Updated September 1, 2026
The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs are back at it Tuesday night for Game 2 of their four-game series at Wrigley Field. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CDT, with Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.59 ERA) getting the start for Milwaukee against fellow lefty Matthew Boyd (8-3, 3.99 ERA).
Chicago couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the series, blowing out the Brewers 17-3 on Monday to cut Milwaukee’s NL Central lead to seven games. And with these two teams still set to play six more times over the next nine days, maybe this division race isn’t quite over yet.
Can the Cubs keep things rolling Tuesday, or will Milwaukee bounce back after an ugly series opener? Let’s make a prediction for Tuesday night and preview some of the biggest storylines to watch in Game 2.
I’m taking the Cubs to win at 54¢ on Polymarket on Tuesday evening, building off the momentum from yesterday’s dominant win over Milwaukee.
There’s just no way I’m stepping in front of this Chicago offense right now. The Cubs are averaging more than 9.6 runs per game over their last eight, and they’ve been especially dangerous against left-handed pitching this season. Chicago has an MLB-best .822 OPS against lefties and has also hit 59 home runs against them, tied for the most in baseball. That’s obviously worth keeping in mind with Robert Gasser, another lefty, on the mound for Milwaukee.
On top of that, there’s the motivational angle. The Cubs are tied with Philadelphia for the top Wild Card spot right now, and after going through a bit of a funk recently, they’ll be looking to make a statement against a division rival that also happens to have the best record in baseball. Monday’s victory was certainly a good start.
For more data and analysis on Tuesday’s game, check out our Brewers vs Cubs matchup page, where the ATS Quantitative Model likes Under 10.5 as its top prediction with a 3.6% model edge.
The Cubs took Game 1 of the series in dominant fashion, and this one was never really in doubt. Chicago scored four runs against lefty Kyle Harrison in the first inning, added two more in the second and three in the fourth to jump out to a 9-0 lead.
Things eventually got so out of hand that Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn was called on to finish the game on the mound, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits over two innings.
Despite a relatively quiet night from NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong, who went just 1-for-5 with one run scored, Chicago had more than enough offense elsewhere, setting a franchise record with nine home runs. Veteran third baseman Alex Bregman put on a show with three of them on a night when the wind was blowing out to center at around 10 mph and reached as high as 23 mph. Tyrone Taylor also chipped in with four hits, including a home run, and three RBIs.
Clay Holmes took care of the rest, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. It all added up to a 17-3 Cubs win and about as convincing a start to this four-game series as Chicago could have hoped for.
We’ll see a pair of lefties square off Tuesday night, with Robert Gasser getting the start for Milwaukee against Matthew Boyd for Chicago. Neither pitcher enters this matchup in particularly great form.
Gasser finished August with a 4.32 ERA and 1.60 WHIP, although the Brewers still managed to win four of his five starts during the month. Boyd wasn’t any better, posting a 5.23 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in August, with the Cubs losing each of his final three starts to close out the month.
It’s also worth noting that both pitchers tend to give up plenty of balls in the air. According to Baseball Savant, roughly 67% of the balls put in play against Gasser this season have been hit in the air. Boyd, meanwhile, relies heavily on his four-seam fastball, throwing it around 45-46% of the time, which can lead to plenty of elevated contact.
That could be something to watch at Wrigley, where the wind is expected to be blowing out again Tuesday night at around 7-10 mph. It shouldn’t be quite as strong as what we saw during Monday’s home run barrage, but with two pitchers who can give up their fair share of fly balls, the conditions could still make things interesting.
The Cubs still have plenty of work to do if they want to make this an actual race in the NL Central. Polymarket currently gives Chicago just a 5-6% chance to win the division, with “Yes” trading at around 5¢ and “No” at 97¢.
Chicago enters Tuesday at 78-60, seven games behind the 85-53 Brewers with just 24 games remaining for each team. That’s obviously a lot of ground to make up in not much time, but an improbable comeback becomes a little more realistic when you consider how often these teams are about to see each other.
Six of Chicago’s next nine games are against Milwaukee, including the final three games of this series at Wrigley. The Cubs will then head to Miami for the weekend before traveling to Milwaukee for another three-game series that wraps up next Wednesday, September 9.
That certainly gives Chicago a chance to make things interesting. A few more wins like Monday’s could put some real pressure on Milwaukee, while a rough stretch against the Brewers would probably put any remaining division hopes to bed.
For more analysis throughout the stretch run, check out our daily MLB picks and predictions for the latest games around the league.
