Division lead on the line, Misiorowski on the mound: How to watch the Cubs-Brewers series
The Cubs are still one of baseball's best outfits, but they've simmered down across the past two months. They went 13-13 in June and now enter this series at 13-8 in July. Still, tempered Cubs baseball is a sharp offering and a fun watch. Across the past month, the offense is tied for 10th in batting average (.250), tied for sixth in home runs (31) and alone in seventh for OPS (.748). Chicago is ranked No. 3 in all three of those categories for the whole season.
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Craig Counsell's crew arrives in Wisconsin with a 29-24 road record and a plus-70 run differential away from Wrigley Field. Crow-Armstrong is not only a rarified power-speed force but also an awe-inspiring outfielder. Last week, he moved into the 100 percentile for fielding run value, and he has the best defensive range in the sport by outs above average. Fellow All-Star starter Tucker is slumping, though, down to a muddled .200/.337/.271 line in the last 28 days. Elsewhere, Michael Busch is batting just .129 in his last two weeks, with 14 Ks in 35 plate appearances; Nico Hoerner has a .353 average in that same span, with as many stolen bases as strikeouts (3).
Reinforcements may come at the MLB trade deadline, but the Cubs will need a more rounded consistency to lock down a competitive division race.
Milwaukee is loaded with momentum right now, pressuring Chicago out of what originally looked like a comfortable NL Central bid. It followed a resurgent June (16-9) by winning 15 of its first 21 July outings. The Brewers have swept the defending champion Dodgers twice this month, and though their 11-game winning streak ended last Tuesday, Pat Murphy's team is coming into this series with comeback walk-off vibes:
Comeback complete ❕❕❕@theBlakePerkins https://t.co/c5fclQvADg pic.twitter.com/6g7t5Nxk1R
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 27, 2025
Monday's pitching matchup is worthy of headliner status, but so is Wednesday's. The series opens with remade lefty Matthew Boyd (11-3, 2.20 ERA). He's in the 96 percentile for pitching run value and has been remarkably disciplined in his walk rate, currently on a streak of three total free passes in 33 innings. He's matched by the hyped RHP newcomer Misiorowski, who has a fastball clocking in above 101 mph and a slider that does unholy things to opposing batters.
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Wednesday's probables are southpaw Shota Imanaga (7-4, 3.12 ERA) and mainstay ace Freddy Peralta (12-4, 2.81 ERA). The latter leads all NL pitchers with 12 wins, and hitters are a hapless .204 against him this season. With such pitching talent in tow, Milwaukee's airborne home run slide might get a rest this week. But Brewers slugger Christian Yelich (team-best 19 HR) is due for a deep ball, going homer-less since July 11.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Jacob Misiorowski: John Fisher / Getty Images)
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