The Sports Xchange
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn’t worried about scoreboard-watching just yet, but his team can pick up a game in the standings when the Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers for a make-up contest Thursday afternoon. The Brewers lead the National League Central by 3 1/2 games over the defending World Series champions.
The upstart Brewers have shown no signs of fading, as they completed a three-game sweep of visiting Baltimore on Wednesday and have won six of their last seven to match their high-water mark for the season at seven games over .500.
Maddon isn’t concerned that Milwaukee holds its biggest division lead so far this season, in part because he knows the teams meet 10 more times after Thursday’s clash, providing plenty of opportunities to make up ground.
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“I don’t worry about what the other teams are doing,” Maddon told reporters. “I know we’re a couple games back, but that’s not a concern because I do believe if we play our game, it will take care of itself.” The Cubs lead the season series 5-3 and have outscored the Brewers 54-41.
TV: 1:20 p.m., MLB Network, FSN Wisconsin.
Pitching matchup
Brewers RH Zach Davies (9-4, 5.03 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Mike Montgomery (1-5, 2.80)
Davies has won his last two starts and four of his last five decisions. The 24-year-old was dinged for four early runs last time out against Miami, but he retired the last 10 batters he faced and the Brewers rallied to earn him the win. Davies lost to the Cubs on April 9 in Milwaukee, allowing five runs and seven hits over five innings, and is 3-3 with a 4.91 ERA in six career meetings.
Montgomery has pitched at least six innings in three straight outings, but he has lost his last two starts. The 28-year-old recorded a season-high seven strikeouts last time out at Cincinnati, but he gave up four runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 5-0 defeat. Montgomery has faced the Brewers four times in relief this season, going 0-2 and allowing four earned runs over eight innings.
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Walk-offs
1. Milwaukee 3B Travis Shaw has gone 54 consecutive games without an error, the third-longest single-season streak for a third baseman in franchise history.
2. Cubs OF/2B Ian Happ is 10-for-28 with six RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games.
3. Brewers LF Ryan Braun is a career .344 hitter at Wrigley Field with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs in 69 games.
PREDICTION: Cubs 5, Brewers 4.
