CHICAGO (Interstat) — Kyle Harrison struck out 11 in seven dominant innings and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Wednesday night to sweep the first series this season between the NL Central rivals.

David Hamilton had three hits and scored two runs as division-leading Milwaukee improved to 29-18 with its 14th win in 18 games. Jake Bauers extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with an RBI single in the third.

Harrison, who improved to 5-1, allowed two hits and walked one in his fourth career game with double-digit strikeouts. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA in his last five starts, striking out 41 batters in 28 innings.

The Brewers grabbed the lead in the second inning against Cubs starter Edward Cabrera. After Jake Bauers grounded out, Sal Frelick reached on catcher interference by Carson Kelly upon a successful challenge by Milwaukee. Joey Ortiz walked, and Hamilton lined a single to center field. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong misplayed the ball, allowing Frelick and Ortiz to score and Hamilton to race home for a three-run triple. The error gave Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.

Milwaukee added a run in the third. William Contreras walked, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Kelly. After Christian Yelich struck out and Garrett Mitchell struck out, Bauers singled to right to bring home Contreras, making it 4-0.

The Brewers completed the scoring in the seventh. Hamilton led off with a triple to right field, his first triple of the season. After Jackson Chourio walked, Brice Turang struck out, but Contreras singled to right to score Hamilton for a 5-0 advantage.

Harrison, who threw 54 strikes among 69 pitches, retired the Cubs in order in the second, third and fourth innings. He struck out the side in the fourth. Nico Hoerner doubled in the first inning, but was erased on a double play when Alex Bregman flied to center and Hoerner was thrown out at third on a successful challenge by Milwaukee. Bregman singled in the seventh for Chicago’s only other hit.

Harrison allowed his first baserunner after the first when Seiya Suzuki walked to lead off the second, but he struck out Kelly and Michael Busch and got Dansby Swanson to fly out. He struck out the side in the fourth and worked around a leadoff single by Bregman in the seventh.

DL Hall relieved Harrison in the eighth and pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Hall retired all six batters he faced, including a double-play grounder by Miguel Amaya to end the eighth.

Cabrera took the loss for Chicago, falling to 3-2. He allowed four hits and one earned run, striking out two and walking three in three innings. The Cubs used five relievers, with Hoby Milner, Trent Thornton, Ryan Rolison, Daniel Palencia and Phil Maton combining to allow four hits and one earned run over the final six innings. Milner pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout. Thornton went 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Rolison tossed 1 2/3 innings with one strikeout. Palencia threw two-thirds of an inning, allowing two hits and no runs with two strikeouts. Maton allowed two hits and one earned run in two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout.

The Cubs managed only two hits on the night: Hoerner’s first-inning double and Bregman’s seventh-inning single. Chicago struck out 15 times, including 11 against Harrison. The Cubs fell to 29-21 with the loss, dropping two games behind the Brewers in the division.

The game lasted 2 hours, 34 minutes before a crowd of 39,459 at Wrigley Field.

Milwaukee opened the scoring with three runs in the second, aided by Crow-Armstrong’s error. After Frelick reached on catcher interference and Ortiz walked, Hamilton laced a line drive to center. Crow-Armstrong charged but the ball skipped past him, allowing all three runners to score. Hamilton was credited with a single and three RBIs on the play.

The Brewers extended their lead in the third. Contreras walked and stole second, then moved to third when catcher Kelly’s throw sailed into center field. After two strikeouts, Bauers grounded a single through the right side to plate Contreras.

Milwaukee added its final run in the seventh. Hamilton tripled into the right-field corner, the first triple of his career. Chourio walked, and after Turang struck out, Contreras singled to right to bring home Hamilton.

The Brewers threatened again in the ninth, loading the bases on a Hamilton single, a walk to Turang and a Contreras single, but Yelich struck out to end the inning. Hall closed out the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Bregman to end the game.

The sweep was the first of the season for Milwaukee over Chicago. The Brewers outscored the Cubs 19-5 in the three-game series. Milwaukee next hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, while Chicago hosts the Houston Astros.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Milwaukee 7, Chicago 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chicago with a 50.60 percent probability to win. Milwaukee had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of five went over the over/under line of 6.5.