{"id":108061,"date":"2025-10-04T01:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T05:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108061"},"modified":"2025-10-04T01:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T05:32:12","slug":"how-brewers-match-up-against-cubs-2025-nlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/04\/how-brewers-match-up-against-cubs-2025-nlds\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Brewers Stack Up Against the Cubs in the Upcoming NLDS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Milwaukee Brewers enter the 2025 National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/09\/22\/milwaukee-brewers-clinch-nl-central-eye-deep-postseason-run\/\" target=\"_self\">NL Central champions<\/a> with the best record in MLB at 97-65. The Crew will face a familiar rival, the Chicago Cubs, in a playoff matchup filled with intrigue and intensity. Important to consider going into this matchup is that the Brewers\u2019 edge comes from their pitching depth, balanced lineup, and big-game experience. For the Brewers to advance, a blend of stars and emerging talents must rise above the pressure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_90032\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90032\" style=\"width: 728px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-90032\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/USATSI_24322158_168400885_lowres-300x215.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/USATSI_24322158_168400885_lowres-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/USATSI_24322158_168400885_lowres.jpg 1296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-90032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sep 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (21) looks out over the dugout rail before a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Why the Brewers Hold the Edge in the NLDS Showdown with the Cubs<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The foundation of the Brewers\u2019 success is their elite pitching staff, led by ace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/peralfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freddy Peralta<\/a>, who gets the ball in Game 1 after a week of rest. Their bullpen, shored up by multi-inning arms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/ashbyaa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Ashby<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/koenija01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jared Koenig<\/a>, gives manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/murphpa99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Murphy<\/a> flexibility against a Cubs lineup that finished with the second-most home runs in the National League. The Brewers also boast the league&#8217;s best run differential (+172) with the ability to squeeze out close wins. On offense, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/y\/yelicch01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christian Yelich<\/a> has powered the lineup, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vaughan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Vaughn<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/contrwi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">William Contreras<\/a> provide the right-handed punch crucial against Chicago\u2019s lefty starters. The Brewers\u2019 \u201cput-it-in-play\u201d approach challenges even the Cubs\u2019 elite defense. This ensures that any mistake can lead to a big inning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Our All-Star. Our Ace. Our Game-1 Starter.<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MagicBrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MagicBrew<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U2ZHLsMkyr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/U2ZHLsMkyr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Brewers\/status\/1974193543855169567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>Who Needs to Step Up\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Jacob Misiorowski<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Milwaukee\u2019s electric rookie right-hander <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/misioja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacob Misiorowski<\/a> is on the NLDS roster and could swing a game with high-leverage relief work. A shutdown inning or two from Misiorowski could tilt the momentum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong> William Contreras<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The All-Star catcher&#8217;s\u00a0bat and leadership will be tested against the Cubs\u2019 aggressive running and contact attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Andruw Monasterio<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steady defense and timely hits from infield utility man <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/monasan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andruw Monasterio<\/a> are vital, especially if the games turn into low-scoring duels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Andrew Vaughn<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a scorching summer, Vaughn cooled off late. A rebound at the plate could lengthen the lineup and add punch against Chicago\u2019s right-handed relievers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the Brewers, this NLDS matchup is about capitalizing on home-field advantage, leveraging fresh arms, and banking on Yelich\u2019s leadership. The Cubs\u2019 power and defensive prowess can&#8217;t be overlooked. The Brewers\u2019 core needs to step up while getting contributions from their young arms and depth bats for a deep October run.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Milwaukee Brewers enter the 2025 National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs as NL Central champions with the best record in MLB at 97-65. The Crew will face a familiar rival, the Chicago Cubs, in a playoff matchup filled with intrigue and intensity. Important to consider going into this matchup is that the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5561,"featured_media":104040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1071,35],"tags":[28489,2598,29165,404,2514,5737,21201,5896],"class_list":["post-108061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brewers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-aaron-ashby","tag-andrew-vaughn","tag-andruw-monasterio","tag-christian-yelich","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-jared-koenig","tag-pat-murphy","tag-william-contreras"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108061"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108066,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108061\/revisions\/108066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}