Cubs frustrate Braun, Brewers

Ryan Braun watched in frustration as Chicago Cubs All-Star Ted Lilly stymied his Milwaukee Brewers, then let his pitchers know how he felt about their recent performance.

“Their starting pitching is a lot better than ours,” Braun said after the Brewers were beaten, 8-2, Sunday. “They threw the ball a lot better than our starters did. They certainly swung the bats better than we did. Clearly they were the better team. It’s nice to get one win, but they clearly outplayed us and outperformed us all series.”

Lilly pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Derrek Lee and Jake Fox each hit two-run homers for the Cubs, who took three of four from Milwaukee. The Brewers’ only win was an 11-2 rout Saturday in which they shelled Chicago’s Rich Harden.

The Cubs are 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee and 2 1/2 back of first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

“No matter who is in there, we have to find a way to throw the ball better for us to have success,” Braun said. “I think when you’re constantly behind in games, it’s not easy and it’s not fun. Their starting pitcher was clearly better than ours this series.”