Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/31/26): Cubs 17, Brewers 3 – Bregman Leads Way as Team Blasts 9 Homers

The Cubs opened up their series against the Brewers with a bang on Monday night. The home team thrilled the Wrigley faithful with nine home runs en route to a comfortable victory.

Chicago pounced on starter Kyle Harrison in the bottom of the 1st with a two-run homer by Tyrone Taylor that was immediately followed by a Nico Hoerner dinger for a 3-0 lead. An RBI single by Carson Kelly added another run in that frame, and a two-run shot by Alex Bregman made it 6-0 in the bottom of the 2nd.

Clay Holmes did a great job for the fourth consecutive outing, holding the Brewers scoreless over six innings. Seiya Suzuki and Bregman went back-to-back off of Harrison in the 4th, and the starter finally came out of the game later in the frame with the North Siders ahead 9-0.

Milwaukee eventually cracked the scoreboard with a two-run homer by Cooper Pratt in the top of the 7th. Kelly led off the bottom of the frame with a homer, at which point first baseman Andrew Vaughn took over on the mound and got creamed. The position player allowed seven more runs on three homers, including the third of the night for Bregman, and Chicago won 17-3. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs jumped out of the gate to take the lead and kept expanding on it to make sure there would be no comeback.

Why the Cubs Won

Scoring 17 runs means a quality start isn’t necessary to win, but they got one anyway, which made it a very easy victory.

Stats That Matter

• Holmes has allowed a grand total of one run in the last four starts: 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 8 K, and 2 BB.
• Bregman put a cherry on top of his huge August finish with 12 homers.
• Taylor had four total hits in this one.
• Suzuki also reached base four times with a walk and three knocks.

Bottom Line

The Cubs proved once again they can crush anyone when their lineup is on. That includes the team that is currently the best in baseball. It’s just a matter of whether the pitching can do enough to win down the stretch. Holmes’ emergence as a possible top-of-the-rotation guy would really help to make that happen.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 6:40pm CT. Matthew Boyd gets the nod against fellow lefty Robert Gasser in a matchup broadcast on TBS and Marquee with radio coverage on The Score.