On The Horizon: Cubs vs. Brewers series preview

The Cubs split six games with the Brewers in April, winning two of three in Wrigley, losing two of three in Milwaukee.

That would have been seven games but for the April 8 rainout. That game’s being made up as part of Monday’s doubleheader.

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

The Brewers have been extremely hot-and-cold as of late, and much of that can be attributed to the injury bug. After making it through much of April unscathed, it seems like somebody has gotten injured in almost every game over the past two weeks.

Between shortstop Willy Adames (sprained ankle), outfielder Hunter Renfroe (hamstring strain), starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (right shoulder strain), reliever Jandel Gustave (hamstring strain) and reliever Luis Perdomo (right elbow effusion), the Brewers look much different than they did heading into May. The icing on the cake is starter Brandon Woodruff exited his start against the Cardinals on Friday with right ankle discomfort, so his availability for this series is up in the air.

The injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the Brewers are in the midst of playing 18 games in 17 days, including a 10-day, 11-game road trip. They’ve held their own against tough opponents in the Padres and Cardinals on the trip so far, going 3-3 entering Sunday’s series finale against the Cards. With all of the injuries, the team hasn’t been very consistent on either side of the ball, but especially offensively, as they’ve failed to score more than four runs in a game since last Saturday.

Fun fact

The Cubs are one of only three teams the Brewers have played more than once this year against whom Milwaukee doesn’t have a winning record (they’re 0-1 vs. the Giants). The Cubs and Braves are 3-3 against the Brewers and the Cardinals are 4-4.

Pitching matchups

Monday, Game 1: Matt Swarmer, RHP (MLB debut) vs. Ethan Small, LHP (MLB debut)

Monday, Game 2: Drew Smyly, LHP (2-5, 4.08 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 4.96 FIP vs. Aaron Ashby, LHP (0-3, 2.91 ERA, 1.353 WHIP, 3.47 FIP)

Tuesday: Justin Steele, LHP (1-5, 5.40 ERA, 1.600 WHIP, 3.23 FIP) vs. Eric Lauer, LHP (5-1, 2.31 ERA, 1.007 WHIP, 3.58 FIP

Wednesday: Kyle Hendricks, RHP (2-5, 5.20 ERA, 1.342 WHIP, 5.64 FIP) vs. TBD

Times & TV channels

Monday, Game 1: 12:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network, MLB Network (outside Cubs and Brewers market territories)

Monday, Game 2: 6:40 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Tuesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Wednesday: 7:05 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

The Cubs played pretty well over the weekend in splitting a pair with the White Sox, and as noted above, the Brewers have had a lot of injuries recently and aren’t scoring a lot of runs. I think the Cubs can split these four games.

Up next

The Cubs host the Cardinals in a five (!) -game series beginning Thursday evening. This includes a split doubleheader Saturday.