NL Central Standings Update: Cubs 3.5 games back of Brewers |
As we near the end of April, we have gotten through a couple of weeks of the MLB season. The division had a lot of movement throughout the offseason, and the Cardinals and Brewers look poised to repeat their success of a year ago.
We at CubsHQ are here to break down the action of the NL Central weekly as the season progresses...
Milwaukee has started strong to open up the 2022 campaign. Like last season, the Brewers are constructed to prevent runs, not score them. The Brewers are boosted by an excellent pitching staff of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, and Corbin Burnes — a three-headed monster that stacks up against anybody in the National League. Pair that with a bullpen that has Josh Hader makes them a tough team to beat. Early on, Willy Adames and Rowdy Tellez have led the Brewers offensively. So far this season, the Brewers have lost two of three to the Cubs, took two of three from Baltimore, split a four-game series with St. Louis, swept Pittsburgh in a three-game series, took two of three from Philadelphia, lost to San Francisco in a one-game series and won the opener of a weekday series with Pittsburgh on Tuesday. UP NEXT: This week, the Brewers visit the Pirates for a series and then host the Cubs for three games over the weekend.
The St. Louis Cardinals did not make a ton of noise in the offseason, but their 17-game winning streak in September gave them the confidence to have a strong season in 2022. Reuniting Albert Pujols with Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina for one more year mixed with the talent that Arenado, Goldschmidt, Carlson, and O’Neil have given the Cardinals a very potent lineup. So far, the Cardinals took two of three from the Pirates, beat the Royals in one game, split a four-game series with Milwaukee, took two of three from Miami, took two of three from Cincinnati, and lost the first two of a weekday series with the New York Mets. UP NEXT: This week, the Cardinals finish their series with the Mets in St. Louis and then host the Diamondbacks over the weekend.
The Pirates were widely expected to finish last in this division for the previous few years, but the progress they have made over the years does not pencil them in as a bottom feeder in this division. So far, the team is around .500 with solid contributions around the field. Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Daniel Vogelbach have led things for a Pirates lineup scoring more runs than before. So far this season, the Pirates lost two of three to the Cardinals, split a two-game series with the Cubs, took three of four from the Nationals, got swept by the Brewers, took three of four from the Cubs, and lost game one of a weekday series with Milwaukee. UP NEXT: This week, the Pirates finish their series hosting Milwaukee and then host San Diego for three games over the weekend.
It was an up and down season for the Chicago Cubs last year, after losing over ten players at the trading deadline and building toward the future. The rebuild is far from over, but the Cubs are now transitioning to a new team, with Marcus Stroman and Nick Madrigal as the main newcomers to go along with the early favorite for rookie of the year: Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs look much different, riding an offense that leans on contact to scoring near the most runs in the MLB thus far. The Cubs opened the season by taking two of three from Milwaukee and splitting a two-game series with Pittsburgh. After that, the Cubs split a four-game series with Colorado and then lost two of three to Tampa Bay before dropping three of four to the Pirates. The Cubs also opened a weekday series with the reigning champion Atlanta Braves with a 3-1 loss. UP NEXT: The Cubs will finish their series with Atlanta and then head to Milwaukee for three games over the weekend.
The Reds have been the MLB’s worst team early on. After nearly making the playoffs and having multiple breakout seasons offensively, the Reds have said goodbye to Nicholas Castellanos, Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suarez, and their lineup has struggled mightily early on. The Reds opened the season by splitting with Atlanta. Since then, the Reds were swept in a two-game series by the Guardians, were swept in four games by the Dodgers, were swept in three games by the Padres, and lost two of three to St. Louis over the weekend. On Tuesday, the Reds also lost game one of a series to San Diego. UP NEXT: This week, the Reds finish hosting the Padres before heading to Colorado for three games with the Rockies. Stay tuned all year for updates on the NL Central.Milwaukee Brewers 11-7
St. Louis Cardinals 9-7 (1 game back):
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-9 (2.5 games back)
Chicago Cubs 7-10 (3.5 games back)
Cincinnati Reds 3-14 (7.5 games back)
