Chicago Cubs’ critical three-game series with the Brewers could decide the division

Today marks a critical juncture in the Chicago Cubs’ season, as they open a pivotal three-game series with their divisional rival, the Milwaukee Brewers, who are tied with them for first place in the National League Central. Up to this point, the Cubs have a one-game advantage in the season series with the Brew Crew, winning three out of the five games.

The Cubs were supposed to run away with the division, but the opposite has happened, with the Brewers always finding a way to put up a fight. With the Trade Deadline looming and the chances to play the Brewers dwindling, the Cubs can’t afford to let this series get away from them.

The Cubs have a fighting chance thanks to their starting staff and offense

In the first nine games of the second half, the Brewers are playing better baseball, going 6-3, while the Cubs are 5-4 in that same span. The Cubs have also been outscored more than the Brewers in that span, allowing 42 runs while scoring 41 of their own, while the Brewers have scored 45 runs, against their opponents 29.

The Cubs have a fighting chance against the Brew Crew, even though they’re playing decent baseball, as they’re sending their two best pitchers to the mound in Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga. Boyd was the Cubs’ lone All-Star pitcher this season and has gone 6-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 38 strikeouts in the last seven games (44.0 innings), while Imanaga is 4-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 39.0 innings.

The Brewers won’t make things easy for the Cubs, as they’ll also be getting two of their best in their two All-Star starters, Freddy Peralta and rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski. Both have also been dominant in their last seven games, with Peralta going 6-0 with a 3.26 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 38.2 innings, while the Miz (Misiorowski’s nickname) is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 4” strikeouts in 29.1 innings.

The one advantage the Cubs have over the Brewers, which could aid them in taking two out of three games, is their offense. The Cubs, in the National League, hold the advantage of being a better slugging team (.769) than the Brewers (.708), having more home runs (155 to the Brewers’ 98), and striking out less (812) than the Brewers (839). The only area where things are close is their on-base percentages (Cubs: .325, Brewers: .324).

The Chicago Cubs’ critical three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers

The battle for the National League Central could come down to the wire, with it likely coming down to a two-team race between the Brewers and the Cubs. The St. Louis Cardinals have done better than expected and are 6.5 games back of the lead, but with them expected not to add at the deadline and trade some pieces away, one of these two will be the winner.

After this series, the Cubs will play the Brewers five more times. The five-game series is due to a postponement earlier in the season. With their chances of playing the Brewers dwindling, winning every game against them means everything.