MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers activated slugger Eric Thames from the disabled list on Monday for the start of a three-game showdown with the rival Cubs at Miller Park.
Thames wasn't in the starting lineup because Milwaukee faced a left-hander on Monday in Chicago's Jose Quintana, but he gave Brewers manager Craig Counsell a potent bat off the bench. Thames posted a .976 OPS with seven home runs in his first 22 games before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb while diving for a ground ball on April 24 at Kansas City, an injury that required surgery.