The Milwaukee Brewers on Monday opened their series against the Chicago Cubs in convincing fashion with a 9-3 win to bring them one step closer to regaining control of the National League Central Division.

In the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy and his staff chose to go with a strategy that worked in their favor in a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.

Murphy counted on just two pitchers on Monday: Brandon Sproat as the starter, and Shane Drohan as the lone reliever. In Saturday’s low-scoring win against the Twins, Murphy counted on Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick to carry the Brewers through to the finish line.

Sproat provided 4 ⅔ innings of work and five strikeouts while allowing three hits, three earned runs, and three walks. It was far from perfect for the 25-year-old right-hander, but he did enough early to let Milwaukee mount a comfortable lead.

Then, Drohan took over the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning after Sproat had allowed a single, a home run, and a double. Drohan, however, would not give the Cubs’ batting order the same luxury.

In 4 ⅓ shutout innings, Drohan notched five strikeouts of his own while only allowing four hits. After the game, Drohan talked about his outing and his preparation leading up to it.

"I mean, yeah, I kind of always prepare for that," Drohan said. "I'm always more surprised on shorter ones, so just prepare for the most and then if they surprise you with just a quick one, then great."

Drohan, 27, improved to 2-1 after Monday through the first eight appearances of his rookie season. It has been a transition year for Drohan, but he is relishing the journey.

"Yeah, of course," Drohan said. "I mean, pitching in the big leagues, what's not to enjoy? But yeah, it just goes back to, like I said before, sticking to the routine, being mindful of the preparation and what goes into getting guys out and what their lineup struggles with and which of my pitches are going to play best, and just going out there and executing."

After Drohan got to see Patrick in a similar relief role on Saturday, he was happy to fulfill it as well.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "Especially early on in the series, it just sets us up so well. You know, we kind of can just be really flexible for these next two games, so I'm thankful to be that guy."

Monday's win brought the Brewers within a half game of Chicago for first place in the division, and Drohan talked about the experience of pitching against the Cubs at Wrigley Field for the first time.

“I mean, it's obviously a big game every time these two teams play,” Drohan said. “Yeah, it was awesome. Getting out there at early work, just to see the stadium and everything is really cool. And, it's a raking field, so, everybody knows it.”

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