Having played for the Milwaukee Brewers his entire career -- and thus in the same division as Chicago -- it should come as no surprise that Ryan Braun is near the top of the active hit leaders against the Cubs.
Braun has compiled 193 hits against Chicago pitchers in his first 12 seasons -- that's his most against any other MLB club and only Albert Pujols (196), formerly of St. Louis, and Yadier Molina (195), longtime Cardinals catcher, have more vs. Chicago among active players. Joey Votto, who has spent his entire career in Cincinnati, is next with 177 and former Pittsburgh standout and current San Francisco outfielder Andrew McCutchen is fifth with 163.
Where does that rank Braun historically? Well, keep in mind there were fewer teams years ago and no interleague play. With stats available beginning in 1908 via baseball-reference.com, 112 players have recorded 200+ hits against the Cubs, with Stan Musial leading the way with 492. The players Braun has to leap over to be No. 113 (at least before Pujols and Molina) are Barry Bonds, Willie McCovey and Jackie Robinson (199), Marty Marion and Curt Walker (198), Jose Cruz, Sherry Magee and Jack Smith (197), Pujols, Bobby Thomson and Honus Wagner (196) and Molina and Andy Van Slyke (195). Among those listed, only Magee and Wagner played before 1908.
Braun has made the most of his times up, though, against the Cubs. Among players with at least 135 games played vs. Chicago, Braun is 14th all-time in batting average at .332 (he's also 13th in on-base percentage at .409). Among the 13 players with a better batting average, nine are Hall of Famers.
BEST BATTING AVERAGES VS. CUBS SINCE 1908 (min. 135 games)
| PLAYER | G | AB | H | AVG |
| Rogers Hornsby | 264 | 990 | 360 | .364 |
| Paul Waner | 361 | 1340 | 474 | .354 |
| Jack Fournier | 144 | 499 | 171 | .343 |
| Chuck Klein | 203 | 757 | 258 | .341 |
| Ernie Lombardi | 282 | 889 | 302 | .340 |
| Bill Terry | 257 | 949 | 322 | .339 |
| Arky Vaughan | 265 | 943 | 319 | .338 |
| Richie Ashburn | 276 | 1091 | 366 | .335 |
| Ted Simmons | 193 | 688 | 230 | .334 |
| Lou Brock | 256 | 1024 | 342 | .334 |
| Al Oliver | 201 | 789 | 263 | .333 |
| Danny Litwhiler | 144 | 493 | 164 | .333 |
| Tony Gwynn | 168 | 660 | 220 | .333 |
| Ryan Braun | 153 | 581 | 193 | .332 |
While Braun's 33 home runs are tied for 35th most against the Cubs, his slugging percentage ranks ninth -- with every retired player ahead of him in the Hall of Fame (and the one behind him).
BEST SLUGGING PERCENTAGES VS. CUBS SINCE 1908 (min. 135 games)
| PLAYER | G | AB | SLG |
| Frank Robinson | 202 | 726 | .625 |
| Albert Pujols | 182 | 659 | .613 |
| Willie Mays | 358 | 1338 | .611 |
| Mike Schmidt | 269 | 971 | .598 |
| Ralph Kiner | 160 | 552 | .592 |
| Rogers Hornsby | 264 | 990 | .591 |
| Hank Aaron | 347 | 1340 | .589 |
| Duke Snider | 287 | 949 | .589 |
| Ryan Braun | 153 | 581 | .583 |
| Johnny Mize | 220 | 825 | .572 |
Other notes:
-- The Cubs have been shut out in back-to-back games. Chicago hasn't gone scoreless in three straight since 1992, when it was blanked in four consecutive contests.
-- The Brewers are hitting an MLB-best .346 with two outs.
-- Milwaukee has the second-lowest ERA among bullpens so far this season at 1.32. However, the Cubs are No. 1 at 0.69.
Statistics courtesy STATS and baseball-reference.com
