Brewers vs. Cubs Preview: First Matchup of 2026

[Paul Niemiec]

Almost seven months after the Cubs and Brewers faced off in one of the more exciting NLDS matchups the baseball world has seen recently, the Brewers are heading back to Wrigley Field for their first matchup with the Cubs of the 2026 season. In 2025, these two teams faced off 13 times in the regular season, playing seven of them at Wrigley. The Cubs were victorious in seven of those matchups, with four of those wins being home wins. The main story here is the Cubs’ 15-game winning streak at home, which is the second longest in franchise history (a sweep of the Brewers would tie the 1935 Cubs with 18 home wins in a row). As long as this winning streak continues, the Cubs will have a target on their backs, and there is probably no other team that would love to end this streak than the Brewers. As Saturday’s games concluded, the Cubs are a game and a half up on the Brewers, who have gained significant ground after going 8-2 in their last ten games. 

 

While the Cubs’ roster continues to be impacted by pitcher injuries, the Brewers just got Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio back into their lineup. Even though Christian Yelich is still out, the Brewers have one of the most complete lineups they’ve had all season. An incomplete lineup has still been good enough to be in the top ten in baseball in runs scored and team batting average. A silver lining for the Cubs is that Milwaukee ranks 23rd in runs scored on the road, but the Crew offense still remains one of the better groups in the league, especially with their second baseman looking like an MVP vote recipient. Brice Turang has been a defensive wizard and a good, but not great, staple in the lineup since 2023. The bat broke out last year, where he hit 18 homers with a .794 OPS, but this season is turning into something special. Turang’s .933 OPS ranks ninth in the majors, and he leads his team in batting average, homers, doubles, and tied for lead in home runs. He is already a third of the way to matching his career high in home runs he set last season, and his 2.0 fWAR makes him one of only ten players in baseball to have eclipsed that number so far this season. Outside of Turang, the Brewers have a few other hot hitters. After a brutal start to the campaign, Luis Rengifo has been hitting over .300 in his last ten games. Andrew Vaughn has an OPS over 1.00 since returning from injury, and Jake Bauers has been one of their better hitters all season, and is looking to continue his breakout at age 30. They are also getting help from the lesser known players, as reserve outfielder Brandon Lockridge is coming into the weekend with a .545 batting average in his last four games. Up and down the lineup, the Brewers are hitting, so the Cubs pitching, especially the bullpen, will have their work cut out for them. 

 

As good as the Brewers have been on offense this season, the Cubs have scored the fourth amount of runs in baseball this season. They have 53 homers on the year, which is eighth in baseball, while the Brewers have 27, which is last. As the weather gets consistently warmer, Wrigley becomes more of a hitter's park, and the Cubs lineup is full of guys that can go deep at any time. Their 124 runs scored at home is fourth in baseball, just behind the Brewers, and their .263 batting average at home is sixth. The Cubs desperately need that at-home magic to return, because their current road trip has not gone well. They went 2-4 against the Rangers and Braves before winning the first crosstown game on Friday night. In that span, they are hitting .183 as a team with only three home runs. Nico Hoerner has cooled off significantly in that span, notching only four hits and two walks in 31 plate appearances, “good” for a .138 batting average. Seiya Suzuki has also gone cold, with a .160 average since the road trip started. Dansby Swanson is still hitting under .200 on the season, and with some other bats struggling, this would be the perfect time for his bat to break out. 

 

 

 

Starting Pitching Probables: 

 

Game 1: Brandon Sproat vs. Shota Imanaga

 

The last time the Brewers faced Imanaga, albeit in Milwaukee, they chased him from the game after only 2 2/3rds innings pitched. Andrew Vaughn and William Contreras took him deep and for a minute, that looked like the conclusion to Imanaga’s time as a Cub. A healthy Shota has returned as the Cubs’ ace for 2026, pitching to a 2.32 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in 54 and 1/3rd innings. The Brewers have struggled against left handed pitching this season, ranking 28th in OPS with a .602 mark. The good news is that the right-handed hitting Vaughn and Chourio are back in the lineup, so the Brewers are in a much better position to face one of the better lefties in the game than they were a few weeks ago. Gary Sanchez has a .370 batting average against lefties on the year, so he should factor into game one either as the catcher or DH. If the Brewers can knock Imanaga out of the game somewhat early, they will have the pleasure of facing the Cubs’ injury-plagued bullpen, which ranks 25th in xERA at 4.51. 

 

The Cubs have an easier starting pitching assignment for the first game in rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat. The 25-year-old was one of the main pieces acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade but it hasn’t clicked for him to this point. In 36 innings, Sproat has a 5.75 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts. He has also issued 20 walks, which could spell trouble as the Cubs are second in baseball in walk percentage as a team. The Cubs would need to tack on as many runs early on as they can against Sproat, because the Brewers bullpen has been a strength all season, despite the rocky start for Trevor Megill.  The lefty trio of Aaron Ashby, Shane Drohan, and DL Hall can take Moises Ballesteros out of the game for Matt Shaw, which then stretches the bench depth. The key to victory here for the Cubs would be to ride another dominant Shota start, while touching up Sproat early on, putting less pressure on the bats to score against the bullpen. 

 

Game 2: Jacob Misiorowski vs. Ben Brown

 

Misiorowski vs. Brown is about as David vs. Goliath as you can get, and would be a perfect way to spoil the Cubs’ historic winning streak, should they manage to win game one. In only his second season, Misiorowski has proven to be one of the best starters across the sport. He always had the talent to rise to those levels, but this is happening earlier than many expected. In 51 innings, the Miz has a 2.12 ERA with a league leading 80 strikeouts. Should he stay healthy, a Misiorowski-Ohtani-Skenes Cy Young race seems inevitable. He made his first start in Wrigley last August, giving up three earned runs over four innings. The momentum is on his side for a much better performance this time. 

 

Ben Brown is in the midst of a breakout season after tinkering with his pitch mix in the offseason, pitching to a 1.60 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in 33 2/3rds innings, while striking out 34. He began the season in the bullpen, where he looked like a high leverage pitcher, but has since moved back into the rotation due to the Matt Boyd injury. He has made two starts so far, going four innings in each of them and not allowing a run. The Cubs can feel good about Brown pitching well, but even one run allowed might be enough to fall to Misiorowski and the Milwaukee bullpen. The Brewers have the fourth highest batting average against right handed pitching this year,  but Brown just shut down the Braves, who rank number one. This game should be a starting pitching duel but the Brewers still have the edge. 

 

Game 3: Kyle Harrison vs. Edward Cabrera

 

This could make for a thrilling rubber match should the Cubs win the first game followed by a Misiorowski-propelled Brewer win in game two. Former top left-handed pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, who was acquired in the deal that sent Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monestario to Boston, is set to make his first career start at Wrigley Field. This deal is looking like a win for Milwaukee, as the 24-year-old is pitching like he belongs in the rotation. He has a 2.09 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 48 punch outs across his eight starts (38 2/3rds innings). The Cubs are fourth in batting average and OPS against lefties this season, making this the most likely game of the series to see a Cubs offensive explosion. Harrison will need to pitch especially carefully to Carson Kelly, who has a 1.079 OPS against lefties. PCA could be a trap at the bottom of the lineup, as he has been a reverse-split hitter this season, hitting .279 against southpaws. With the bullpen being a strength for the Brewers, don’t be surprised to see Harrison on a shorter leash, especially if the team struggles against Cabrera.

 

Speaking of Cabrera, he’s pitched into the sixth inning or deeper in four of his nine starts, but he is coming off his shortest outing of the year against the White Sox, the only time he did not finish the fifth inning. The Cubs will need him to rebound and work deeper into the game on Wednesday, limit the walks, and stop the Brewers’ rallies before they can really get started. In other words, get the game to Palencia in ninth without needing to get the whole bullpen involved. Like I mentioned earlier, the Brewers have quite a few players heating up right now, and they aren’t just the stars. The key here is for the Cubs to make the big hitters beat them. They can’t allow extra base runners by letting the bottom of the lineup, which will likely be Sal Frelick, Luis Rengifo, and David Hamilton, beat them with small ball.