Brewers at Cubs
For the second straight weekend, the Chicago Cubs find themselves facing a division rival with the National League Central lead on the line. The division-leading Cubs hope to add to their one-game lead over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers when the teams begin a three-game series Friday.
Chicago sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have heated up after slow starts and both went deep in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Miami. The Cubs have won 10 of their last 11 to lay claim to the second-best record in the National League and the stretch includes last weekend's three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs can only hope a day off might help cool Christian Yelich’s bat, as the reigning NL MVP smashed his league-leading 16th homer in Wednesday’s 7-3 win over visiting Washington. The Brewers won the final six games of their 10-game homestand and are a season-high seven games above .500.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers LH Gio Gonzalez (0-0, 2.61 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Jose Quintana (4-1, 3.40)
Gonzalez has solidified Milwaukee’s rotation since rejoining the club in late April. The 33-year-old has been fairly efficient — he needed only 87 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball Saturday against the New York Mets. Gonzalez is 3-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts against the Cubs.
The Cubs have won each of Quintana’s last five starts, and he has earned the win in four of them while posting a 1.93 ERA over that stretch. The 30-year-old beat St. Louis last time out, allowing two runs over six innings for his fourth quality start in five outings. Quintana is 6-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 12 starts against the Brewers, but he was tagged for eight runs over three innings in a loss at Milwaukee on April 5.
WALK-OFFS
1. Chicago C Willson Contreras (11-for-30, three homers) and SS Javier Baez (12-for-31, two homers) are riding eight-game hitting streaks.
2. Brewers INF Mike Moustakas is 10-for-35 with two homers during a seven-game hitting streak.
3. Cubs INF Daniel Descalso (ankle) was out of the lineup Thursday but was used as a pinch-hitter and hopes to return to full strength during the series against Milwaukee.