Milwaukee @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2014 ) Milwaukee 2, Chi. Cubs 4
The Milwaukee Brewers likely will be without center fielder and lineup catalyst Carlos Gomez again when they continue their road trip in Chicago against the Cubs on Tuesday. "Hand or wrist is not good for him," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke told reporters about Gomez, who left Sunday's game in San Francisco after he heard something pop in his left wrist. "There's no easing back on swings, and the way he plays, his whole game depends on him being physically close to 100 percent." The Brewers are out of first place in the National League Central for the first time since April 4 after a 4-2 setback to Chicago on Monday - their sixth straight loss.
Milwaukee trails St. Louis by one game while holding down the second wild-card spot by 1 1/2 over Atlanta. The Cubs continue to play better baseball led by rookies such as Jorge Soler, who doubled twice in his Wrigley Field debut Monday to become the third player in the last 100 years to have at least one extra-base hit in his first five games. Chicago's Jake Arrieta makes his 100th career appearance as he opposes Yovani Gallardo, who is 9-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts against the Cubs.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), CSN Plus Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Yovani Gallardo (8-7, 3.26 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Jake Arrieta (7-5, 2.88)
Gallardo permitted three hits and three walks in six scoreless innings while not recording a strikeout for the first time in his career, and fell victim to a blown save in Milwaukee's 3-2 loss in San Diego on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Mexican defeated Arrieta and Chicago 3-1 on Aug. 11, when he allowed one run and struck out six over seven frames in his only start against the Cubs in 2014. Gallardo needs five strikeouts to surpass Ben Sheets (1,206) and become the franchise's all-time leader.
Arrieta yielded six runs, six hits and four walks while striking out eight on 96 pitches over four innings - matching his shortest outing of the season - while Cincinnati stole six bases against him en route to a 7-2 victory Tuesday. The 28-year-old Missouri native is 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in nine home starts, with the blemish coming against Milwaukee on Aug. 11, when he allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Arrieta has started all but six games in his career while going 31-32 with a 4.67 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston's Will Middlebrooks (2012) and the St. Louis Cardinals' Enos Slaughter (1938) also recorded at least one extra-base hit in their first five major-league games.
2. Milwaukee has scored 13 runs during its losing streak, which includes a 15-5 verdict in San Francisco on Sunday.
3. Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo, second in the NL with 30 home runs, missed his seventh straight game with a back injury. "He's still day-to-day, still a little stiff," Cubs manager Rick Renteria told reporters. "If it doesn't clear up (soon), maybe we get an MRI."
PREDICTION: Cubs 3, Brewers 2