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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.
Chicago Cubs: upcoming Brewers series will feature star-studded rosters
There’s no doubt that both the Cubs and the Brewers have some serious power at the plate. The most obvious example is Christian Yelich, who is on an absolute tear this season. In his first 118 at-bats, the reigning National League MVP has already racked up 37 RBI and is currently leading the league with 16 home runs.
Yelich has an overall batting average of .356 so far this season. In his last 15 games, he has 16 hits, seven home runs and 11 RBI.
Since being traded from the Marlins to the Brewers prior to the 2018 season, Yelich has emerged as one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball, leading to him stealing the NL MVP honors from Javier Baez last year. In just a little over one full season with Milwaukee, he is just seven home runs short of surpassing the 59 he hit in his five years with Miami.
One surprise for the Brewers has been the recent hot streak of veteran Ryan Braun. Braun, who has regressed significantly since his MVP-caliber years, is mashing over the last seven games: he’s hitting .500 in that span, with 12 hits, six RBI and two home runs.
The Cubs have their fair share of big hitters, too. After a slow start, Kris Bryant is finally starting to look like the 2016 MVP-winning Kris Bryant. He’s hit four home runs in five days, including Tuesday’s walk-off, as well as nine RBI. He’s hitting .350 over his last seven games.
In addition to reigning MVP Yelich, this series will also include 2018 MVP runner-up Javier Baez, who is leading the team with 11 home runs and 28 RBI. El Mago is hitting .348 in his last seven games.
And last, but definitely not least, Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs’ grizzled veteran and de facto leader, has been on a roll, with nine RBI and a .348 average over eight games.
Any time these two Central Division rivals face off, it’s almost like a mini-All-Star game. Don’t expect this weekend’s series to be any different.
Chicago Cubs: pitching will be key against hot-hitting Milwaukee
For the most part, the Cubs’ pitching staff has finally begun to turn things around. At the beginning of the season, it seemed as though the Cubs’ pitchers could do nothing but give up runs and blow leads. However, as the Cubs’ bats have heated up, their pitching staff as a whole has seemed to regain composure and settle down. They are currently fourth in the Majors in ERA with a combined 3.67, and they are tied with the Twins for the fifth-lowest number of runs allowed.
This squad will have to execute almost perfectly against a tough Milwaukee lineup. Obviously, Yelich poses the greatest threat at the plate. Since Yelich has great plate discipline, Cubs pitchers will need to paint the edges and corners of the strike zone and hope for Yelich to lay off.
Cubs’ pitchers will need to be careful not to allow the bottom of the Brewers’ order to get on base as the top of the order usually consists of Lorenzo Cain, Yelich, and Mike Moustakas. It will be imperative to try to minimize the opportunities for these sluggers to drive in runs.
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Series pitching matchups will see all lefties start for the Cubs
Friday’s series opener will feature two lefties, as Jose Quintana will face off against Gio Gonzalez. Quintana has been solid thus far; he is currently 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 40 strikeouts over 39 2/3 innings. Gonzalez, who just signed a one-year deal on April 27, has allowed three earned runs in his first 10 1/3 innings this season.
On Saturday, we’ll see Cole Hamels look to improve to 4-0 as he faces Zach Davies, one of the Brewers’ best arms. Davies is currently 4-0 with a stellar 1.56 ERA over seven starts. Hamels leads the team with 44 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings of work.
Finally, the Sunday series finale will pit Cubs’ ace Jon Lester against Jhoulys Chacin. Even though he missed some time due to a hamstring issue, Lester is off to an impressive start for the Cubs, boasting a 1.41 ERA in 32 innings, along with 33:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Chacin, on the other hand, has struggled this season. He has a 5.03 ERA and 29:20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39 1/3 innings. Cubs hitters will look to take advantage of Chacin’s high walk rate in this game.
dark. Next. Pitching staff quickly gets things turned around
Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be afternoon games with a 1:20pm start time, with Sunday’s 6:05 matchup being featured on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.