Monday, August 31

Welcome back to the Brewers Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian co-wrote this preview of the Cubs and Brewers' showdown this week.

CHICAGO – Three seasons into manager Craig Counsell’s tenure with the Cubs, the ballclub has continued to chase the rival Brewers in the standings. With seven games between the teams over the next 10 days, this is Chicago’s chance to try to swing the momentum in this year’s division race before it is too late.

“Look, it’s almost September,” Counsell said. “There’s not a lot of time left. I think it’s natural to look forward. I think our job is to look at today, and then after today’s over, to look at tomorrow. And it’s to not look back, and it doesn’t help us to look too far forward, either. But I understand the talk.”

Winners of the last three division crowns – two coming under back-to-back Manager of the Year Pat Murphy since Counsell left Milwaukee for the North Side – the Brewers (85-52) will arrive at Wrigley Field today with an eight-game lead over the Cubs (77-60) in the National League Central. They will spar in a crucial four-game set, with another three games looming on Sept. 7-9 in Milwaukee.

“Any time you get close to the finish line, it’s like, ‘OK, it’s go time,’” Brewers starter Kyle Harrison said. “It’s weird that we have seven important games against a team like that in such a short amount of time, but that’s baseball. You treat it like any other game, but at the same time, those are important games.”

The Cubs are currently leading the NL Wild Card field – with tiebreakers clinched against the three closest teams in the Phillies (6-1 record), Padres (5-1), and D-backs (4-2) – but the goal coming into 2026 was to win the Central. That makes these especially big series coming up for the Cubs and Brewers – who have the chance to really pull away in the upcoming duels.

Whether it’s players brought in at the Trade Deadline or the rookies on the respective rosters, it should be quite an experience to step into the raucous atmosphere these games tend to generate.

“I know it’s a big rivalry,” said Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, who will be playing at Wrigley for the first time. “Everyone said it’s going to be fun. I don’t really know what to expect because I’ve never been, but I’m excited. It’s always more fun being the villain.”

The pitching matchups

Monday: LHP Kyle Harrison (10-3, 2.79) vs. RHP Clay Holmes (5-6, 2.26) 

Tuesday: LHP Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.59) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (8-3, 3.99) 

Wednesday: RHP Jacob Misiorowski (14-5, 1.73) vs. LHP David Peterson (7-7, 5.11) 

Thursday: RHP Logan Henderson (9-2, 2.48) vs. RHP Kevin Gausman (8-11, 4.52) 

The season series so far

May 18-20 in Chicago

Brewers sweep the three-game series

The Brewers walked into Wrigley Field chasing the Cubs in the standings. Three days later, they walked out alone in first place -- and looking every bit like one of baseball’s best teams. Behind terrific pitching from rookies Brandon Sproat and Shane Drohan in a piggyback opener, Misiorowski for six scoreless innings as part of a remarkable month of May and Harrison in the finale, the Brewers earned their first sweep at Wrigley since Aug. 10-12, 2021.

“We have a very young club,” Murphy said. “But yeah, I think it gives you a little confidence. I trust these guys. They have high expectations for themselves and we have high standards.” 

"The Brewers are the team that’s won the division the last three years -- that’s what we want to do,” Counsell said back in May. “Last year, they beat us, and they had a fabulous season. So, we’ve got to improve to get there. They’re a good team again -- no question about it. That’s where it’s at." 

June 26-28 in Milwaukee

Cubs take two of three

The Cubs earned a measure of revenge, though they first had to tangle with Misiorowski unleashing a 105.5 mph fastball to Pete Crow-Armstrong on the third pitch of the series -- matching the third-fastest pitch recorded in the Statcast era for any pitcher. 

But the Cubs made the Brewers' ace work all night. They spoiled premium velocity, extended at-bats and finally broke through when Seiya Suzuki opened the fifth inning by launching a 90 mph slider the opposite way for a homer, ending Misiorowski's no-hit bid and giving Chicago a 1-0 lead.

"They had a game plan coming in to battle me and foul stuff off," Misiorowski said. "They stuck with it, and more power to them."

Misiorowski prevailed with six quality innings and so did the Brewers that night, but the Cubs bounced back to win the next two games and the series. Peterson won his Chicago debut, and the Cubs’ bullpen locked down the series finale with veteran Bryse Wilson delivering 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the North Siders.

Baseball can be a funny sport. Wilson signed back with the Brewers in early August and has given Milwaukee some big innings this month.

“Being with Milwaukee for two years, I know a lot about this series and this rivalry,” Wilson said back in June. “There’s a lot of big-time situations and a lot of big-time games.”

• The forecast calls for a late-summer heatwave this week, with temperatures climbing into the 90s. Typically, that means the baseball will fly, and the Cubs have a significant advantage in the power department. Going into Sunday’s games, they ranked second in the Majors with 185 home runs, while the Brewers were tied with the Guardians for last with 125 home runs. 

• The Brewers are expected to activate their ace setup man, Abner Uribe, from the 15-day injured list for tonight's series opener, and could add veteran left-hander JoJo Romero as soon as Tuesday when rosters expand. Uribe has been on the IL since Aug. 14 with a forearm strain. Romero was acquired from the Cardinals at the Trade Deadline while he was on the IL recovering from an emergency appendectomy.

• The Cubs entered Sunday ranked first in MLB in Fielding Run Value (60) and Outs Above Average (61), per Statcast. The 2017 Twins boast the single-season OAA record (66) in the 10-year time period it has been tracked. Chicago is, however, currently without shortstop Dansby Swanson (10-day IL, left oblique). With Swanson out, Nico Hoerner (10 OAA, 96th percentile) is manning short, and rookie Pedro Ramírez has been handling second base.

• Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich and catcher William Contreras were slumping so badly earlier this month that they fell as far as sixth and seventh in the batting order. But now they’re heating up. Heading into the series opener, Contreras was hitting .408 (20-for-49) with a 1.068 OPS in his last 12 games, and Yelich was hitting .371 (13-for-35) with a 1.010 OPS in his last 10 games. 

• Romero and another Trade Deadline acquisition, catcher Bo Naylor, are the leading candidates to join the Brewers when rosters expand Tuesday, though they were also considering right-handed-hitting outfielder Brandon Lockridge.

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