(Photo credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images)

The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to left-hander Robert Gasser as they look to protect their National League Central lead over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Monday in the opener of a crucial three-game series.

Gasser (4-5, 4.57 ERA) will be opposed by left-hander Matthew Boyd (8-3, 4.05) in a rematch of last Tuesday's start in Chicago. The Brewers overcame a 3-0 deficit for a 9-4 victory as the teams split the four-game series last week at Wrigley Field.

Milwaukee (88-56) lost its second consecutive game at Cincinnati, 12-8 on Sunday, in the second straight rocky start from Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison, who has lasted just 3 2/3 innings in each of his last two outings.

The Brewers committed two errors that led to four unearned runs and Milwaukee pitchers walked 10.

'We pride ourselves with great defense, and we've been doing that,' Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. 'If you want to be a great team, you have to have great defense. You know, when the pitching staff walks 10 and then we make three defensive miscues with runners on third, it changes the game.'

Chicago (81-63) lost 10-3 at Miami on Sunday despite Pete Crow-Armstrong's 40th homer. The Cubs remain seven games behind the Brewers in the division and hold the top NL wild-card spot by one-half game in front of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Milwaukee, bidding for its fourth consecutive division title, is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and 2 1/2 in front of the Tampa Bay Rays for the best overall record in the majors.

In his last start against the Cubs on Tuesday, Gasser allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in 4 1/3 innings but did not get the decision in a 76-pitch effort. Despite the short outing, Gasser received a positive pep talk on the mound from Murphy when the pitching change was being made.

'I was a little bit disappointed in how it went for me,' Gasser said afterward. 'Just a couple bad breaks, leadoff walks, but for him to say that to me out there on the mound, take his time to tell me I did a good job, it means a lot to me and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.'

Gasser was 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA in five games in August, including four starts, pitching at least five innings in three of those outings.

Gasser has 82 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings, with 27 walks and eight hit batters. He has allowed 13 home runs.

Gasser's only other outing against the Cubs was in May 2024, when he allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings in a 5-1 victory in his second-to-last start before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Boyd left his last start against Milwaukee with a 3-1 lead and two aboard in the sixth, but the Cubs bullpen failed to hold the lead. Boyd was charged with three runs in 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

'I think Matt pitched really well,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said afterward. 'He had to make some big pitches. He made the big pitches when he had to make some big pitches. I thought he gave us a really good outing.'

After going 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in five starts in July, Boyd was 2-2 with a 5.23 ERA in five starts in August, allowing 20 runs (18 earned) in 31 innings, including nine homers.

Cubs outfielder Ian Happ was scratched shortly before Sunday's game with left knee discomfort.

--Field Level Media