Cubs Unthinkably Find Themselves in Second-Place of NL Central

The Chicago Cubs shockingly no longer hold a lead in the NL Central.

Jul 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2) reacts after striking out against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Wrigley Field | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are no longer leading the NL Central.

For the first time since April 2, they are not in first place of their division.

That has to feel like a gut punch for the Cubs, since they are in the midst of putting together one of their most exciting seasons in recent memory and the Milwaukee Brewers were at least supposed to be retooling things after losing Willy Adames in free agency and trading away star closer Devin Williams.

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But no matter who is on the roster for the Brewers, they just find ways to win. And that's exactly what's happening right now, with Milwaukee winning 11 straight games that now puts their record since May 25 at 35-12.

It's a remarkable run by Chicago's division rivals, and there's not much they have done wrong during that time with a 28-20 record of their own in that same stretch.

Still, it's painful nonetheless.

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For a while, it looked like the Cubs might cruise to their first NL Central title in a 162-game campaign since 2017, vanquishing the Brewers who have won three out of the last four.

Chicago appeared to have pressed all the right buttons this past winter, finally getting aggressive by acquiring Kyle Tucker, a move that has worked out tremendously with him becoming an All-Star in the first half.

Yet, despite Milwaukee undergoing what seemed like detrimental changes, they are now leading the division once again.

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The good news for the Cubs is this run by the Brewers doesn't seem to be sustainable.

While they have proven to be a good team that can compete with the best around Major League Baseball, they are also going to face a much harder schedule the rest of the way.

Per Tankathon, Milwaukee has the seventh-hardest schedule remaining with their upcoming opponents owning a .510 winning percentage. Meanwhile, Chicago's schedule is the fourth-easiest, with their upcoming opponents having just a .482 winning percentage.

With the trade deadline right around the corner, that should give the Cubs an opportunity to add enough ammo to outlast the Brewers in this division race.

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