As postseason intensity grips Wrigley Field, the Milwaukee Brewers left-hander seeks to repeat his dominant May performance against the Chicago Cubs.
The Milwaukee Brewers have already swept the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field this season, but obviously, the team they faced back in May isn't the same Cubs team that manager Craig Counsell has going for him here in late August.
Kyle Harrison is set to take the mound in game one against Clay Holmes, someone who has done wonders for the Cubs since being traded from the New York Mets.
The Brewers were in on Holmes as well at the deadline, but ultimately decided to acquire Dustin May instead, along with a pair of relievers.
Short-term, Holmes has been far more efficient with his new home, but it'll be interesting to see how he fares against this Brewers lineup, one that has been firing on all cylinders as of late.
Can Harrison give the Brewers another gem?
Going super deep into ballgames isn't exactly Harrison's forte, but that doesn't mean he's not a great pitcher.
Heading into his second start at Wrigley Field this season, it's important to note he improved to 5-1 back on Wednesday, May 20, with a seven inning, two hit, 11 strikeout gem against these Cubs.
That's the deepest he's gone into a game this season, and while he hasn't gone past five innings since Saturday, June 20, there's still a lot to love about Harrison.
"It's hard to not get lost in all of that, but it just comes down to winning every night. That's all you can think about in a series like this, just be the best version of yourself each night," Harrison told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
He continued, "We know what we need to do. We just need to take care of playing good, winning baseball, just like ‘Murph’ said at the beginning of the season. If we focus on winning series from this point on, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Harrison vs. Holmes is as good as it gets
There's no doubt there will be a postseason atmosphere in Chicago for this series opener, one that sees two pitchers come into the game with ERAs under three. Holmes may only be 5-6, but he sports a 2.26 ERA in his 13 starts this season.
Holmes is a 2.7 WAR player while Harrison's total sits at 2.5. The Brewers' 25-year-old lefty is an astonishing 10-3, so he's recorded as many decisions as Holmes has games started this year.
Harrison, who's started 21 games, has a 2.79 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 103.1 innings pitched. This will be his third showdown against the Cubs this year, with his most recent being on Saturday, June 27, when he allowed two earned runs on three hits in five innings of work.
As for Holmes, he last pitched against the Brewers on July 2, 2025, in a very similar outing where he went 5.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs on three hits.
