Cubs Head to Milwaukee for a 3 Game Weekend Set

by: Arthur Caron

The Cubs head to Milwaukee for a weekend set against the Brewers after taking 2 of 3 from the Pittsburgh Pirates. They enter the series with a 19-13 record and are currently in first place. The Cubs won the rubber match on Thursday, lighting up pitching phenom Paul Skenes for three home runs—four total in the game—including Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki going back-to-back in the fifth inning. Suzuki later added another homer to extend the lead in an 8-3 victory.

The Brewers are coming off an 8-0 loss, managing just two hits against the lowly White Sox. However, they did win 2 of 3 in that series. Before Thursday’s shutout, Milwaukee’s offense had scored five or more runs in four straight games. They sit at 16-16 on the season, three games back of the Cubs.

Pitching Probables:

Game 1:

Cubs: Ben Brown (2-2, 6.04 ERA)

Brewers: Quinn Priester (1-0, 3.79 ERA)

Player to Watch:

Cubs:

Ben Brown

Brown has only gone past five innings once in his five starts this season. With the Cubs calling up Chris Flexen from AAA, another subpar outing could result in a move to the bullpen. The Brewers’ projected lineup is 0-for-16 against Brown in their careers, which may be why he’s getting the nod.

Seiya Suzuki

Coming off a two-homer game, Suzuki is 2-for-3 with a homer in his career against Priester. He leads the team with nine homers on the season and looks to stay hot.

Brewers:

Christian Yelich

Yelich isn’t in MVP form this season (.220 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI), but he’s historically tormented the Cubs, hitting .272 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI in 122 career games against them.

Quinn Priester. Priester hasn’t gone beyond five innings in any of his five starts this season. He’s walked at least two in each outing and hasn’t struck out more than four. His 1.60 WHIP is something the Cubs’ offense should be able to exploit.

Game 2: 

Cubs: Jameson Taillon 1-1 4.01 ERA

Brewers: Jose Quintana 4-0 1.14 ERA

Players to Watch:

Cubs:

Jameson Taillon

Taillon is coming off a solid seven-inning start in which he allowed just one run. However, he’s struggled against Milwaukee in his career, going 4-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 16 starts. He’s also been vulnerable to the Brewers’ power bats—Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and Rhys Hoskins have combined for four homers and eight RBIs off him, each hitting over .300. That said, Taillon hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last five starts.

Justin Turner

Hear me out—Turner is 6-for-22 with four RBIs against Quintana in his career. He’s only hitting .159 this season, but he’s had hits in each of his last two starts. Maybe he’s turning the corner.

Brewers:

Jose Quintana

Q, The former Cub is off to a scorching start, posting a 4-0 record with a 1.14 ERA. The Cubs’ main bats—Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Kyle Tucker—are a combined 3-for-19 with five strikeouts against him. He’ll face the NL’s highest-scoring offense (192 runs, 6.19 runs per game), but he’s more than capable of shutting them down.

Jackson Chourio

Chourio is 4-for-7 with a homer and four RBIs against Taillon in his career. If he continues to spark the offense and Quintana stays hot, this one could be tough for the Cubs. 

Game 3: 

Cubs: Shota Imanaga 3-1 2.77 ERA

Brewers: Freddy Peralta 3-2 2.52 ERA

Players to Watch: 

Cubs:

Shota Imanaga

Imanaga left his last start with cramps after six shutout innings. Hopefully, that was a one-off, but he’s alternated good and bad outings recently—allowing at least five earned runs in every other start over his last four. Since his last outing was a shutout, the pattern suggests this could be a rough one.

The Cubs’ Lineup

Among Cubs hitters with at least 14 at-bats against Peralta—Happ, Hoerner, Suzuki, and Swanson—they’re a combined 9-for-76 with 29 strikeouts. If Peralta is sharp, runs will be hard to come by in this ace-versus-ace matchup.

Brewers:

Freddy Peralta

Peralta is clearly Milwaukee’s ace. He’s 6-2 with a 3.16 ERA in his career against the Cubs and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his seven starts this season.

Rhys Hoskins

Hoskins is the right-handed power threat in the middle of Milwaukee’s lineup. Shota has allowed six homers to righties this season, and although Hoskins hasn’t faced him yet, don’t be surprised if he’s a factor in Sunday’s righty-heavy lineup.

Cubs fans! How are you feeling about the Cubs’ first meeting this season with their northern neighbors? Can the Cubs take the series and extend their division lead to five games? Or will bad trends continue and Milwaukee’s pitching cool off Chicago’s red-hot offense? Let us know your thoughts below!