Brewers need offense to wake up in series vs. Cubs
The Milwaukee Brewers have had a hard time against the Chicago Cubs this season. In fact, they haven't beaten them in their last two series.
The Brewers are 0-7 against the Cubs in their last seven games, being swept in a three-game series in Chicago in mid-August and a four-game home series a couple weeks before that.
One of the main reasons for the struggles? Offensive impotence. The Brewers haven't scored more than three runs against the Cubs since May.
For Chicago, the seven-game win streak without allowing more than three runs in each contest against Milwaukee is tied for its longest such streak against a divisional opponent in franchise history.
The Brewers offense has been productive recently, even if the team hasn't had much to show for it in the win column. Milwaukee is averaging 5.11 runs per game in September, but has a record of just 8-11. Still, their clutch hitting is encouraging, as they lead the NL with a .289 batting average with runners in scoring position since the beginning of the month.
NL, Highest Team BA w/ RISP -- September 2015
| Team | Avg. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | .289 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | .287 |
| Washington Nationals | .273 |
| Colorado Rockies | .264 |
| Miami Marlins | .264 |
Khris Davis has been leading the offensive charge, putting up numbers that rival some of the best hitters in the majors. Davis is one of five plays in baseball with at least 15 walks, 15 home runs and 30 RBI since the start of August.
Players w/ 15+ BB, 15+ HR & 30+ RBI -- Since 8/1/2015
| Player, team | BB | HR | RBI |
| Jose Bautista, Toronto | 31 | 15 | 36 |
| Chris Davis, Baltimore | 31 | 18 | 39 |
| Khris Davis, Milwaukee | 17 | 15 | 36 |
| Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto | 19 | 15 | 47 |
| David Ortiz, Boston | 24 | 15 | 40 |
The first game of the series, though, should be another pitchers duel. Brewers starter Wily Peralta has struck out 19 batters while giving up only two runs in his last two outings against the Cubs, which is one of the best two-game spans in the league versus Chicago's Northsiders.
But opposing Peralta on Monday night is Jason Hammel, who has owned Milwaukee in his career, going 7-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts against the Brewers. That's historic-level dominance.
Undefeated w/ sub-2.20 ERA vs. any opponent -- since 1985
| Pitcher | Opponent | W-L | ERA |
| Chris Carpenter | vs. Dodgers | 6-0 | 1.52 |
| Randy Johnson | vs. Cubs | 13-0 | 1.91 |
| Marco Estrada | vs. Pirates | 6-0 | 1.95 |
| Randy Tomlin | vs. Mets | 9-0 | 2.05 |
| Jason Hammel | vs. Brewers | 7-0 | 2.13 |
