To twist the knife, the Brewers found themselves in an almost identical situation in the eighth inning, albeit against a less established pitcher. They squeezed a four-run rally out of Cubs reliever Gavin Hollowell’s three consecutive one-out walks.

Playing in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader, the Brewers responded from their first loss in 15 games with another victory, and the crowd of 38,971 featured an awful lot of Milwaukee faithful cheering on the hottest team in baseball (79-45).

The sky has been falling for a while on the north side of Chicago. Fans are unhappy and, on occasion, booing in Wrigley Field. After all, the Cubs had a 6 ½-game lead in the NL Central after beating the Brewers on June 17, humming along with one of the best offenses in baseball.

The Chicago Cubs once had a strong lead in the National League Central. However, the Milwaukee Brewers entered Sunday with a nine-game lead.

The Cubs have dropped seven of their last 10 games while the Brewers have reeled off 12 straight victories. The Brewers have a 76-44 record, and that's the best mark in either league. The Cubs have fallen to 68-53 and they are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League Wild Card race.

SportsLine's model simulated Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs 10,000 times and revealed its MLB picks for Monday afternoon's Game 1 matchup at Wrigley Field in Chicago

The Chicago Cubs failed to comeback and win on Friday, matching a brutal franchise record that hasn't been done in more than a century.

Shota Imanaga’s steady performance Saturday helped the Cubs snap a 35-game streak without a comeback win, the longest in franchise history.