There were more fireworks from the Cubs and Brewers Wednesday nigh, and this time they favored the Milwaukee.
The Cubs chased Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski with five earned runs in four innings against the Milwaukee ace. But the Brewers’ bats were better in a 9-5 win over their division rivals in the third of a four-game series that could end up as a playoff preview.
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Alex Bregman, who hit three home runs in Chicago’s team-record nine-home run barrage in a 17-3 win Sunday night in Game 1 of the series, did the bulk of the damage against Misiorowski. He got Chicago on the board with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, his fourth longball of the series.
He added two more RBI off Misiorowski with a two-run single in the second to spot the Cubs a 5-3 lead.
By the end of the fourth inning, the Cubs had tagged Misiorowski for 5 earned runs on 5 hits and 4 walks as the Brewers ace uncharacteristically struggled with control against the potent Cubs lineup.
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They had also worked his pitch tally up to 92, and his night was done after 12 outs in the worst outing of his remarkable 2026 campaign. Misiorowski, whose ERA remains under two at 1.97, failed to get out of the fifth inning in just one other game this season. And he’d yet to surrender more than three earned runs in a single game before Wednesday night.
But he wasn’t on the hook for a loss. While Cubs batters gave him his toughest test of the season, his teammates had done more damage against Cubs starter David Peterson.
Peterson lasted just 3 2/3 innings as Brewers batters peppered him for 7 hits and 6 runs, including a solo home run by Jackson Chourio.
But it was small ball that got the job done against Peterson as a walk, a double, a bunt, a single and a single on five consecutive at-bats allowed the Brewers to plate three runs in the fourth and give Misiorowski the 6-5 lead that was intact when he left the game.
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The Brewers threatened to pile on in the fifth when they loaded the bases against Chicago’s bullpen. Nico Hoerner kept things close with a sensational diving two-out catch in shallow left field the prevented the Brewers from building on their one-run lead.
But the Brewers had already done enough damage. Their six runs were enough for the win, and their late-inning insurance was not needed. It was the kind of win the Brewers will surely need to pull out once the playoffs begin.
Milwaukee’s built the best record in baseball in part due to the strength of a pitching staff with the best ERA in the National League. But there will be nights in the postseason against lineups like the Cubs’ or Dodgers’ where they’ll need their own potent bats to carry the load.
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With the win, the Brewers moved to 2-1 in the series in Chicago and improved their MLB-best record to 86-53. The win also pushed Chicago’s long-shot hopes of catching Milwaukee in the NL Central even further back.
The Cubs dropped to 78-62 with the loss, still in comfortable control of an NL wild-card spot, but nine games behind the Brewers in the division with 22 games left in the regular season.
