Chicago, May 18, 2026, 18:04 CDT
The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are set to clash again Monday at Wrigley Field—their first faceoff since Milwaukee knocked out Chicago in last October’s five-game NL Division Series. Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner shrugged it off as a “new season.” Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers, on the other hand, didn’t downplay it: “it’s not a big series.” Mlb
It’s about when this happened. Chicago started the day at 29-18, leading the NL Central. Milwaukee was 26-18, trailing by a game and a half. St. Louis, same deal—also 1-1/2 games behind. Not late in the season, but these numbers already matter.
Milwaukee is heading into a tough patch in the National League chase. As Brew Crew Ball pointed out, the Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Padres were jammed up within 1-1/2 games of each other. Coming off their series with the Padres last week, the Brewers are set to face three of those squads over their next nine games.
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CT. According to MLB’s lineup page, Brandon Sproat (1-2, 5.75 ERA) gets the start for Milwaukee, while Chicago turns to Shota Imanaga (4-3, 2.32 ERA). ERA tracks the average number of earned runs a pitcher gives up over nine innings.
The Cubs look like they might have the advantage in Game 1, at least on the stat sheet. Still, it’s not straightforward. Brew Crew Ball points out Imanaga’s 5.73 ERA over four starts facing Milwaukee, and Sproat hasn’t pitched against Chicago before—this will be his first shot.
Look at the split: Milwaukee’s got 30 homers and a 3.29 ERA, per Fox Sports, while Chicago stands at 57 homers and a 3.99 ERA. Cubs hit harder; Brewers pitch tighter.
The Brewers got Christian Yelich back Sunday—he wasted no time, hitting a home run in their 5-4 loss at Minnesota. Manager Pat Murphy said Yelich looked “closer to really being on time and on it.” Still, Milwaukee managed just one hit in 14 chances with runners in scoring position. That 1-for-14 is not going to play well in a close series. Mlb
Chicago managed to carve out its own momentum, despite a turbulent week. The Cubs notched their second 10-game winning streak of 2026 earlier this month—the first season they’ve done that since 1935. Manager Craig Counsell put it simply: the goal is to “stack up wins” in a long season full of headwinds. AP News
The weekend brought some hurdles. The Cubs dropped a 9-8 game in 10 innings to the White Sox on Sunday, Reuters said. The Brewers, meanwhile, took a 5-4 loss against the Twins—just their second defeat in the past 10 games.
The mood shifts at Wrigley Field. Bleed Cubbie Blue pointed out the Cubs are riding a 15-game win streak on their own turf, holding an 18-5 record at home. Milwaukee, for their part, entered with an 11-9 record on the road.
The arms are where things get dicey. With the Cubs, injury has forced them to dig deep into their pitching reserves, and the Brewers aren’t much better off—Brandon Woodruff, Quinn Priester, Jared Koenig, and Angel Zerpa are all sidelined. In a three-game set, any cracks in middle relief can swing momentum fast, even before Tuesday’s scheduled Jacob Misiorowski-Ben Brown faceoff.
This May series drags an October memory behind it. Nothing settled yet—not your typical stretch, either.
