Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers – Series Preview (May 30-June 1): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs coughed up Sunday’s game to split with the White Sox after losing the last two in Cincy to split that series. Now they’re faced with nine games in seven days over the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, so this might get worse before it gets better.
The Brewers (30-18) are first up for the Cubs, starting with a Memorial Day doubleheader due to a game that was postponed from the season-opening series. The Cubs are 3-3 against the Brewers so far this season, with the Cubs taking two of the first three games played at Wrigley to start the season.
On offense, the Brewers have been surprisingly good so far in 2022. They rank 12th in MLB with 6.8 fWAR and 8th overall with a .319 wOBA. As for power, the Brewers have plenty of that too, coming in 3rd overall in HRs with 64, just behind the Dodgers and Yankees.
The Brewers’ pitching staff has been as good as advertised this season, notching a 3.27 team ERA and ranking 2nd in MLB with an 8.0 fWAR behind only the Yankees. There’s no easy way around this series for the Cubs and it’s going to be key for them to score early and pitch very well if they want to have any chance at all.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, May 30 at 12:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network and MLB Network (out-of-market only)
- Monday, May 30 at 6:40pm CT on Marquee Sports Network and MLB Network (out-of-market only)
- Tuesday, May 31 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network
- Wednesday, June 1 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee Sports Network
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/30 | Matt Swarmer | 28 | R | 2.08 | 3-1 | 3.46 | 3.23 |
| Ethan Small | 25 | L | 1.88 | 3-1 | 3.12 | 2.33 | |
| 5/30 | Drew Smyly | 32 | L | 4.08 | 2-5 | 4.95 | 3.44 |
| Aaron Ashby | 24 | L | 2.91 | 0-3 | 3.46 | 1.95 | |
| 5/31 | Justin Steele | 26 | L | 5.40 | 1-5 | 3.22 | 2.11 |
| Eric Lauer | 26 | L | 2.31 | 5-1 | 3.57 | 4.58 | |
| 6/1 | Kyle Hendricks | 32 | R | 5.20 | 2-5 | 5.63 | 2.00 |
| TBD |
What to Watch For
- Both Swarmer and Small will be making their MLB debuts in the first game of today’s doubleheader, and both have fairly similar numbers at the minor league level. The game may come down to which pitcher manages their nerves better early on. I wouldn’t anticipate either pitcher going beyond six innings, in any case, so the Cubs bullpen could get tested early in this series.
- Nelson Velazquez was just called up from Iowa today and will be making his MLB debut in this series. He provides a lot of power but that is offset with a good amount of swing and miss. Will he be able to provide the Cubs with a spark in this series?
- Steele has been buoyed by some pretty terrible defense but has been pretty good himself on the hill. If the Cubs’ defense can step up behind him he could surprise some and come out ahead over Lauer on Tuesday.