Cubs look to extend NL Central lead over Brewers

Both National League Central rivals know that mid-June is far too early to call the division, but the first-place Chicago Cubs and the visiting Milwaukee Brewers also know that the upcoming three-game set could go a long way in determining the winner at season's end.

Chicago enters the series opener on Tuesday with a 5 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee, while the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds each sit seven games behind the Cubs.

The Cubs, who are just one game back of the New York Mets for the National League's best record, recently took three of four at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chicago has averaged the second-most runs in the majors (5.35 per game), but managed just nine runs across the four games against Pittsburgh.

"We kind of expected a low-scoring series and that means you have to make plays on defense and you have to throw strikes," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "Those things get highlighted and emphasized in a series like that.

"Sometimes you're not going to swing the bat as well as you have, and that's part of it. You have to find other ways to win and I think we made a number of winning plays."

The Chicago pitching staff allowed just seven runs in the series win, lowering the team ERA to 3.57 -- good for fourth in the National League. It's a trend that Ben Brown (3-5, 5.71 ERA) hopes to continue on Tuesday when the right-hander makes his 15th appearance (13th start) of the season.

Brown allowed six runs on eight hits across 5 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. He is in the midst of a seven-start winless streak, having last recorded a victory against the Brewers on May 2, when he struck out four over six scoreless innings.

In two career starts against Milwaukee, Brown has allowed four hits and no runs.

The Brewers will begin a six-game road trip at Wrigley Field before finishing the week in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins. Milwaukee also took three of four in division play over the weekend, securing a home series win over the Cardinals with a 3-2 victory on Sunday.

Despite the recent success and sitting just 1 1/2 games out of the last NL Wild Card spot, Brewers manager Pat Murphy still thinks his team hasn't hit its stride -- yet.

"We're not clicking. We're still young, still figuring things out," Murphy said. "But this is a group with the right dudes and that's why they play to win."

Rookie Chad Patrick (3-6, 3.25 ERA) is scheduled to make the 15th start of his big-league career on Tuesday and, like Brown, will aim to post his first win in the month of June.

Patrick surrendered five earned runs on seven hits against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday and suffered a 6-2 loss despite striking out a season-high eight batters. Patrick, Arizona's fourth-round draft pick in 2021, will face the Cubs for the first time.

--Field Level Media