Cubs pitcher since Steve Stone in 1975 to start out 5-0, and with 323 career wins Maddux is now one behind Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for all-time victories. Jacque Jones and Ronny Cedeno both went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs batted in and a run scored for the Cubs, who have won four of their last five games. Geoff Jenkins went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Rickie Weeks Jr. had a single and a run scored for the Brewers, who had a three-game winning streak stopped. David Bush (2-2) started on the hill and absorbed the loss after allowing five runs on 10 hits in six innings of work for Milwaukee, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Atlanta. The Cubs grabbed a 2-0 lead in the home frame of the second inning. Aramis Ramirez led off with a double and crossed the plate thanks to a Matt Murton double. Jones then stroked a double to right that allowed Murton to score. Chicago got another run in the third. Juan Pierre doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a bunt single by Cedeno. Todd Walker then stepped to the plate and hit a single up the middle to score Pierre for the 3-0 lead. Milwaukee, though, got back two runs in the fifth to cut its deficit to 3-2. Consecutive singles by Bush, Weeks, and J.J. Hardy loaded the bases and Jenkins drove home Bush and Weeks with a single to center. A big double play started by Cedeno helped to end the inning without further damage. "I felt I was on the verge of getting knocked out of the game," said Maddux. He (Cedeno) starts the double play and comes up and hits a home run right after that. He can pick it and he covers alot of ground. I enjoy having him back there." The Cubs came back, though, with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain a three-run lead. Pierre led off with a single and Cedeno followed that up with his first home run of the season to make it a 5-2 game. Jones led off the eighth inning with a solo homer to left to make it a 6-2 game. Scott Williamson stuck out the side in the top of the ninth to finish the game for the Cubs. Game Notes The series continues Saturday afternoon with Doug Davis starting for Milwaukee and Glendon Rusch starting on the hill for the Cubs...In three career starts versus Chicago Bush is 0-2...Maddux has dominated Milwaukee in his career. In 21 starts he is 13-3 with five complete games and a pair of shutouts... Maddux`s ERA on the season is 1.35...Pierre finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored...Cubs pitchers struck out a total of 12 Brewers in the gam