Well, here we go. The Cubs and Brewers are tied for first place in the NL Central at 62-43, which is also tied for the best record in the National League (and just half a game behind the Blue Jays for the best record in baseball).
So these are good teams. Late-July bragging rights for first place are up for grabs, but even after this series is over, exactly. one-third of the season will remain. Long way to go, but this series feels meaningful.
For more on the Brewers, here’s Harrison Freuck, manager
of our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball.
The Brewers have been on a rollercoaster ride of a season, with the first two months appearing as an average team at best, and the last two months showing they’re the best team in baseball on some days. What’s crazy about that is that there haven’t been many personnel changes between those two periods. Sure, they’ve bolstered the rotation as a few arms have returned from injury, but the offense is basically the exact same. The difference has been the players who got off to ice-cold starts (Christian Yelich, Joey Ortiz, Jackson Chourio, just to name a few) have turned it on the last couple of months.
Speaking of the offense, Yelich is the team leader with 19 homers this year, adding 66 RBIs, 51 runs, and 15 steals. Chourio looks primed for his second consecutive 20-20 season, as he has 17 homers and 18 steals, while Brice Turang, Sal Frelick, Ortiz, Isaac Collins, William Contreras, and Caleb Durbin round out what has been a fairly balanced attack. Andrew Vaughn is the newest name on the roster, as he was called up right before the All-Star break and has done nothing but hit since replacing Rhys Hoskins, who hit the IL. In 12 games, Vaughn is hitting .324/.409/.649 with three homers, three doubles, and 13 RBIs.
On the pitching side, the Brewers have Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, and Freddy Peralta lined up to start this week. I don’t think I need to say much about Miz, but I’ll just say that he’s actually been better than his 2.45 ERA indicates; five of the eight earned runs he’s allowed came in his lone loss to the Mets back on July 2. Priester has been fantastic filling in what was a weak spot in the rotation earlier in the year, as Milwaukee has won each of the last 10 games he’s pitched in. Lastly, Peralta has been fantastic, with a 2.81 ERA and 131 strikeouts across his 22 starts this season.
This should be a fun series as both teams vie for the top spot in the NL Central heading into August. I’ll take the Brewers to sneak away with two of three solely due to the pitching matchups.
Fun facts
How about that! The Cubs begin a series tonight against a National League opponent — and a division rival, to boot!
The Cubs have played five consecutive series against American League teams since completing a series at home vs. the Cardinals on July 6. After this series, they will return home for three more games vs. an AL club, the Orioles.
The Cardinals are the only NL team the Cubs have met since they last faced the Brewers, in the finale of a series at Wrigley Field on June 19, as the Cubs hosted the Mariners, then played four games at St. Louis before starting their run of five in a row vs. AL clubs....
The Cubs won two of three games in their previous visit to Milwaukee, May 2-4. Since winning four straight series there in 2017-18, the Cubs have won only three more, while losing 12 and splitting one. The two other series wins were in 2020 and 2022, both two games to one.
Their record at Milwaukee since the four straight wins is 20-34, including 0-3 in 2021. The Cubs’ last sweeps at Wrigley North both were in 2015: four games, then three.
(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
Probable pitching matchups
Monday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (11-3, 2.20 ERA, 1.011 WHIP, 3.10 FIP) vs. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP (4-1, 2.45 ERA, 0.920 WHIP, 3.36 FIP)
Tuesday: Colin Rea, RHP (8-4, 4.06 ERA, 1.275 WHIP, 4.96 FIP) vs. Quinn Priester, RHP (9-2, 3.28 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 3.84 FIP)
Wednesday: Shōta Imanaga, LHP (7-4, 3.12 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 4.70 FIP) vs. Freddy Peralta, RHP (12-4, 2.81 ERA, 1.093 WHIP, 3.66 FIP)
Times & TV channels
Monday: 6:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Tuesday: 6:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Wednesday: 1:10 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network
Prediction
Harrison Freuck says the Brewers will win two of three. Granted, the Brewers have their hotshot rookie going Monday and the Cubs always have trouble with Freddy Peralta.
Nevertheless, the Cubs have their two best starters going in this series and I think they will take two of three, as they did last time they were in Milwaukee.
Up next
The Cubs have Thursday off — that’s trade deadline day! Then they return to Wrigley Field to begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, beginning Friday afternoon.
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