The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs close out their four-game set Thursday night, and Milwaukee has a lot more than one win on the line.
Chicago opened the series with a 17-3 rout, but the Brewers have controlled the next two games. Milwaukee answered with a 9-4 win in Game 2 and then followed that with a 9-5 victory on Wednesday. Now the Brewers can take the series and, just as importantly, officially lock up the season series against their National League Central rival.
Right now, Milwaukee leads Chicago 6-3 in the season matchup. There are four games left between the teams, with Thursday night’s game followed by a three-game series from Sep. 7 through Sep.
- If the Brewers lose Thursday, they would still hold a 6-4 edge with three games remaining.
If they win, though, they’d move to a 7-3 advantage and clinch the season series and the tiebreaker.
That matters even with Milwaukee sitting nine games ahead of Chicago in the division standings and only 22 games left to play. The Brewers are in position to avoid needing that tiebreaker altogether unless something dramatic happens over the final three weeks. Still, getting it secured would add one more obstacle between Milwaukee and the Cubs.
If the Brewers do clinch the tiebreaker, Chicago would need to finish at least a game ahead of Milwaukee in the standings to pass them. That turns a nine-game gap into a 10-game swing, which is a tall order this late in the year.
Milwaukee came into the 2026 season as a team with three straight National League Central titles already in hand, and it’s now closing in on a fourth. A win Thursday would only push that closer. The Brewers have handled business in this series so far, and with the best record in baseball, they’re giving their fans plenty to like right now.
In Other News...
Former Brewers Reliever Gets Another Shot To Test Milwaukees Decision
Easton McGees path away from Milwaukee has already taken a few turns since the Brewers designated him for assignment and shipped him to Kansas City in July. He got a brief look with the Royals, then spent most of August in Triple-A, where the results were rough enough to push him back out of the spotlight for a while.
Now he is back on Kansas Citys major league roster as a September call-up, which gives him another chance to show he belongs in an MLB bullpen. For the Brewers, it is the kind of move that keeps a former arm on the radar and quietly reopens the question of whether the organization gave up on him too soon. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Have Found The Tweak Antonio Senzatela Needed
Antonio Senzatelas move to the Brewers has already come with a clearer role and a different pitch mix, but the early returns were uneven. After his transition from the Rockies rotation to the bullpen, he had found more success leaning on a cutter and four-seam fastball, yet Milwaukee initially had him working more with a sinker-cutter combination that did not produce the kind of results the club was hoping for.
The good news for the Brewers is that the answer may have been less about the pitch itself than where he was throwing it from. A later adjustment to Senzatelas position on the mound helped his sinker play better, giving Milwaukee a possible path to a more effective version of the right-hander as it continues to sort out how he fits into the staff. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Deadline Gamble Is Turning Into An October Rotation Problem
When Milwaukee dealt for Dustin May at the deadline, the move was supposed to deepen a rotation the Brewers hoped would hold up into the stretch run. Instead, the right-hander has been searching for answers since arriving, and the early returns have been rough enough to change the tone around what was meant to be a stabilizing addition.
May has posted a 6.41 ERA in five appearances with Milwaukee, part of a season that has already been uneven overall. His 6-9 record and 4.69 ERA underscore why the Brewers were betting on upside when they brought him in, but the performance has not matched the ask, and it now looks unlikely the club will pick up his option for 2027. [Read more 🡒]