NL Central Discussion 2026

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

2 minutes ago, RWeeksFan23 said:

Not gonna lie fellas, I'm getting nervous about the Cubs.

They're about to sweep the dodgers. They have an elite offense, elite defense, and now have a very respectable pitching staff. 

Yep. I'll honestly be surprised if the Brewers can hold them off for the Central. Having guys who can mash saves so much stress on the pitching, we don't have that luxury. 

[wiguy94]

Not that concerned. Brewers still have 7 games against them. If Cubs cut the gap in August we still have those head to head games to regain the ground.

[wibadgers23]

Their offense is really good (much better than ours IMO) and it appears as though they have their pitching under control now. This is gonna be a dogfight until the end.

[RWeeksFan23]

2 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Not that concerned. Brewers still have 7 games against them. If Cubs cut the gap in August we still have those head to head games to regain the ground.

problem is we have to WIN those head-to-head games. 

Those seven games are going to be huge.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 minute ago, RWeeksFan23 said:

problem is we have to WIN those head-to-head games. 

Those seven games are going to be huge.

Isn't that more of the mindset THEY should be having?

[wiguy94]

Cubs offense has been playing way over it's underlying numbers for two months now. Since June 1st they have a .315 xwOBA compared to a .344 wOBA. On the season their .322 xwOBA is only one point better than the Brewers .321 xwOBA. I think people are getting caught up with a Cubs offensive hot streak and a Brewers offensive cold streak and think that's what is actually real and not that it's just the ebbs and flows of an MLB season

[Brian]

On 7/27/2026 at 3:46 PM, formerlybis said:

I really don't follow the Cubs that closely - he must have been really bad on a team that is starving for arms (or at least that was the impression I had). Or, are some of their injured guys coming back now?

Well, his ERA was just about 6.00 but it looks like the Blue Jays picked him up already. 

[Turning2]

10 minutes ago, RWeeksFan23 said:

problem is we have to WIN those head-to-head games. 

Those seven games are going to be huge.

Also have to consider the upcoming series with LA too. They could easily fall into second if the bats don't start  start waking up with some power and consistent contact

[tmwiese55]

Yes, I don't consider this over at all.   With what they went through with pitching injuries May/June-ish they could easily be buried right now. Instead they scratched their way along to hang in it and now it could be a really good race.   We have a fairly tough schedule between now and playing them on 8/31.  They have what would be considered medium schedule between now and then, easier than ours.     I wouldn't call myself 'worried' exactly, but its definitely still possible. hopefully put together one more hot streak soon to stretch it back out and kind of put it to bed. 

Sure would be nice if LAD somehow steals this game. 

[Brian]

4 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

Yes, I don't consider this over at all.   With what they went through with pitching injuries May/June-ish they could easily be buried right now. Instead they scratched their way along to hang in it and now it could be a really good race.   We have a fairly tough schedule between now and playing them on 8/31.  They have what would be considered medium schedule between now and then, easier than ours.

Sure would be nice if LAD somehow steals this game. 

There game is not over yet, LA 6 , Chi 7 in the 8th. 

[Frisbee Slider]

If the Cubs play .600 ball the rest of the way and the Brewers play .500 ball, Milwaukee still wins the division.

Brewers are ahead by two games in the tiebreaker, which we of course know to be worth bonus points, too.

 

[Brian]

2 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

If the Cubs play .600 ball the rest of the way and the Brewers play .500 ball, Milwaukee still wins the division.

Brewers are ahead by two games in the tiebreaker, which we of course know to be worth bonus points, too.

 

Sure hope Brewers play better than .500  I do realize that was just an example. 

[Frisbee Slider]

1 minute ago, Brian said:

Sure hope Brewers play better than .500  I do realize that was just an example. 

I agree. The Cubs would really have to play extraordinary and the wheels would completely fall off in Milwaukee for the division champions to be Chicago

[Day]

Looks like it’s the cubs not the dodgers we need to worry about 

[MilwaukeeBeers]

I just can't believe PCA is on this big of a heater. It defies convention. It is incredibly annoying he went from a below average hitter to this basically overnight by shifting closer to the plate. League needs to adjust and give him some chin music and get him uncomfortable. He still has no power to the opposite field. Basically all the damage is pullside.

[owbc]

The Cubs were facing Eric Lauer today who won't sniff the Dodgers' postseason rotation. How did our 6-0 record against LA work out for us last postseason?

That said, the Cubs are probably one of the best 5 teams in MLB. Possibly one of the best 3. 

 

 

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, owbc said:

The Cubs were facing Eric Lauer today who won't sniff the Dodgers' postseason rotation.

Yet another reason to hate those sandbagging SOBs

[sveumrules]

37 Series Down, 15 Series Remain. So far the Brewers Series Record for the season is 25 W - 10 L - 2 T.

Individual Series Results are...

3 W - 0 L (x7)
4 W - 1 L (x1)
3 W - 1 L (x2)
2 W - 1 L (x15)
2 W - 2 L (x1)
1 W - 1 L (x1)
1 W - 2 L (x8)
0 W - 3 L (x2)

32 of the Series have been of the standard three game variety with the Brewers sitting +15 Wins on Sweeps (21 W - 6 L) and +7 Wins on Splits (38 W - 31 L). 

For the five oddball series that were 2, 4, or 5 games long the Brewers have come out another +7 Wins ahead (13 W - 6 L).

Since their six game and four game losing streaks between April 7th and April 25th the Brewers have lost two games in a row on eight different occasions answering back with a 6 W - 2 L record in the following third games minimizing prolonged losing streaks over these last 89 games en route to a 59 W - 30 L record (.663 W% | 107 Win full season pace) that is five games ahead of the Red Sox (5.5 games ahead of the Rays, 6.0 games ahead of the Phillies, 7.0 games ahead of the Braves, 7.5 games ahead of the Dodgers, 9.0 games ahead of the Cubs) for the best mark in MLB over that stretch.

Even during these last almost two months now since June 9th where the offense has been closer to an average scoring unit than their Top Five seasonal ranking they've run off a 31 W - 20 L record good for a .608 W% and 98 Win full season pace.

Meanwhile the Cubs have been playing way over their heads during that same stretch (3.79 ERA vs 4.67 xERA vs 4.80 FIP and .350 actual wOBA vs .317 xwOBA) yet have only managed to pick up 2.5 games with their corresponding 33 W - 17 L record.

[bm1090]

We’re at our high water mark of the season, ahead by 5.5 games, and we have the best record in baseball.

 

We’re in a great spot. No use in worrying.

[Brewcrew82]

Some context for those who claim the Cubs have a much better offense than the Brewers.....Not really true.

 

 

[homer]

Must be frustrating for Cubs' fans to see their team go 36 - 21 in their last 57 contests and only pick up a game in the standings.

[liveforoctober]

2 minutes ago, homer said:

Must be frustrating for Cubs' fans to see their team go 36 - 21 in their last 57 contests and only pick up a game in the standings.

Optically is interesting too because I think a lot of Brewers' fans would say the Cubs are red hot right now and a lot of Brewers' fans would say the Brewers are limping along.

[homer]

39 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

Optically is interesting too because I think a lot of Brewers' fans would say the Cubs are red hot right now and a lot of Brewers' fans would say the Brewers are limping along.

Yeah almost one month ago (July 12) the Cubs were actually a 1/2 game closer. The lead has never been below 5 games and has never been more than 7.5 (for a day) since the beginning of July.