Milwaukee Brewers 3rd straight loss to the Cubs could bite the club later on 4 Aug 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz (3) tags out Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) at second base during the eight inning of the game one of the doubleheader at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Milwaukee Brewers 3rd straight loss to the Cubs could bite the club later on

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By Tyler Koerth_ | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 11:06 PM ET

For the first time since May 7–10, the Milwaukee Brewers have dropped three straight games, this time over just two days. The skid began with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, followed by a tightly contested loss on Wednesday night.

The two teams will wrap up their five-games-in-four-days series on Thursday, August 21, marking their final regular season meeting of 2025. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the outcome won’t impact the season series as Chicago clinched that with Wednesday’s win.

Why is the Chicago Cubs winning the season series against the Milwaukee Brewers important?

Unlike in 2018, when the Brewers and Cubs finished the regular season with identical records and had to play a Game 163 tiebreaker to determine the division winner, Major League Baseball has since eliminated that format. Now, ties are broken based on head-to-head records, giving the edge to whichever team won the season series.

This means that if Milwaukee and Chicago finish with the same number of wins and losses at the end of 162 game this year, that Chicago would be crowned the division winner and would get the higher seed in the playoffs.

Chicago winning the season series also means that for the remainder of the season, any lead Milwaukee holds in the NL Central is effectively one game smaller than what the standings show, because they can’t afford to finish tied with the Cubs. For example, after Wednesday’s loss, the Brewers had a six-game lead in the standings, but in reality, it functions more like a five-game cushion, since a tie would hand the division to Chicago.

Christian Yelich rallies Brewers after Reds snap record-breaking streak 3 Aug 16, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Andruw Monasterio (14) high fives teammates after the victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

With the season series tiebreaker now in Chicago’s hands, the pressure is on Milwaukee to maintain, or extend, their lead down the stretch. Every game matters just a little more now, as even a seemingly comfortable advantage could vanish with a poor stretch of play. Fortunately for the Brewers, their team has shown resilience all season long. If they can stay focused and finish strong, they’ll leave no doubt about who belongs at the top of the NL Central.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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