Cubs vs Brewers — On April 26, the Chicago Cubs were eight games over .500 and mostly cruising *despite* multiple significant absences/injuries to key players on the roster. One month later, they’re mostly healed up, but are now just one game over .500 and tied in the loss column with the Cardinals. It has been bruuuuuuuutal.
But it’s still early in the season and they have a PERFECT opportunity to make up some ground this week with four games against the team directly ahead of them in the standings. In fact, if the Cubs were to sweep the Brewers, they’d be in sole possession of first place. So let’s not pretend like the season is over just yet.
The vibes are awful, and the offense is completed missing – there’s no denying that. But a good week against Milwaukee can turn a lot around, especially because the Cubs face the Reds, White Sox, and Reds again immediately after. Make up some ground against the Brewers and then take care of business against bad teams and we’ll all be feeling fine again.
Of particular interest this series …
Justin Steele – Steele’s last start looks really bad by the numbers, but remember, that was mostly circumstantial. Had Kyle Hendricks not been booted from the rotation, Ben Brown would have been available to relieve Steele after 6.0 strong innings against the Braves. Instead, he came back out and then Jose Cuas allowed a couple of his runs to score and the final line looked much worse than it really was.
Ian Happ – In the nine games since Craig Counsell say Ian Happ down for a couple days, the Cubs left fielder has three doubles, three homers, and a .250/.344/.679 (183 wRC+) slash line with a 12.5% walk rate. PLEASE let him have figured something out, because his slump was as deep and frustrating as anyone on the team.
Dansby Swanson – Swanson has five hits and a walk since coming off the IL, good for a league average line over five games. Do that over a full season, with his typical defense, and it’s probably a fine year overall.
Mike Tauchman – Tauchman is still humming along, with three multi-hit games in his last four.
Cubs vs Brewers – Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Monday, May 27 at 3:10 CT at American Family Field Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Cubs: Justin Steele, LHP
Brewers: Robert Gasser, LHP
Game 2: Tuesday, May 28 at 6:40 CT at American Family Field Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Cubs: Ben Brown, RHP
Brewers: TBD…
Game 3: Wednesday, May 29 at 6:40 CT at American Family Field Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, 670 The Score
Cubs: Shota Imanaga, LHP
Brewers: Freddy Peralta, RHP
Game 4: Wednesday, May 30 at 12:10 CT at American Family Field Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score
Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL.
In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy.
You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami
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