The Milwaukee Brewers have caught fire to catch the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, and Cubs' outfielder Ian Happ has an interesting take on the Cubs' rivals' success.
Cubs’ Ian Happ Reveals His Respect, Excitement on Tight NL Central Race With Brewers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Chicago Cubs have exceeded all expectations in 2025 so far with a 60-43 record through 103 games behind a surging offense and a couple of elite guys carrying the pitching staff. However, the Cubs sit a game back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
The Brewers, at 61-42, have the best record in the National League thanks to a recent 11-game win streak, and 12 wins in their last 14 games.
Cubs outfielder Ian Happ recently talked with the Chicago Sun-Times about the divisional race with the Brewers. Although the rival Brewers beat the Cubs in the division and made it a second-half race, the 12-year MLB veteran had nothing but respect for his rivals.
The Brewers extend their win streak to 10 games after completing the season sweep over the defending champs! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/J8S5vk47wY
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 20, 2025
“As somebody who’s played in the NL Central a long time, I think it’s generally overlooked before the season starts,” Happ said (h/t Chicago Sun-Times). “And you have right now, the two best records in baseball sitting at the top of the division. So it’s cool. That’s great for the division.”
The NL Central currently has four teams over .500 and the two best teams in the NL. Happ has played in the division for the Cubs his entire career, facing the Brewers many, many times.
With the loss of closer Devin Williams and shortstop Willy Adames in free agency, and starter Brandon Woodruff starting the season on the injured list, many experts had the Cubs or St. Louis Cardinals winning the division over the Brewers, and some had the Brewers barely finishing around .500.
Early in the season, it may have looked that way for Milwaukee. But the Brewers have figured it out, and their pitching has been elite. Now, they've passed the Cubs in the division and sit nearly 20 games above .500.
“Maybe the league or the media is not doing a very good job of evaluating them before the season starts. They’re always good. They find a way to pitch great. That’s the one thing — they’ve always pitched it great," Happ said. "And they find a way to steal bases, they play good defense, and so they’re always in games, and they find a way to win. That’s impressive.”
The pitching has always performed for the Brewers, no matter who they've lost to free agency or who they've thrown out on the mound. This year, it's been the emergence of young flame-thrower Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, and a host of other young arms to combat closer Trevor Megill and the lockdown bullpen.
But the offense has also produced. Outfielder Sal Frelick has continued to develop, hitting .292 on the season, left fielder Isaac Collins has risen to the occasion, and third baseman Caleb Durbin has held his own, along with the usual producers in Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and so on.
“It’s a little bit of a smaller market — and the way they do it,” Happ said. “People get excited about power and home runs and big lineups before the season starts. . . . Going into the year, people don’t get excited about teams that are going to pitch it really well out of the bullpen and always be in close games."
“We’ve always had a lot of respect for them, the way they play and the discipline and the way that they play defense and run the bases. Seen it for a long time, not surprised by it.”
The Brewers have the fourth-best team ERA in the MLB and are tied with the Cubs for the sixth-best team OBP and second-most stolen bases in the league. Despite being rivals, both teams are finding success through similar avenues. The Cubs just have a little more pop, ranking third in the MLB in home runs compared to the Brewers who rank 25th.
Cubs & Brewers might have the best rivalry in the MLB this season
— SleeperCubs (@SleeperCubs) July 23, 2025
It’s going be an fun race to see who wins the division pic.twitter.com/QaLunud75t
The race in the NL Central has heated up quickly between the two rivals, and that will only continue in August. The two teams have only played five times this season so far, and will play their final eight games against each other in the next month.
The Cubs are 3-2 against the Brewers this season, and will head to American Family Field next week for a three-game set before the MLB trade deadline. After that, teams will play five more games at Wrigley Field in late August and then won't see each other in all of September.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere,” Happ said. “We’re going up there just trying to play our game and good baseball. And I think there’ll be a lot of noise around it. But we’re just gonna play another series in July.”
That series will be a big one, as the two teams sit one game apart atop the division. The next month will be interesting as the Cubs and Brewers fight for the top spot in the NL Central.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
