Milwaukee @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2011 ) Milwaukee 2, Chi. Cubs 5

THE STORY: The Milwaukee Brewers continue to push toward the National League Central crown and the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs. The Chicago Cubs continue to show that they have some fight left in an otherwise lost season, battling to secure their third win in the last four games with a win in Monday’s series opener. The setback kept Milwaukee’s magic number to clinch the division at four and trimmed their lead over the St. Louis Cardinals to 5 1/2 games with eight left to play. The Brewers will be looking to inch closer to clinching when they hand the ball to Shaun Marcum on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSWI (Milwaukee), CSN (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Randy Wells (7-4, 4.93 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Shaun Marcum (12-7, 3.40 ERA).

Wells has not lost since July 28 at Milwaukee - a span of nine starts - but got knocked around in a no decision against the Cincinnati Reds last week. The righthander was touched for five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. The Brewers reached Wells for four runs and eight hits in six innings during that July 28 setback. He fared better at Wrigley against Milwaukee on June 14, yielding two earned runs over six in a no decision.

Marcum is stumbling a bit toward the finish line. The veteran righthander had allowed two earned runs or less in five straight starts before running into trouble in his last two outings, when he has surrendered a total of 10 earned runs and 17 hits in 11 2/3 innings to suffer back-to-back losses. Marcum got the better of Wells on July 28, yielding two runs in six innings during his lone career start against Chicago.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (90-64): Milwaukee apparently left its offense in Cincinnati. After scoring 24 runs in a three-game sweep of the Reds over the weekend, the Brewers managed only six hits in a 5-2 setback on Monday. Ryan Braun, who went 8-for-13 over the weekend, was held without a hit in four at-bats by Chicago pitching to snap his hitting streak at eight games. Braun still leads the NL in batting average at .333. The Brewers will not face another winning team in their final eight games and finish up with six straight at home against the Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates.

ABOUT THE CUBS (68-86): Chicago is still fighting, keeping the veterans in the lineup and attempting to extract as many wins as possible from the final weeks. On Monday it was Geovany Soto doing all the damage. While guiding Casey Coleman to six strong innings from behind the plate, Soto hit a pair of home runs and drove in five from the right side of the plate. He became the first Cub this season to find Waveland Avenue when he hit a two-run blast in the third inning over the left field stands. Soto’s 3-for-3 night marked his first multi-hit game since Aug. 20.

FINAL PITCH: The Cubs announced on Monday that righthander Kerry Wood is being shut down for the rest of the season due to a torn meniscus in his left knee. Wood will undergo arthroscopic surgery after the season when swelling has subsided. The 34-year old posted a 3.35 ERA in 55 appearances out of the bullpen for Chicago this season. An impending free agent, Wood said he intends to stay with the Cubs.