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.

The Cubs are set to host the best team in baseball, the Brewers, for a five-game series this week at Wrigley Field. It starts with a doubleheader on Monday. Several weeks ago, it looked like this would be a huge series to shape how the division race for the NL Central title would shake out.

The Chicago Cubs will have a chance to cut into an eight-game deficit in the NL Central when they welcome in the Milwaukee Brewers for a five-game series.