Chicago Cubs fans hate Ryan Braun. This isn’t breaking news. We all know they love to boo Braun. It doesn’t matter if it’s Miller Park or Wrigley Field, Braun gets booed by Cubs faithful. A part of me thinks he relishes in the hate. He likes being the bad guy out there and lives off tormenting that fan base. Braun did it again on Monday night leading Brewers to their second straight win, and their sixth win in seven games beating World Series winners by a tune of 6-3.

Player of the Game: Ryan Braun (Brewers) – Here’s the stat line for Braun tonight – Three for four with a home run, three RBIs, two runs scored and one stolen base that led to another run for Milwaukee. Braun played a part in five of the six runs tonight. He looks fantastic right now. I know there are rumors swirling of him possibly being dealt to Los Angeles, but I want to believe that he will be a Brewer for life.

(Not) Player of the Game: Keon Broxton (Brewers) – We’ll add a note about Broxton in the negative section too, but he’s struggling in a major way right now. Broxton is currently hitting .143. He showed some signs of life in the series against Toronto Blue Jays, but we haven’t seen much from him all season. My guess is Craig Counsell will be making some moves to the lineup once Brewers show signs of struggle. Right now, they’re too hot to really change anything.

Player of the Game: Ben Zobrist (Cubs) – There isn’t much to be excited from a Cubs perspective in this one, but we’ll give a nod to Zobrist. He’s a thorn in Brewers side since coming over from Kansas City as one of the purest hitters in baseball. Zobrist drove in an early run for Chicago and added another hit later in the game.

Positive: Thames keeps mashing – While Braun was the story, Eric Thames continues his homer streak. He homered in his fifth straight game which ties the franchise record. Thames has homered seven times in 14 games this season. He’s on an unreal pace. Pitchers haven’t figured him out yet, and let’s hope that continues for quite some time.

Do you ever wonder what the MLB home run lead looks like? Here you go courtesy of @EricThames! #ThisIsMyCrew #MILatChC pic.twitter.com/JeceG5Je20

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 18, 2017

Negative: Lineup needs some movement at some point – When Brewers hit the skids at some point, they need to rework the lineup. Mostly with Johnathan Villar and Keon Broxton who are both slumping to start the year. I’m not saying it’s a permanent thing but a temporary move. Hell, they could flip and see how the centerfielder does in the leadoff spot. Wonder if Counsell will give either a day off during this series.

Next up: Milwaukee takes on Chicago at Wrigley tomorrow night again where it’s a rematch of their first game of 2017 between the two teams as Jimmy Nelson facing off against Brett Anderson. Nelson and Anderson both pitched well in that game that ended in a wild 11th inning finish.

Charlie.