The National League West leading Dodgers and the NL Central leading Brewers face off in the second game of a three-game weekend series in Milwaukee on Saturday night.

First baseman Adrian Gonzalez drove in the Dodgers' first two runs on Friday night against the Brewers, continuing his hot streak since the All-Star break.

Gonzalez was 3-for-3 with a walk and a home run, a no-doubter to left center field that pulled the Dodgers to within 2-1 at the time. Earlier in the game Gonzalez doubled, and that he hit it to left field was a good sign, as Gonzalez is usually at his best when he's driving the ball to all fields with authority. That double was pretty close to a home run:

Game of inches. pic.twitter.com/Ix590dx5oN

— Daniel Brim (@DanielBrim) August 9, 2014

He was hitting the ball hard everywhere in April, hitting .317/.377/.644 with eight home runs, though at the time he insisted, "I'm not a power hitter," usually with a smirk or some hint of sarcasm.

The problem was for the next 2½ months Gonzalez did his best to prove it, hitting only six home runs while batting .223/.286/.343 with six home runs in 67 games from May 1 through the All-Star break.

But since the All-Star break Gonzalez has been hot, hitting .333/.402/.528 with two home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBI in 20 games, with eight multi-hit games.

Gonzalez has 76 runs batted in on the season, just one behind Giancarlo Stanton for the National League lead. Gonzalez has a decent chance at joining Tommy Davis (1962) and Matt Kemp (2011) as the only Los Angeles Dodgers to lead the NL in RBI.

Stanton is on pace for 108 RBI, which would be the lowest total for a league leader since Gary Carter and Mike Schmidt tied for the NL lead with 106 RBI in 1984. Even the strike-shortened seasons in 1994 and 1995 had more prolific RBI men.

Dating back to Thursday, Gonzalez has reached base in each of his last six plate appearances, with two singles, a double, a walk and a home run.

His next double will give him 30 on the season, a mark he has reached in four straight seasons and seven of the last eight. He's on pace for 40 doubles, something he has done three times, including a career high 47 two-baggers in 2012.

In 22 career games at Miller Park, Gonzalez is hitting .393/.466/.753 with eight home runs and 22 RBI, the third-highest batting average in Miller Park history, minimum 50 plate appearances, trailing only Lastings Milledge (.4154) and Jeff Baker (.4151).

Gonzalez is 0-for-1 with a strikeout against Mike Fiers, starting for the Brewers on Saturday night.

Game info

Pitchers: Zack Greinke vs. Fiers

Time: 4:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network

MILWAUKEE -- One day after leaving in the first inning with tightness in his right side, Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez is out of the starting lineup for the middle game against the Brewers on Saturday.

Ramirez has reached base via hit or walk in 43 of his last 46 starts, but due to various injuries those starts have come in a period of 64 team games, including Saturday.

Miguel Rojas makes the start at shortstop, his 16th start at the position this season but just his third start at shortstop in the last 16 games.

A.J. Ellis is back at catcher for the Dodgers after getting Friday off. Ellis, who lives in Wisconsin during the offseason, is 4-for-15 with a double and two walks in four career games at Miller Park, hitting .267/.353/.333.

The Brewers get their regular catcher back too, with All-Star starter Jonathan Lucroy back after a night off on Friday. Lucroy, 28, is hitting .307/.374/.493 with 38 doubles and 12 home runs, and he's second in the National League (to Miguel Montero) in both starts at catcher (95) and innings behind the plate (855).

Ice is back with a brand new edition of a successful first pitch. He also got photobombed.

50 Cent is a better rapper than Vanilla Ice. Vanilla Ice is better at throwing out first pitches than 50 Cent.

Solid toss from the creator of 'Ninja Rap'.

Also a solid photobomb from a guy in the Brewers dugout.

The Dodgers were shut down by Mike Fiers, falling to the Brewers for a second straight night, 4-1 on Saturday night at Miller Park.

Fiers allowed just three hits and a walk, giving up one run in his eight innings, with five strikeouts. In three career games, including two starts, against the Dodgers, Fiers is 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA.

Scooter Gennett dropped a base hit into short center field with one out in the second inning, then a 93-mph high fastball from Zack Greinke caught a little too much of the plate to Khris Davis, who muscled it out to right center field for his 19th home run and a 2-0 Brewers lead.

Fiers was effective in his first major league start of the year, not even allowing a runner to reach base until Greinke walked with two outs in the third inning. The only hit Fiers allowed his first two times through the order was by Adrian Gonzalez, who homered to right field in the fourth inning, cutting the Dodgers' deficit to 2-1 with a long ball for a second straight night.

Gonzalez had two of the Dodgers' four hits on the night, his third straight multi-hit game, and is hitting .342/.407/.566 since the All-Star break. He has nine home runs in 23 career games at Miller Park.

Milwaukee broke it open when the first four batters of the sixth inning reached base. Carlos Gomez deposited a curveball high off the left field foul pole to open the inning, giving Milwaukee a 3-1 lead. Singles by Jonathan Lucroy and Aramis Ramirez sandwiched a walk to Ryan Braun, adding another run and giving the Brewers runners on the corners with nobody out.

Greinke was able to wiggle out of that damage to keep the deficit at 4-1, but his day was done after six innings.

The Dodgers managed two runners to reach base in the ninth against closer Francisco Rodriguez, but Matt Kemp, representing the tying run, grounded out to first base to end the game.

Up next

The Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound on Sunday trying to salvage a game, while Milwaukee counters with Jimmy Nelson.

Saturday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez (17); Khris Davis (19), Carlos Gomez (18)

WP - Mike Fiers (1-1): 8 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

LP - Zack Greinke (12-8): 6 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

Sv - Francisco Rodriguez (35): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk

MRI results for Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez revealed a strained right oblique and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, the team announced before Sunday's finale with the Brewers. The club recalled infielder Darwin Barney from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Manager Don Mattingly didn't have full MRI results before Saturday's game against the Brewers, but told reporters he expected bad news.

"It sounded like an oblique and that's pretty serious," Mattingly said. "Obviously, it didn't sound good."

Ramirez felt something in his left side before Friday night's game but tried to play through it, then aggravated the injury on a swing on a 1-2 pitch in the first inning against Kyle Lohse. Ramirez finished the plate appearance and walked, then remained in the game until the end of the frame.

Miguel Rojas took over for Ramirez at shortstop in the bottom of the first, then started at shortstop on Saturday night, and will do so again on Sunday. The DL move was retroactive to Saturday.

Barney was acquired from the Cubs on July 28 for Class-A Great Lakes pitcher Jonathan Martinez, 20. Barney, who was a minor league shortstop but has made 469 of his 487 career major league starts in the field at second base, played nine games with the Isotopes, six at shortstop and three at third base. Barney is expected to play all over the infield for the Dodgers.

At the plate with Triple-A Albuquerque, Barney was 9-for-35 with a double and three walks, hitting .257/.316/.286. He hit .230/.265/.328 in 72 games this year with the Cubs.

After dropping the first two games of the weekend series at Miller Park, the Dodgers won on Sunday behind eight strong innings from Clayton Kershaw, a pair of doubles by Adrian Gonzalez and a home run by A.J. Ellis in a win over the Brewers.

MRI results for Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez revealed a strained right oblique and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, the team announced before Sunday's finale with the Brewers. The club recalled infielder Darwin Barney from the Cubs.

Manager Don Mattingly didn't have full MRI results before Saturday's game against the Brewers, but told reporters he expected bad news.

"It sounded like an oblique and that's pretty serious," Mattingly said. "Obviously, it didn't sound good."

Ramirez felt something in his left side before Friday night's game but tried to play through it, then aggravated the injury on a swing on a 1-2 pitch in the first inning against Kyle Lohse. Ramirez finished the plate appearance and walked, then remained in the game until the end of the frame.

Miguel Rojas took over for Ramirez at shortstop in the bottom of the first, then started at shortstop on Saturday night, and will do so again on Sunday. The DL move was retroactive to Saturday.

Barney was acquired from the Cubs on July 28 for Class-A Great Lakes pitcher Jonathan Martinez, 20. Barney, who was a minor league shortstop but has made 469 of his 487 career major league starts in the field at second base, played nine games with the Isotopes, six at shortstop and three at third base. Barney is expected to play all over the infield for the Dodgers.

At the plate with Triple-A Albuquerque, Barney was 9-for-35 with a double and three walks, hitting .257/.316/.286. He hit .230/.265/.328 in 72 games this year with the Cubs.

The phrase "Clayton Kershaw does it all" gets overused at times, but in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Brewers on Sunday the Dodgers ace added to his highlight reel.

With Rickie Weeks on third base and one out down 2-1, the Brewers tried a squeeze play to tie the game but Jean Segura bunted foul. With one strike Milwaukee tried again, only this time Segura's bunt was popped up straight in the air near home plate. Kershaw came rushing in and made an outstanding diving catch, then threw to third base to end the inning.

"Clayton Edward Kershaw," exclaimed Charley Steiner on the SportsNet LA broadcast. "All he does is everything."

The play was reminiscent of this play Kershaw made against the Diamondbacks in 2012.

Adrian Gonzalez continued his scorching weekend in Milwaukee, and Clayton Kershaw continued his scorching season, leading the Dodgers over the mistake-prone Brewers 5-1 to salvage one game in Milwaukee.

The win allows the Dodgers to leave town with the best record in the National League (67-52) and, coupled with San Francisco getting swept in Kansas City, a season-high 4½-game lead in the NL West.

Gonzalez drove in the Dodgers' first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning, then doubled and scored the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Matt Kemp in the fifth. Kemp had two hits on the day, extending his hitting streak to six games.

In the seventh inning, Carl Crawford singled then advanced to third base on an errant pick off throw and a throwing error trying to get him advancing to second. Then Gonzalez followed with a drive to the center field wall, just off the glove of Carlos Gomez, for his second double of the game and a 3-1 lead.

Gonzalez has 31 doubles on the season, tying Yasiel Puig for the team lead. It is the fifth straight season and eighth time in the last nine years Gonzalez has hit 30 doubles. He averaged 38 doubles for the last eight years, and is on pace for 42 doubles this year.

On the day Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a double and in the three-game series was 7-for-10 with three doubles, two home runs and drove in five of the Dodgers' nine runs. Gonzalez in his career at Miller Park has hit .406/.473/.792 with nine home runs, 10 doubles and 25 RBI in 24 games.

He also has four straight multi-hit games and since the All-Star break is hitting .354/.418/.595 with 19 RBI in 22 games.

Gonzalez is tied with Giancarlo Stanton for the NL lead with 79 RBI.

That offense backed Kershaw, who wasn't at his sharpest but still managed to last eight innings and allow one run.

Things are all relative of course, and Kershaw not at his sharpest would still hold his own against most samurai swords.

Kershaw walked two batters, which is perfectly fine, but he walked two in back-to-back starts for the first time since May 17-23.

The Brewers had a runner in scoring position with nobody out in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings, but none of them scored. In the third inning, Brewers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson was erased after his leadoff double when he tried to advance to third base on a ground ball to shortstop.

In the fourth inning Ryan Braun singled then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Kershaw threw another pitch in the dirt and Braun tried to go to third, but was thrown out by A.J. Ellis. Braun was initially called safe but upon instant replay review Juan Uribe applied a lightning-quick tag before Braun reached the bag, thwarting that rally.

In the fifth, Rickie Weeks doubled and advanced to third base on a ground ball. Then, on a second squeeze attempt by Jean Segura, Kershaw made a ridiculous catch of a popped-up bunt then threw to third to double up Weeks and end the inning.

The Brewers on the bases were enough to drive America's house guest batty.

I have NEVER seen worse base running and bunt technique in my life @Brewers. They r EMBARRASSINGLY BAD. I'm done watching. I'd rather puke.

— Kato Kaelin (@Kato_Kaelin) August 10, 2014

To make matters worse for Milwaukee, Kershaw also picked off Gomez in the third inning. It was the third pickoff of the season for Kershaw, tied for sixth in the majors and three off Drew Smyly's lead. Kershaw has finished in the top three in the majors in pickoffs for five straight years and his 45 pickoffs since the beginning of 2009 are the most in baseball.

The only pitcher even close to Kershaw during that span is Mark Buehrle, with 38. Bruce Chen is next with 26.

Kershaw ended with six strikeouts in eight innings, tying for the NL lead with his 14th win of the year. In his last 13 starts Kershaw is 11-0 with a 1.15 ERA, with 117 strikeouts and 12 walks in 101 innings.

He is the first Dodgers pitcher to win 11 straight decisions since Orel Hershiser in 1985. Hershiser, on Sunday's SportsNet LA television broadcast had high praise for Kershaw.

"If he wins the ERA title & the Cy Young Award this season, he can pretty much punch his ticket to the Hall of Fame," Hershiser said.

The Dodgers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning, the first of which was Ellis' first home run of the season, in his 57th game and 215th plate appearance of the season. It was hit off Marco Estrada, banished to the bullpen after ineffective work as a starter. Estrada has allowed 28 home runs this season, five more than anyone else in baseball.

But Ellis tried to prove it was fluke, nearly hitting another home run in the ninth, only to be robbed by a great leaping catch in left center field by Khris Davis.

The other insurance run in the eighth came when Miguel Rojas followed the Ellis home run with a double, one of three hits on the day for the shortstop. Kershaw followed with an RBI single to end the scoring.

Kenley Jansen, who hadn't pitched since Wednesday, pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to close out the win.

Up next

The Dodgers take the next step on their Hank Aaron road trip, moving on to Atlanta for a four-game series staring Monday night against the Braves. Newly-acquired pitcher Kevin Correia is expected to make a spot start in the opener, facing Julio Teheran for Atlanta.

Sunday particulars

Home run: A.J. Ellis (1)

WP - Clayton Kershaw (14-2): 8 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP - Jimmy Nelson (2-3): 6 IP, 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

The Cubs’ seven-game homestand comes to a conclusion as they return to divisional play and face off for four games with the Milwaukee Brewers.

I caught bits and pieces of Sunday's game against the Rays and I have to agree with Al: the Rays' "throwback" (or "fauxback", as they have been called) uniforms looked cool. I don't know why, but something about them made me think of the Flint Tropics in the movie Semi-Pro. And it has nothing to do with Will Ferrell.

With the 4-3 win in 12 innings on Sunday the Cubs' record moves to 50-66, percentage points behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (51-67) and still 4½ games ahead of the Colorado Rockies at the bottom of the National League standings. In case you're wondering, next up the ladder are the Philadelphia Phillies at 53-65. The Cubs now return to divisional play for the next four games, taking on the Milwaukee Brewers for the first time since June 1. Milwaukee comes into the series with a record of 65-53 after a 4-2 homestand against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs are 4-5 against the Brewers this year and are 2-1 at Wrigley Field, having won the first series at Wrigley on May 16-18.

LIKELY PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Monday: Yovani Gallardo (6-6, 3.54 ERA, 1.253 WHIP) vs. Jake Arrieta (6-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.068 WHIP)
Tuesday:Wily Peralta (14-6, 3.42 ERA, 1.272 WHIP) vs. Kyle Hendricks (3-1, 2.10 ERA, 1.019 WHIP)
Wednesday:Kyle Lohse (11-6, 3.33 ERA, 1.155 WHIP) vs. Tsuyoshi Wada (1-1, 3.25 ERA, 1.229 WHIP)
Thursday:Mike Fiers (1-1, 1.80 ERA, 0.867 WHIP) vs. Edwin Jackson (6-12, 5.61 ERA, 1.557 WHIP)

This will be the first time that the Cubs will be facing Fiers this season; he is taking Matt Garza's rotation spot. Garza is currently on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique. He and Emilio Bonifacio must have been hanging out in the same places. The Cubs have faced Fiers before, but you have to go back to August 29, 2012 for the last time; the Cubs lost 3-1 in that matchup. This will also be the first time that the Cubs will be facing Gallardo this season after missing him in the first three series between the two teams. They are 2-2 in the previous matchups this year against Peralta and Lohse, with two wins against Peralta and two losses against Lohse.

THE OFFENSE:

The Brewers offense features six starters whose OPS is at or above .750:

• Jonathan Lucroy, C, .868
• Carlos Gomez, CF, .842
• Ryan Braun, RF, .834
• Scooter Gennett, 2B, .814
• Aramis Ramirez, 3B, .793
• Khris Davis, LF, .785

There have been a few changes to this list since the last time the two teams met. Ramirez is a new add to the list, hitting .329 with an .862 OPS since June 1, along with Gennett, who has posted a .333 / .898 line in the same time frame. Gomez has cooled off significantly since his .987 OPS at the end of May, and Mark Reynolds has dropped off of the list, currently sitting at .714 thanks to a .207 average and .700 OPS since June 1.

The list on the Cubs' side (with last two weeks in parentheses):

• Javier Baez, .897 (.897)
• Anthony Rizzo, .881 (.644)
• Chris Coghlan, .844 (1.125)
• Starlin Castro, .756 (.705)

Yeah, it's probably a bit early to be throwing Baez into the club, but since he's going to be playing for the foreseeable future I figured I might as well give him his card now. Luis Valbuena joins Justin Ruggiano just on the other side of the door at .749 and .745; between those two and Castro there appears to be a very good chance for a lot of membership changes for the rest of the season.

GAME PROJECTIONS:

Game 1: Gallardo has been a mixed bag since the end of June, allowing four runs or more in four of his starts and two runs or less in the other three. In two of those three starts, he allowed no runs at all and pitched at least seven innings per start. The Cubs have not had much success against Gallardo in his career; he is 8-3 against the Cubs in 17 starts with a 3.12 ERA and 1.240 WHIP. The big question is how well Arrieta will rebound after getting bombed for 13 hits and nine runs in five innings at Colorado. Now that he's out of the thin air his breaking stuff should hopefully start to break better again.

Game 2: It's hard to believe that two of Peralta's six losses have come against the Cubs. They have had his number this year, getting to him for nine runs and 13 hits in just under 13 innings of work. He hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his last five starts and has won all five of them, so there are streaks to be broken. Hendricks continues to be impressive since the Cincinnati debut; he now has four straight starts in which he has allowed two runs or less and three starts in which his game score was 65 or higher, which is really impressive given that he's not a high-strikeout pitcher.

Game 3: For as much success as the Cubs have had against Peralta, they've had the opposite amount against Lohse this season, including getting blanked in a 9-0 three-hit shutout on June 1. Lohse has been pretty consistent in his last five starts, allowing two runs or less in four of them, but he did get hit hard at St. Louis at the beginning of August. I wish that I would feel less smoke-and-mirrors-ish about Wada, and to be honest I'm not sure why I still do. Something about that San Diego start still makes me skittish, but his other four starts have all been good.

Game 4: I feel like I say this every time that Jackson starts, but there's just nothing new to say about him. Expect six innings or less and four runs or more and be pleasantly surprised by anything else. As for Fiers, this will be only his second start of the season, but his first one was a dandy, pitching eight innings of three-hit ball against the Dodgers on August 9. He has spent most of the year at Triple-A Nashville, where he posted an 8-5 record with a 2.55 ERA and 0.948 WHIP in 17 starts. Something about doom and whatnot.

RUSS' PREDICTION: It seems like every time the Cubs and Brewers have met this season, the pitching matchups have always been really tight. I'm going to play the law of averages on this one and go with 2-2.

NEXT STOP: The Cubs head out of town for a quick trip to New York, playing their final four games of the year against the Mets before returning home again for six more. Scheduling is weird business, I tell you.

If you seek Monday's game threads, you have come to the right place.

Well, hello, old friends!

The Cubs haven't faced the Brewers since June 1. More than two months and 62 games (61 for the Brewers) have gone by since then. Interestingly, the Cubs have played just 1½ games worse than Milwaukee during that span (30-32 for the Cubs, 31-30 for the Brewers). That's good!

Perhaps more interesting is the boxscore from that June 1 game. Including disabled-list placements, seven of the 15 Cubs who played in that game aren't on the team now. Four are gone through trades (Jeff Samardzija, James Russell, Emilio Bonifacio, Darwin Barney), one via DFA (Nate Schierholtz), one sent to the minor leagues (Mike Olt) and one on the DL (Brian Schlitter).

This is a time of massive turnover for the Cubs. I expect many more changes before 2015. Heck, there might even be more before the next time these two teams meet in September. The Cubs have a real chance to have an effect on the N.L. Central race, as 29 of the 46 remaining games are within the division.

If you have not yet read Russ La Croix' excellent series preview, now's the time!

Also, just a reminder to check out (if you haven't already) SB Nation's partner fantasy site, Fan Duel, where you can win real money. Here's the link.

On to tonight's particulars:

Cubs lineup:

Coghlan LF, Baez 2B, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Alcantara CF, Ruggiano RF, Castillo C, Arrieta P

Brewers lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jake Arrieta Cubs vs. Yovani Gallardo Brewers vs. Mil -- vs. Cubs

Jake Arrieta had the worst start of his Cubs career last time out. I'm going to chalk that up to the Coors Field Effect and Arrieta not being able to get his breaking ball to work there. He has not faced the Brewers this year, but you might remember his very first start as a Cub, against the Brewers July 30, 2013 at Wrigley Field, where he allowed just two hits in six innings (before the bullpen blew the lead). More of that, please.

The Cubs haven't faced Yovani Gallardo this season. He's having a decent year, though got hit pretty hard in his last outing against the Giants. Current Cubs are 35-for-98 (.357) against him with one home run (Ryan Sweeney). Starlin Castro is 14-for-37 (.378) with three doubles off Gallardo. Perhaps we're not doomed tonight.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Hey, look! It's the Cubs division rivals from up I-94. And they're in first place. Let's see the Cubs take them down a few notches, shall we?

Well, hello, old friends!

The Cubs haven't faced the Brewers since June 1. More than two months and 62 games (61 for the Brewers) have gone by since then. Interestingly, the Cubs have played just 1½ games worse than Milwaukee during that span (30-32 for the Cubs, 31-30 for the Brewers). That's good!

Perhaps more interesting is the boxscore from that June 1 game. Including disabled-list placements, seven of the 15 Cubs who played in that game aren't on the team now. Four are gone through trades (Jeff Samardzija, James Russell, Emilio Bonifacio, Darwin Barney), one via DFA (Nate Schierholtz), one sent to the minor leagues (Mike Olt) and one on the DL (Brian Schlitter).

This is a time of massive turnover for the Cubs. I expect many more changes before 2015. Heck, there might even be more before the next time these two teams meet in September. The Cubs have a real chance to have an effect on the N.L. Central race, as 29 of the 46 remaining games are within the division.

If you have not yet read Russ La Croix' excellent series preview, now's the time!

Also, just a reminder to check out (if you haven't already) SB Nation's partner fantasy site, Fan Duel, where you can win real money. Here's the link.

On to tonight's particulars:

Cubs lineup:

Coghlan LF, Baez 2B, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Alcantara CF, Ruggiano RF, Castillo C, Arrieta P

Brewers lineup:

Gomez CF, Lucroy C, Braun RF, Ramirez 3B, Gennett 2B, Davis LF, Reynolds 1B, Segura SS, Gallardo P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Jake Arrieta Cubs vs. Yovani Gallardo Brewers vs. Mil -- vs. Cubs

Jake Arrieta had the worst start of his Cubs career last time out. I'm going to chalk that up to the Coors Field Effect and Arrieta not being able to get his breaking ball to work there. He has not faced the Brewers this year, but you might remember his very first start as a Cub, against the Brewers July 30, 2013 at Wrigley Field, where he allowed just two hits in six innings (before the bullpen blew the lead). More of that, please.

The Cubs haven't faced Yovani Gallardo this season. He's having a decent year, though got hit pretty hard in his last outing against the Giants. Current Cubs are 35-for-98 (.357) against him with one home run (Ryan Sweeney). Starlin Castro is 14-for-37 (.378) with three doubles off Gallardo. Perhaps we're not doomed tonight.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

----

----

----

The game wasn't a throwback; that was Sunday. Something else was thrown back Monday evening at Wrigley that made news.

The Cubs lost to the Brewers 3-1 Monday evening but that's not what you want to talk about, right? Here's what you want to talk about:

That was an impressive catch... maybe more impressive than any Cubs outfielder has made this year. 65-year-old Mike Pullin, who lives in Rochelle, Illinois, was the man whose grab prevented Mark Reynolds' second-inning home run from flying onto Waveland Avenue. Later in the evening, a crew from CSN Chicago set up to interview him right behind my left-field bleacher seat:

You probably noticed that the ball he almost immediately flung on the field -- you can see him reaching down to the bench for it in the video clip above -- wasn't the real ball. Here's where he got it:

"Someone on the phone thought I threw a potato because the ball was so old and beat-up," Pullin laughed.

But the ball he actually threw into the outfield was an baseball his dog used to play with all the time.

Pullin told the CSN crew that he chose that seat -- which happened to be right next to where friends of mine, season-ticket holders, sit (you can see my friend in the green cap in the video) -- because he thought maybe Javier Baez might launch a home run in his direction. Instead, he got his proverbial 15 minutes of fame with his spectacular grab.

You already know how I feel about throwing back opponent home runs, and I don't want to belabor that here except to say that I'd have done exactly what Pullin did. Instead, I've posted a poll at the bottom of this recap. Please vote.

Oh, yes. There was a game apart from that grab, too.

After the homer, Jake Arrieta settled down and retired the next 13 Brewers before faltering in the eighth inning an allowing another run; it could have been yet another score for Milwaukee except for two fine throws after Scooter Gennett doubled. Arismendy Alcantara got the ball and relayed to Starlin Castro who threw Ryan Braun out at the plate. The play was reviewed, not by challenge, but by the crew chief:

#SamsungReplay: Crew Chief reviews potential violation of Rule 7.13 in the 7th. Call confirmed, runner is out. http://t.co/VXvEu36U1N

— Samsung Replay (@MLBReplays) August 12, 2014

Apparently, they're reviewing almost every instance of a Rule 7.13 violation -- that's the new rule about catchers blocking the plate. It didn't seem anywhere close to a plate block by Welington Castillo; he set up exactly where he should have and Braun was out by quite a bit. This rule is another thing that might have to be tweaked after this year. I'm glad they eliminated collisions at the plate because they were beginning to cause serious injuries. On the other hand, there doesn't have to be no contact between players and it seems silly to review every single one of these plays. Looking at the MLB Replays Twitter feed, there have been nine such reviews already this month.

The Cubs had tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of singles by Justin Ruggiano and Welington Castillo and a double by Chris Coghlan. It might have been two runs scored on that double, but Arrieta failed to lay down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up a base. If pitchers are going to continue to bat, they're going to have to learn how to do this better. Maybe Arrieta should have just swung; he did have a hit in his first at-bat.

Had the game been tied in the ninth, would we have seen Brewers closer Francisco Rodriguez? K-Rod has been outstanding this year, with a major-league-leading 36 saves and only four blown saves. Maybe the game goes into extra innings again if the Cubs could have scored that second run. Or Justin Grimm wouldn't have pitched the ninth, allowing the Brewers' third run.

Also of interest: a 13-pitch at-bat by Anthony Rizzo off K-Rod leading off the ninth. Rizzo swung and missed at the first pitch, fouled off five straight pitches, then took three straight balls before fouling off three more K-Rod offerings. Then he struck out on a changeup. Tough out, especially after Castro followed it with a single, but that was one of the best batter-pitcher battles I've seen in recent years.

The Cubs struck out nine more times Monday and have 53 Ks and just two walks so far this homestand. Just one of the strikeouts was from Baez; he had some good at-bats and went 1-for-4 with a double.

Apart from that and the 15-minute downpour that rained on the fourth inning (the umpires were seen conferring with someone on the grounds crew at one point, and were likely told the rain would pass quickly), the story of the game was Mike Pullin. Nice grab, Mike (and he's lefthanded, too). Can you hit? There might be a spot on the Cubs bench for you.

The teams will meet again Tuesday evening at Wrigley with Kyle Hendricks facing Milwaukee's Wily Peralta.

Today's lessons include the NL MVP race, power rankings, and an argument for Jimmy Nelson going to the bullpen.

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 3, Cubs 1

It was a pitcher's duel in Chicago, and Yovani Gallardo was the better pitcher in the duel. He held the Cubs to one run in seven innings. Meanwhile, the offense didn't have much, but it have enough to win. Mark Reynolds homered in the first inning for an early lead, and Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett tacked on runs to account for all of the scoring.

The Brewers have a small chance at having an MVP on the team.

A couple of players on the team have a chance at being the NL MVP this year: Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy. Both have stats that put them among the leaders in the league, though there are candidates ahead of both of them. Yesterday, Noah looked at the odds of either actually winning the award. Both have an uphill battle ahead of them if they want to win, and really need a strong month and a half if they want to pull it off. The Brewers could use a MVP to make the postseason, so the question is if one of them will step up.

Cram Session

Power Rankings

• Jonah Keri of Grantland put the Brewers up one spot to #6. He also has an analysis of Wily Peralta's season, arguing that while Peralta is good, he's also been lucky.
• Sports Illustrated bumped the Brewers up to #6.
• MLB.com kept the Brewers at #7.
• ESPN.com dropped the Brewers a spot to #7.
• Fox Sports nudged the Brewers up a spot to #10.

Other Notes

• Before yesterday's game, Derek previewed the Brewers-Cubs series.
• When Matt Garza returns, should the Brewers keep Mike Fiers in the rotation and send Jimmy Nelson to the bullpen? Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker makes a case for why this would be a good idea.
• Carlos Gomez has been taking a different approach to his plate appearances is recent years. Adam Weiser of Disciples of Uecker looks at how Carlos Gomez has improved his at-bats with foul balls.
• Brewers TV Analyst Bill Schroeder left the booth last night after he needed treatment on a finger that he had surgery on last week.
• Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar has a simple mantra for the Brewers to follow the rest of the season: "Two out of Three".

Minor League Update

News & Notes

• Jason Rogers has been heating up for Nashville. Adam McCalvy notes that in Sunday's doubleheader, he hit three home runs and drove in nine.

Division Update

• Pirates 11, Tigers 6
• Marlins 6, Cardinals 5
• Reds had the day off.

Today's Division Games

• Tigers (Robbie Ray) @ Pirates (Edinson Volquez) - 6:05 pm
  
• Cardinals (Adam Wainwright) @ Marlins (Jarred Cosart) - 6:10 pm
• Red Sox (Joe Kelly) @ Reds (Mat Latos) - 6:10 pm

Today's Action

Game two of the series takes place tonight at Wrigley Field. Wily Peralta will face Kyle Hendricks in tonight's game. First pitch is at 7:05 pm, and Daniel Kramer of MLB.com has the preview.

Also, come join in for Prognostikeggers.

Tuesday's game threads are all in this StoryStream.

Cubs lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Brewers lineup:

Bonifacio CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Schierholtz RF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Cubs will try to even up the series with the Brewers this evening.

Not-so-fun fact: the Cubs have struck out 53 times and walked twice on this homestand. The K's don't bother me as much as the lack of walks. This could be random; it comes in the wake of a road trip where the Cubs walked 28 times in six games. The Cubs rank 19th in MLB in batter walks this year, an improvement over last year when they ranked 22nd. Last year the Cubs walked 2.71 times per game. This year the average is 2.75 per game, again, a small improvement. Baby steps.

Fun fact: in 14 major-league plate appearances, tonight's Cubs starting pitcher, Kyle Hendricks, has two walks, as many as the entire team posted in 152 PA over the last four games.

More facts -- tonight's game particulars (this weather forecast says the rain's all done):

Cubs lineup:

Coghlan LF, Baez 2B, Rizzo 1B, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Alcantara CF, Ruggiano RF, Castillo C, Hendricks P

Brewers lineup:

Gomez CF, Lucroy C, Braun RF, Ramirez 3B, Gennett 2B, Davis LF, Reynolds 1B, Segura SS, Peralta P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Kyle Hendricks Cubs vs. Wily Peralta Brewers vs. Mil -- vs. Cubs

Kyle Hendricks seems to get better with each start. Granted, he has yet to face a team twice and thus clubs have not been able to make the adjustments they often do make when facing a pitcher for the second time. He has never faced the Brewers nor anyone on their roster, so let the good times keep rolling as long as they can.

Wily Peralta has faced the Cubs twice this year and allowed nine earned runs in 12⅔ innings (6.39 ERA, 1.263 WHIP), along with three home runs. Anthony Rizzo homered off him twice in this game, May 31 at Miller Park. Considering Rizzo hasn't homered since July 22 (76 at-bats), tonight would be a good time to get off that 0-fer.

Today's game is on CSN Chicago.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. The usual caution is advised.

For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.

You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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