The Milwaukee Brewers (63-54, 48-69 RL, 57-51-9 O/U) clash with the Chicago Cubs (49-67, 59-57 RL, 50-58-8 O/U) as the NL Central foes open a three-game series on Friday afternoon. The Brewers will have Aaron Ashby on the mound. The Cubs will reply with Keegan Thompson. The Cubs lead the season series 7-6.
Aaron Ashby will make his 23rd outing of the season. Ashby was solid in his latest effort, limiting a tough Cardinals lineup to only two runs in six innings, resulting in a no-decision in a bout the Brewers lost. The young left-hander has some issues with his control and enters with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP accompanied by a 2-10 record in 91.1 innings. Ashby has conceded only runs in 7.2 innings against the Cubs this season and has allowed nine runs (six earned) in 13.1 career innings.
The Brewers need to take advantage of a bit of an easier portion of the schedule. They now have the Cubs and Pirates in three of their next four series. They won two of four meetings against the Dodgers this week and now trail the Cardinals by three games atop the division.
Tyrone Taylor has been productive against the Cubs this season, driving in six runs in seven games. The 28-year-old is slumping at the plate, amassing a horrible .570 OPS so far this month, and now has 12 big flies with 40 RBIs and a .686 OPS on the season.
The Brewers are averaging 4.50 runs per game, ranking them 10th overall. The pitching staff is carrying a 3.80 team ERA, good for 11th in the big leagues.