A week ago, the NL Central looked like it might be tightening into a real September-style scramble. Now the Brewers have shoved the door back open.
Milwaukee was swept by the San Diego Padres from Aug. 10 through Aug. 12, and that stumble gave the Chicago Cubs a chance to close the gap. The Cubs were surging then, while the Brewers looked vulnerable. Since that series, though, Milwaukee has flipped the script completely.
The Brewers have gone 7-2 since the Padres sweep, and the run has been especially valuable because it came against top-tier competition. Milwaukee took three of four from the Los Angeles Dodgers, then opened a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves by winning the first two games, with the finale set for Sunday.
Chicago, meanwhile, has gone the other way. The Cubs have dropped three straight, including a crushing walk-off loss to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. Randy Arozarena came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with Seattle trailing by one, then ended it with a two-run walk-off homer.
“LEADOFF HOMER ➡️ WALK-OFF HOMERRANDY AROZARENA WINS IT FOR THE @MARINERS! pic.twitter.com/iCYCRYwo4u”
That result left the Cubs at 74-56. Milwaukee sits at 81-49.
The standings gap now sits at seven games, giving the Brewers their biggest division lead since July 26, according to Hunter Baumgardt of Fox Sports 920.
“The Brewers lead the NL Central by 7 games for the first time since July 26th,” Baumgardt wrote. “The Cubs were up 4-2 with 2 outs in the 9th inning tonight, but lost.”
For a few days, Chicago had managed to make the race feel alive again, trimming Milwaukee’s cushion to under five games. That window has closed for now, and the Brewers’ lead is back to its largest point in roughly a month.
There’s still time left, and the teams still have two more series against each other before the season ends. But with about five weeks to go in the 2026 MLB season, Milwaukee is clearly in control. Barring a collapse, the Brewers are in position to claim their fourth straight National League Central title.
Milwaukee hit a rough patch earlier in August. That’s what opened the door. Now the Brewers have slammed it shut again.
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