Milwaukee @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2011 ) Milwaukee 5, Chi. Cubs 1

THE STORY: The Milwaukee Brewers continue to trim games off their magic number to clinch the National League Central. With their starting pitching rounding into form, the Brewers have big plans for October. The Chicago Cubs probably have plans for next month as well, they just don’t include playoff games. Out of the race since midseason, the Cubs could have shut it down a long time ago but have instead kept the veterans in the lineup in an effort to win as many games as possible. Milwaukee will look to move its magic number down to two when it closes out a three-game series behind Randy Wolf at Chicago on Wednesday.

TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), WGN (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Matt Garza (8-10, 3.51 ERA) vs. Brewers LH Randy Wolf (13-9, 3.45).

Garza has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last nine starts and is coming off a nine-inning no-decision against Houston. Garza seemed poised for the complete-game victory but ended up yielding a two-run homer in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. The righthander has not had much success in two starts against Milwaukee this season, posting a 1-1 record but allowing a total of 10 runs in 11 2/3 innings. Wolf has a spot in the Brewers’ playoff rotation locked up but is battling with Shaun Marcum for the No. 3 slot behind Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo. Wolf has made a good case for himself recently, going 7-1 with a 3.13 ERA over his last 10 starts. He earned a win over Chicago on Aug. 26 and has yielded a total of three earned runs in 19 2/3 innings against the Cubs in 2011.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (91-64): Milwaukee could have had some concerns about Marcum coming down the stretch as the righthander had been tagged for five earned runs in each of his previous two starts. But Marcum came out Tuesday and quieted any doubts, striking out seven without issuing a walk in eight innings. Marcum joins Wolf, Greinke and Gallardo in throwing quality starts the last time through the rotation. The offense did not exactly go off Tuesday but it got the hits it needed and cashed in on an opportunity with a four-run third inning. Rickie Weeks is finally back to playing a full nine innings, providing Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun with some added protection and lengthening the lineup. The Brewers lead the St. Louis Cardinals by 5½ games.

ABOUT THE CUBS (68-87): Chicago has turned its eyes to Starlin Castro in the final weeks as the 21-year-old shortstop attempts to become the youngest player in club history to reach the 200-hit plateau. Castro made it to 197 Tuesday with a solo homer in the sixth inning. That blast, his 10th, also extended his streak of reaching base to 33 games, the longest for the franchise since Jerome Walton reached in 43 straight in 1989. Aramis Ramirez, who like Castro is trying to finish the season above .300, left Tuesday’s game in the sixth inning with a mild quad strain and is listed as day-to-day.

FINAL PITCH: Chicago, which fired longtime general manager Jim Hendry on Aug. 16, took another hit to the front office Tuesday when special assistant to the general manager Gary Hughes announced he would resign, effective Oct. 31. Hughes has been with the organization since 2002, mostly working in the scouting department.