(Photo credit: David Banks-Imagn Images)

The last time the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers met, it ended with a dogpile after Milwaukee clinched a Game 5 win in the National League Division Series in October.

Less will be at stake in the series opener in Chicago on Monday night, but both sides will be eager to flush recent losses and win in the NL Central rivalry.

The Cubs have dropped three straight series and are 2-6 since winning 10 games in a row. Chicago was on the wrong end of a walk-off home run on Sunday, losing 9-8 in 10 innings against the host Chicago White Sox.

Despite a disappointing three-game set, the Cubs finally showed signs of life. After scoring just five runs in five games, the club scored 21 across the three contests over the weekend.

Continuing to assume a larger role has been veteran Michael Conforto, who earned back-to-back starts in left field and as the designated hitter. The former All-Star made the big-league squad after signing a minor league contract in February. Conforto, 33, is hitting .345 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 27 games (15 starts) this season.

'I just feel really grateful to be here with this group of guys,' said Conforto, a first-round pick by the New York Mets in 2014 and All-Star in 2017 now with his fourth organization. 'It's a very talented group, and it's a place where I wasn't guaranteed anything, and rightfully so. I just want to be ready when my name's called and make my own impact.'

Chicago's Shota Imanaga (4-3, 2.32 ERA) will look to continue an excellent run in May when the left-hander takes the mound on Monday. Across his last three starts, Imanaga is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA. The 32-year-old suffered a loss on Wednesday despite tossing seven innings of two-run ball, striking out six and walking none in a 4-1 road defeat against the Atlanta Braves.

'Shota was awesome,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of his latest outing. 'He pitched wonderfully. He did a great job, and it's a shame we couldn't get him some runs.'

Imanaga has recorded at least six innings in six of his last seven starts after lasting just five frames in his first two appearances of the season -- an emphasis for the third-year player from Japan as the year moves along.

'I think as a starting pitcher, if we don't throw longer into games, that means more pressure on the reliever,' Imanaga said via an interpreter. 'I'm trying to do my role and throw as many innings as I can.'

Imanaga has struggled in four career starts against the Brewers, pitching to a 1-3 record and a 5.73 ERA.

The Brewers, meanwhile, have won eight of their last 10 but are coming off a 5-4 road loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. A 10-4 record in May has pulled the Brewers into a tie for second place in the NL Central with the St. Louis Cardinals, 1 1/2 games behind the Cubs.

Brandon Sproat (1-2, 5.75 ERA) hopes a pair of encouraging starts will serve as momentum ahead of his ninth appearance (seventh start) of the year for Milwaukee on Monday.

The right-hander was picked up by Milwaukee in a January trade that sent starting pitcher Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets. After a lackluster first month with his new club, Sproat has shown signs of improvement, sporting a 2.89 ERA across two starts in May.

He earned the first win of his major league career on Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 frames in a 6-4 triumph over the visiting San Diego Padres. A second-round pick by the Mets in 2023, Sproat made his major league debut on Sept. 7, 2025.

'In his case, I think he needed to get that one out of the way,' Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said of Sproat's first win.

Sproat, who has 10 starts in 12 appearances for his career, will face the Cubs for the first time.

--Field Level Media