Chicago Cubs face tough weekend series against red-hot Milwaukee Brewers

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers have both been hot as of late, making this weekend’s upcoming series a pivotal battle for first place in the NL Central.

Anyone who has followed Major League Baseball over the last few seasons knows the National League Central has been one of the more competitive divisions in baseball, with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers often fighting close battles for first place. This young season has been no different so far.

After an abysmal 1-6 start to the season, the Cubs have roared back to the top, sweeping the Cardinals last weekend to move into first place. They have won 17 of their last 21 games and had a seven-game winning streak going until Monday’s 6-5 loss to the Marlins. Entering Friday’s series opener against Milwaukee, the Cubs are 22-13 – winners of nine of their last 10.

The Brewers are not far behind. With an off-day Thursday, Milwaukee will carry a six-game winning streak into the weekend series at Wrigley. Their 23 wins is second in the National League only to the Dodgers, who have won 25 games. The Brewers’ overall record of 23-16 puts them just one game behind the Cubs for first.

This will be the second series between the two teams this season, with the Brewers winning the first series two-games-to-one over the first weekend in April.

Both teams near the top in offensive stats

The Cubs are currently fourth in the Majors in runs scored with 196, as well as fourth in RBI with 189. Milwaukee is fifth in RBI with 187 and sixth in runs scored with 190. The Brew Crew have been launching plenty of homers this year as well, currently tied with the Astros for second with 65 HR. The Cubs are in a three-way tie for eith in home runs with the Diamondbacks and Reds, with all three teams having 54.