Chourio stars as the Brewers beat the Cubs 9-5 despite shaky start by Misiorowski

CHICAGO (AP) — Jackson Chourio homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-5 on Wednesday night, overcoming a shaky performance by Jacob Misiorowski.

William Contreras hit a tiebreaking RBI single as Milwaukee won for the sixth time in eight games, improving to a major league-best 87-53. Chourio had four of the Brewers' 14 hits and scored twice.

Misiorowski allowed five runs and five hits in four innings. The front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award surrendered three earned runs or fewer in his first 25 starts this year.

Chicago (78-62) dropped nine games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central. It also remained one game back of Philadelphia for the top NL wild card.

Alex Bregman homered and drove in four runs for the Cubs, who have lost three of four. Bregman is batting .331 (48 for 145) with 14 homers and 37 RBIs in his last 35 games.

Milwaukee went ahead to stay with three runs in the fourth against David Peterson (7-8). Cooper Pratt scampered home on Brice Turang's sacrifice bunt, and Andrew Vaughn singled home Chourio. Turang scored on Contreras' liner to center for a 6-5 lead on a muggy night at Wrigley Field.

Joey Ortiz's two-run single made it 9-5 in the ninth. Ortiz hit a two-run homer in Milwaukee's 9-4 win on Tuesday night.

JoJo Romero (2-3) pitched a scoreless inning for his first win since he was acquired in a deadline trade with St. Louis.

Chicago wasted a stellar defensive play by shortstop Nico Hoerner, who made an outstanding diving catch on Sal Frelick's sinking liner in the fifth, leaving the bases loaded. Ian Happ also cut down Ortiz when he attempted to score from second on Chourio's single to left in the ninth.

Cubs reliever Jacob Webb departed in the ninth after he was struck on his right arm by Christian Yelich's liner.

Logan Henderson (9-2, 2.48 ERA) starts for Milwaukee on Thursday night, and fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman (8-11, 4.52) pitches for Chicago in the finale of the four-game series.

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Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy looks to the field before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski wipes his face after Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki of Japan, walked to first during the second inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Milwaukee Brewers' Cooper Pratt runs after hitting a one-run single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich, right, scores on a one-run single by Cooper Pratt as Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya waits for the ball during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Russia will shutter German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

The move comes after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport and announced the closure of both the Russian Consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital.

Lavrov said that cultural centers belonging to Germany’s Goethe-Institut would be closed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, adding that any other response would show a lack of “self-respect” on Russia’s part.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Lavrov said that Germany “could not have failed to understand” that the closure of Russian House would “signify the end of their cultural presence in Russia.”

A drone laden with explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 and later defused. The airport is a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

Putin has dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered “has been planted,” Putin said.

European Union ministers on Wednesday weighed how best to respond to the attempted drone attack but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means.

“It is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about this,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Ireland. They discussed sanctions, visa restrictions and shutting Russian consulates, among other measures.

The EU has slapped almost two dozen packages of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, hitting more than 3,000 officials, oligarchs and entities including banks, energy companies and drone makers. The EU was already preparing to impose more travel bans and asset freezes on another 1,600 people, Kallas said.

Germany insisted it was “not at war” but had become a “daily target” of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign. Putin dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered “has been planted,” Putin said.

But German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul said Berlin had carefully prepared its response “and now Russia must live with these consequences.” He called on Russia “to show that it is also ready for reasonable talks and negotiations, particularly regarding the situation in Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, attend the talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)