Darrell Davis: Brewers stifling Cubs through September

Stuff it, Chicago Cubs fans!

Summer’s over and the baseball stretch drives are in their final week, but I’m still wearing my Milwaukee Brewers hat. That’s because somehow, some way, the Brewers are poised to keep the Cubs out of the post-season. Since the Cubs became a reputable franchise a few years ago, the number of their boastful fans has steadily increased.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago it seemed like the Cubs were again going to be contenders — and bragging about it — while the Brewers would be non-qualifiers. Milwaukee was five games out of a playoff berth when it lost league MVP Christian Yelich for the rest of the season with a fractured kneecap. The Brewers have since won 15 of 17 games and pulled into a tie with the Washington Nationals for the National League’s wild-card spot, three games ahead of the Cubs.

For the second straight season, no team has had better pitching through September than the Brewers. If they’re going to advance past the wild-card game without Yelich’s bat and glove in the lineup, and later challenge the big guys like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, Milwaukee is going to need more than good pitching.