On The Horizon: Cubs vs. Brewers series preview

The first game of this series is the Cubs’ 33rd game of 2024. It’s their first game against an NL Central opponent. That’s the longest into a season the Cubs have gone without meeting a divisional opponent since divisional play began in 1969.

Furthermore, the Cubs are the only team that has not yet faced a divisional opponent.

The balanced schedule sucks. Go back to the unbalanced schedule.

For more on the Brewers, here’s Harrison Freuck, manager of our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball.

I think most Brewers fans would be happy with how the season has turned out thus far for the Crew. After Craig Counsell departed for Chicago, the Brewers went ahead and hired Pat Murphy as the manager. Through 30 games, he’s 19-11 at the helm, and much of that success can be attributed to the offense, something almost nobody would have expected heading into 2024.
William Contreras is in MVP form, hitting .345/.420/.538 with five homers, 25 RBIs, and a team-high 41 hits while appearing in all 30 games. Willy Adames had a slow start but has found a rhythm as of late, hitting six homers, driving in 21, and hitting .278/.373/.496 on the season. Defensive specialist Brice Turang has also quietly turned into an offensive weapon, with a .309/.370/.433 slash line, two homers, 12 RBIs, and 14 steals this year. After a hot start (.333/.422/.744 with five homers in 11 games), Christian Yelich is shelved as he tries to return from a back injury. Other key players in Milwaukee’s offense include newcomers Rhys Hoskins and Gary Sanchez and younger options such as rookie Jackson Chourio, Joey Ortiz, Tyler Black, and Sal Frelick.
On the mound, Freddy Peralta has taken over the ace role with the departure of Corbin Burnes and the injury to Brandon Woodruff. He’s done well in six starts, with a 3.21 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings. He’ll get the ball in the series finale on Sunday. Bryan Hudson has anchored a Devin William-less bullpen, with a 0.52 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. Bryse Wilson (3.00 ERA, six relief appearances), Elvis Peguero (3.60 ERA, 13 appearances), Hoby Milner (2.92 ERA, 14 appearances), and Joel Payamps (3.38 ERA, 12 appearances) are the other key guys getting the Brewers to the finish line.
I think Milwaukee and Chicago are fairly evenly matched, so I’ll give the Cubs a 2-1 series edge at Wrigley this weekend thanks to home-field advantage.

Fun fact

The team that the Cubs will play today through Sunday is the Milwaukee Brewers. They are a member of the National League’s Central Division. As noted above, today’s game, the Cubs’ 33rd of the season, is their first against any NL Central rival.

The Cubs will play four games at Milwaukee, May 28-30, and three there, June 28-30. They will host the Brewers again July 22-24. Then they will be done with the Brewers for the year, while playing 58 subsequent games, more than one-third of the season.

…

The Cubs-Brewers rivalry could not be much closer. The Cubs have won 214 games and lost 216, for a winning percentage of .498. Each team has won 112 times at home. The Cubs have lost 104 at home; the Brewers, 102.

The Cubs’ next-closest long-time rivalry is .496, vs. the Dodgers. They are .505 vs. the Reds and .492 vs. the Pirates. They have split their 24 games against both the Rangers and Red Sox.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Hayden Wesneski, RHP (2-0, 0.87 ERA, 0.677 WHIP, 2.29 FIP) vs. Joe Ross, RHP (1-3, 5.40 ERA, 1.680 WHIP, 3.92 FIP)

Saturday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.944 WHIP, 4.11 FIP) vs. Tobias Myers, RHP (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.56 FIP)

Sunday: Javier Assad, RHP (2-0, 1.97 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 3.23 FIP) vs. Freddy Peralta, RHP (3-0, 3.21 ERA, 0.861 WHIP, 3.19 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Friday: 1:20 pm CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside the Cubs and Brewers market territories)

Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Thursday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

So far this year, the Brewers have been a much better road team (12-4) than at home (7-7). They got blown out twice at home by the Yankees, then took two of three from the Rays, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

The Cubs are a very good team at Wrigley Field, 10-3 entering this series. These pitching matchups look generally favorable to the Cubs. Two of three.