Offense Comes Alive in Crucial Series Win over Brewers
The Cubs’ offense has been in a major slump, sending them tumbling down the NL Central standings. The Brewers’ recent hot streak, which made them seemingly unable to lose a game until they arrived at Wrigley Field, played a big part in that slide. The Cubs’ failure to bring home key runs has been a common source of frustration, but the tide began to turn this week.
In the two matchups before facing Milwaukee, against Pittsburgh and Toronto, the Cubs averaged just 2.5 runs per game. That’s better than nothing, but not enough to win many games in this league. When your offense disappears, your pitching staff has to be perfect, which simply isn’t realistic.
Leading up to the series against the Brewers, the Cubs had scored the second-fewest runs in all of baseball since the All-Star break. Before the break, it was a completely different story. Craig Counsell’s lineup closed the first half with 512 runs, second only to the Dodgers for the best run-scoring offense in the league.
Freddy Peralta shut down the Cubs’ lineup in the series opener, allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings. Seiya Suzuki and Owen Caissie each had a hit, but that was all the Cubs could manage in a 7-0 loss.
Caissie made an immediate impact on the big-league club, driving in four of the Cubs’ ten runs during Tuesday’s doubleheader. With the bases loaded in the first inning, he pulled a low sinker into right field to bring in two runs. The top prospect homered later in the first game, the first long ball of his major league career. In the second inning of game two, Caissie worked a strong at-bat before lining the eighth pitch into left field to score Nico Hoerner. Matt Shaw also impressed, scoring three runs and hitting a home run of his own.
The Cubs drew a staggering 19 walks during the five-game set and scored 15 runs. They’ve now drawn 432 walks this season, though they still struggle to convert many of those free baserunners into runs. On Wednesday, Jacob Misiorowski walked the bases loaded, setting the stage for Michael Busch to clear them with a game-changing double.
Michael Busch bases-clearing double off Jacob Misiorowski! pic.twitter.com/XHrxP816Gf
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 21, 2025
Even though the team won three of the five games, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. They left 30 runners on base and struck out 43 times. Monday’s loss was particularly frustrating: the team walked three straight times to load the bases in the fourth inning, but Caissie and Hoerner couldn’t bring anyone home, and the Brewers broke the game open shortly afterward.
Milwaukee still holds a seven-game lead in the division, which made Thursday’s loss all the more significant. Caissie and Shaw were both on the bench as the Cubs managed to score just one run. The schedule lightens up now that the Brewers have left town, with the Cubs set to face the Angels, Giants, and Rockies during a quick trip out west.
