CHICAGO -- It took a while for Kyle Lohse to get comfortable on a cold and soggy day at Wrigley Field. Once he got into a groove, the Milwaukee Brewers were well on their way to another victory. Lohse pitched seven effective innings for his first win in three weeks, and Milwaukee beat the sloppy Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Friday. "Kyle was a little bit off those first few innings and then he got it going again late," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Probably in the last inning had his best stuff and command." Lohse allowed three runs and seven hits as NL Central-leading Milwaukee won for the fifth time in six games. He retired his last 13 batters in his first win since April 23 against San Diego, ending a streak of three starts without a decision. "It was a weird early going for me. I couldnt get command really much of anything," Lohse said. "But youve been around long enough you figure out how to grind through it and figure out what you need to do physically to get your body in the right spot to make pitches." Jean Segura had three hits and two RBIs for Milwaukee, which improved to an NL-best 13-5 on the road. Elian Herrera doubled twice in a spot start in right field for Ryan Braun, who got the day off as he makes his way back from a right oblique strain. Darwin Barney hit a two-run homer and Junior Lake had a solo shot for the Cubs, who have lost three straight and 10 of 12. Jeff Samardzija lasted five innings after getting off to a slow start, but is winless in his last 15 games dating to last season. "Obviously, I want to win," Samardzija said. "Being a starting pitcher, you have a big say as to how the game turns out. Obviously if my record isnt what I want it to be I need to do a better job." Milwaukee jumped on Samardzija for two runs in each of the first two innings, taking advantage of several early miscues by the Cubs. Segura singled with one out in the first, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Jonathan Lucroys base hit. Lucroy advanced when Lake mishandled his single to left and scored when Lyle Overbay reached on shortstop Starlin Castros throwing error. It was Castros second error in three games and No. 7 in 40 games this season. The 24-year-old Castro had a career-low 22 errors in 159 games last season. Segura added a two-run single in the second as Milwaukee opened a 4-0 lead. Welington Castillo had a costly passed ball that allowed the runners to move up to second and third before Segura hit a liner into centre field. Samardzija (0-4) allowed two earned runs and six hits in his shortest start of the season. His ERA increased from 1.45 to 1.62. "He didnt have his best stuff today but he grinded out through five," manager Rick Renteria said. "We had a couple plays that maybe extended his innings." Barney connected in the second and Lake went deep in the third, but that was it for Chicago against Lohse (5-1). The veteran right-hander struck out two and walked one while improving to 6-6 in 21 career starts against the Cubs. Will Smith tossed a perfect eighth for Milwaukee and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his major league-best 17th save in 18 chances. It was Rodriguezs first outing since he allowed three runs in the ninth inning of Wednesdays 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh. "I was itching to go yesterday. It didnt work out," he said. "But as long as I get an opportunity to go out there and pitch, theres a better chance that I am going to do better than I did three days ago." Braun was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday and played three straight games against the Pirates. Roenicke decided to rest the 2011 NL MVP for the series opener against the lowly Cubs. Braun, who is batting .316 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 25 games, did not make a rehab start before he rejoined the team. "Youre going on what the player tells you. If he comes out and feels it again, youre in trouble," Roenicke said. "So thats why we try to take it easy so were really protecting ourselves throwing him right out there and something happens and hes right back on the DL again." NOTES: It rained for much of the morning in Chicago, and the gametime temperature was 38 degrees. ... Brewers RHP Matt Garza (2-3, 4.98 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Edwin Jackson (2-3, 4.56 ERA) on Saturday. It will be Garzas first game at Wrigley Field since he was traded from the Cubs to the Rangers last July. ... Roenicke said he hopes Carlos Gomez will be able to play Saturday. The centre fielder is nursing a sore back while serving a three-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl April 20 in Pittsburgh. Adidas Ultra Boost China Wholesale . Parnell will be out much longer if it turns out he needs surgery. But first, he will try resting for two weeks before beginning a throwing program that could last up to a month, general manager Sandy Alderson said. Wholesale Name Brand Shoes . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/. Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago. Fake Air Force 1 For Sale . Team spokesman Donald Beauchamp said there was no new information on the 80-year-old Hall of Famers condition. The family has requested privacy. Cheap Adidas Ultra Boost China . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz.Ipswich Witches owner Chris Louis has told Sky Sports about the financial demands of running a speedway team. Regular funding is the lifeblood of any speedway team, whether it is the paying fans or a much-needed sponsorship deal, and the Witches boss is fully aware of the need to balance the books. Louis has admitted the financial pressures he faces are tougher and tougher as he attempts to prepare Ipswich for a new season. Its a motorsport so obviously its expensive and the numbers increasingly do not add up from the clubs side, the riders side and the fans side, he told Sky Sports.At the end of the day everyone has a budget, whether its the family budget and what you are going to spend it on, the riders budget; whether to buy clutch plates or an engine, it does not matter. Its all relative to the business and it is tougher and tougher. Riders view: Speedway life Danny King gives Sky Sports an insight into the life of a Speedway rider The role of sponsorship is important in all sports but increasingly so in speedway. All British teams have a title sponsor in their team name. For Ipswich, it has been the Ipswich Sackers Witches over the past few seasons, after a local recycling company sponsored the side, and Louis was keen to emphasise the role of sponsorship in speedway.Sponsorship in speedway is more important than it has ever been, as Im sure it is in other sports, said the former British champion. For my club at Ipswich, I can say that probably 10 years ago the club could just about survive without any sponsorship but the numbers dont add up now and without sponsorship - certainly in the six or seven years previous - the club would not have survived.The main income by far is still the terraces and it is now of a proportion of the total income that you cant do without. Sponsorship plays a vital role in the sport With most meetings running at a loss, Louis is keen to find a way to arrest this trend in the future, as the sponsorship money acts more as a safety net rather than a source of investment for improvement at the moment.He said: Basically your sponsorship budget nowadays is unfortunately set aside to offset the money you lose each meeting because very few meetings run at a profit. So you are calculating what you have lost each meeting and calculating that as a percentage of your sponsorship money hoping that you have enough budget to get to the end of the year.Weve got to improve that situation. No business can go on like that and we are looking all the time at improving that.But how do you entice a company to sponsor your team? Why would a sponsor want to advertise with a speedway club? Louis explains how a club sets about gaining sponsors for a season and admits its an aspect his own club is currently working hard on.You go out, you come up with proposals of what you want to give to a sponsor for their money, make it attractive as you can and the important thing is you deliver, said Louis. Chris Louis (l) is trrying to boost the profile of Ipswich Witches We are going to up our game in that respect because those sponsors deserve a return for their money.dddddddddddd They dont do it for the fun of it, people do have different agendas on why they are sponsoring a club. They might prefer to have an involvement in something rather than purely advertise on TV or in a magazine and put their budget to putting their name on a shirt or race suit.A lot of the time in any sport, particularly speedway, theyre a fan of the sport and enjoy the involvement on a race day and come up on the night and get involved and watch, so it is hugely important.Sky Sports have been involved in the sport having been title sponsors of the Elite League and broadcasting meetings for over 20 years now, but how do clubs source sponsorship?You always start with connections who then make a personal introduction to people. Our long-term sponsors have come from being brought to speedway from another sponsor and wanted to be involved. Saying they had a great night and enjoyed how close they can get to the team which does not happen in other sports and theyve just enjoyed themselves and want to be part of it.As Louis has touched on earlier, although sponsors provide a vital income to any speedway club, the main source of income still remains the general public.Without fans coming through the door, the club would struggle to survive and so promoting the club to current and potential new fans is just as important. Weve got to look at more successful clubs like Poole and look at what they do and improve what we do. Chris Louis We havent promoted ourselves very well to date, but thats another thing we are hoping to change for the better this year. We have a good relationship with the local newspaper which helps and are improving our presence online with a new website coming up in the new year.We are looking to get more involvement with the community and children at local schools in particular. Weve got to look at more successful clubs like Poole and look at what they do and improve what we do. Income from the terraces remains the clubs main income From the business side of speedway to a more touching side of the sport. Having discussed the financial struggles that live within the sport, it will be of no surprise to hear that clubs do not have an array of backroom staff with designated roles on a club salary. Instead clubs are made up from an army of volunteers who dedicate their time to the club purely out of their love for their club.Its all voluntary at Ipswich, said Louis. Clubs differ, the business model is different but at Ipswich we are all voluntary and without that, as important as the sponsors, the club would not survive without the people that readily give up their time to be part of it.There are roughly 40 people from press officers, website managers, track maintenance, track staff, officials, hospitality, turnstiles, programme editing and production, its probably around 50 actually. Also See: Inside Speedway: The Team Inside Speedway: Ownership ' ' '