5 HBPs, benches clear as Cubs top Brewers 9-0

Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs for his first big league RBIs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-0 for a testy win in which five batters were hit by pitches and the benches cleared.

The teams exchanged words but no punches in the eighth after Andrew McCutchen was hit by a pitch from Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson, who was ejected for the first time in his career.

Suzuki, a Japanese outfielder who signed an $85 million, five-year contract as the Cubs’ biggest offseason acquisition, had a sacrifice fly, a bases-loaded walk and a single.

The Cubs began a season 2-0 for the first time since 2016 with another win over the NL Central champions.