Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers – NLDS Series Preview: Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4

The Cubs eliminated the Padres from the NL Wild Card Thursday night with a great all-around pitching effort. Chicago got just enough timely hitting against a very good San Diego staff and now advances to the National League Division Series to take on their neighbors to the north in Milwaukee starting Saturday.

The Brewers finished with the best record (97–65) in baseball and got a first round bye, so they are rested and ready to go. They had an incredible two-month surge in the middle of the season to blow by the North Siders and claim the NL Central title.

Milwaukee’s biggest area of strength is the pitching staff, as they finished 2025 with a 3.58 team ERA that was the second-lowest in all of baseball. One of the key arms in their rotation won’t be available, with Brandon Woodruff suffering a lat strain at the end of the regular season. That will not be the case with Freddy Peralta, who has had a dominant year and will be the Game 1 starter.

The Brew Crew relies pretty heavily on their bullpen, which started to get a little leaky down the stretch, but it is still an impressive unit. Closer Trevor Megill returned from injury in September and can hit triple digits pretty regularly. Hard-throwing righty Abner Uribe and lefty Jared Koenig are the primary setup men and have been incredibly valuable.

Milwaukee’s offense came on strong as the year advanced and finished the season with a .735 team OPS, 11th best in MLB. They are not a powerful team with just 166 homers, so they rely on a high on-base percentage and aggressive baserunning to maximize the damage. Christian Yelich was the best hitter in the lineup, rediscovering his power with 31 homers and a .795 OPS.

Possibly the most indispensable position player on the Brewers is second baseman Brice Turang, who had a very nice season at the plate combined with excellent defense to produce a team-leading 5.5 WAR. Catcher William Contreras and first baseman Andrew Vaughn, a waiver wire pick-up from the White Sox, are also dangerous run-producers in the middle of the lineup.

Milwaukee and Chicago played each other 13 times in the regular season, with the Cubs winning the season series 7-6. It’s kind of hard to believe, but this is the first playoff matchup between these two squads. The North Siders may be able to negate some of the home-field advantage the Brewers have with the tendency of their fans to take over the former Miller Park.

This promises to be a very intense and competitive series. The intra-division rivalry will add even more emotion and makes it very compelling. Time to let the madness begin.

Game Time and Broadcast Info

• Saturday, October 4 at 1:08pm CT on TBS (in Milwaukee).
• Monday, October 6 at 8:08pm CT on TBS (in Milwaukee).
• Wednesday, October 8 at 4:08pm CT on TBS (in Chicago).
• Thursday, October 9 at 8:08pm CT on TBS (in Chicago/if necessary).
• Saturday, October 11 at 3:38 PM CT on TBS (in Milwaukee/if necessary).

Potential Starting Pitchers

What to Watch For

• Boyd has been named Game 1 starter for the Cubs, but the starters beyond the first contest have not been announced for either team.
• Seiya Suzuki stayed hot in the Padres series with two doubles and a home run.
• Chicago’s bullpen allowed only two runs in the three games against San Diego.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had three hits in the series-clinching game.
• Peralta has a 3.21 ERA in 98 career innings against the Cubs.