After taking an electric series victory against the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs now head to American Family Field to begin a three game series tonight against the Brewers.
Despite their overall 54-71 record, the Cubs are 9-7 against Milwaukee this season.
With their loss yesterday afternoon to the Cardinals, the Cubs consecutive series won streak came to an end at six. However, August has still offered some of the best baseball we have seen from the club all year long.
Second baseman Nick Madrigal and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki have recently headlined a Chicago offense that has seen their usual power bats struggling in the batter’s box of late.
Madrigal had a quieter series at the plate this past week against the Cardinals but appeared to see the ball well against Milwaukee last weekend. The second basemen went 6-for-13 at the plate and scored three runs.
Suzuki has hit just .222 this month but has collected eight hits in his last seven games. Last weekend against the Brewers he led the offense with a stellar 1.488 OPS while collecting three extra-base hits.
After beginning the month scorching hot at the plate, Nico Hoerner will look to get back on track this series. Chiacgo's shortstop found himself mired in a shocking 25 AB hitless streak before a 3-for-4 performance against the Cardinals on Wednesday night.
While Drew Smyly takes the mound for Chicago on Saturday, and Adrian Sampson Sunday, left-handed pitcher Justin Steele toes the rubber on Friday night against Brewers starter Freddy Peralta.
Steele will be making his sixth start this season against the Crew, as he looks to continue an already dominant month on the mound. He has a 2.11 ERA against Milwaukee this year.
Thanks to the left-hander's recent dominance, Chicago is now tied for the 10th-best ERA in the majors this month (3.53.)
The Brewers return home after going 2-4 on their road trip against the Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two series losses total now four in their last six, on par with what has been an abysmal month of baseball for the once NL Central favorites.
At 11 games above .500 at the beginning of August, an 8-13 month record has seen their two-game lead in the division elapse to their rival St. Louis Cardinals. They now find themselves six games out of first and one and a half out of a wild card spot.
For what was considered to be one of the best offenses in the National League, Milwaukee has the lowest batting average in all of baseball this month (.199) and is tied for fifth in the lowest amount of runs scored (81).
Their pitching hasn’t helped either, with the ninth-highest staff ERA in August (4.19).
Beginning the month 20 games under .500, the Cubs' .565 winning percentage in August has offered a boost of excitement to the players and fans. This weekend offers them a chance to continue that stretch, but also play spoiler for a division rival trying to find their footing.
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