Something big brewing tonight
Sweet Lou vs. the Brew Crew, CC vs. the Road Woe-iers, the battle of I-94 traffic congestion. . . whatever you want to call the four-game showdown between the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park that starts tonight, just make sure you call it the one thing it is.
Big.
Even though it's still the end of July and not September, the complexion of the NL Central has changed quite a bit in just a short time, making this not only a series between heated division rivals, but a four-round heavyweight fight for the top spot in the Central.
What once seemed like a given - the Cubs winning the division in fairly comfortable fashion -- suddenly isn't such a certainty after the Brewers gained 5 games on the Cubs in their first nine games since the all-star break.
Exactly three months ago, Milwaukee was 2 games out of first. They were 6 out on May 28 and 5 behind just a month ago. But in early July the Brewers stepped up and traded for star pitcher CC Sabathia, and their fortunes turned quickly. They are now only a game out behind the Cubs.
Behind the undefeated Sabathia, the Brewers are one of the hottest teams in baseball, despite losing two of three to Houston over the weekend.
"We're playing great team baseball," Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets told MLB.com. "We're having fun. We're playing like we thought we could. I said at the all-star break that I didn't think we were hot yet.
"I think we're hot now."
How did they get there? Here's a look at some numbers that tell the story:
4: Talk about paying dividends. Since arriving in Milwaukee via trade on July 7, Sabathia has gone 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA. Making it more impressive is the fact that his last 3 wins were complete-game efforts. He's not doing too poorly at the plate either, with a homer and 6 RBI. The Cubs will try to handle CC's BB's in tonight's series opener.
32: Number of wins for the Brewers at Miller Park heading into their weekend series with the Astros. Not a good sign for the Cubs, who have struggled to a 22-30 road mark. Starting with this series, 30 of Milwaukee's final 58 games are at home, including 7 against the Cubs.
8: The number of consecutive victories for the Brewers heading into their weekend series against Houston. That number included 7 straight wins on the road, highlighted by a sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis. The streak wouldn't reach 9 Friday as the Astros won 3-1.
166,000+: Number of fans expected through the turnstiles this week - some no doubt wearing their Cubs blue. But the Milwaukee faithful have come out in droves this year - the Brewers are averaging nearly 33,000 a game and hope to surpass the 3 million mark.
22: If the games are close this week, it figures to be advantage Brewers, who are 22-10 in 1-run games, tops in the major leagues. The Cubs, on the other hand, are 15-17.
20: Courtesy of Ryan Braun's game-winner Thursday in St. Louis, the Brewers homered in 20 consecutive games, a franchise record, before the streak ended Friday against Houston. Entering the weekend, Milwaukee had pounded out 137 home runs compared to 120 for the Cubs.