Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers – Series Preview (June 17-19): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (44-28) took three of four from the Pirates at Wrigley Field to win the series after dropping their last two in Detroit and Philly. Chicago prevailed using pitching and defense this weekend, outscoring their opponents by a very narrow 9-7 margin. Now the Brewers travel to the Friendly Confines for an important division series starting Tuesday.
Milwaukee (39-34) has moved into second place after winning a four-game set from the Cardinals at home this weekend. They were hovering below .500 before a seven-game winning streak at the end of May got them back into the race. This is a chance for them to get close to the Cubs if they can sweep the series.
The Brew Crew’s pitching has been decent but not great with a team ERA of 3.78 that sits 13th in baseball. In a big change from the last few seasons, the starting rotation has been better than the bullpen. Freddy Peralta is having an excellent year and the Brewers have just called up top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski, who will make his second career start on Wednesday.
Trevor Megill is the closer, but he is not as dominant as previous Brewers firemen like Josh Hader or Devin Williams. The rest of the relievers have struggled at times and the unit has a 4.28 ERA, which is 21st in MLB.
Milwaukee has really scuffled at times offensively with 65 home runs and a .677 team OPS, both of which are among the 10 worst in baseball. Christian Yelich has found his power stroke with a team-high 14 homers, but his 110 wRC+ tells us he’s not doing much else offensively. Rhys Hoskins and speedy outfielder Sal Frelick are two other threats lurking in the lineup.
The North Siders have a chance to put even more distance between themselves and the rest of the division if they can win this series. They have managed to win games despite not playing their best baseball, so now would be a great time for them to kick it into gear and keep the Crew down.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, June 17 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, June 18 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Thursday, June 19 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 6/17 | Ben Brown | 25 | R | 5.71 | 3-5 | 3.30 | 3.61 |
| Chad Patrick | 26 | R | 3.25 | 3-6 | 3.47 | 2.96 | |
| 6/18 | Jameson Taillon | 33 | R | 3.48 | 7-3 | 4.60 | 4.06 |
| Jacob Misiorowski | 23 | R | 0.00 | 1–0 | 3.47 | 1.25 | |
| 6/19 | Cade Horton | 23 | R | 3.47 | 3-1 | 3.63 | 3.73 |
| Freddy Peralta | 29 | R | 2.60 | 6–4 | 3.76 | 2.63 |
What to Watch For
- The Cubs are averaging just 2.9 runs per game over their last 10.
- Matt Shaw is 1-18 in his last five starts and he did not play on Sunday.
- Ryan Pressly has not allowed a run in his last 16 appearances and is working his way back into a high-leverage role.
- This is a rare series where Chicago will not face a left-handed starter.
