Jacob Misiorowski rallies Brewers past Cubs in Game 1 of series
Jacob Misiorowski pushed through a rough first inning but rallied the Brewers in an eventually win over the Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee on July 28, 2025.
Before his team took the field to face the Chicago Cubs, Matt Arnold considered the question at hand about his first baseman.
How sustainable do you guys feel what we’re seeing from Andrew Vaughn is?
“We have several guys downstairs and upstairs that think this is real,” the Milwaukee Brewers general manager answered.
Vaughn delivered a response of his own hours later.
Vaughn, the only thing hotter this month in Milwaukee than the run of stifling summer heat that’s been permeating Lake Michigan’s shores, continued his surprisingly-sweltering start with the Brewers, slugging a grand slam that served as the exclamation mark on a 9-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 29 in front of a third consecutive sellout at American Family Field.
“Winning is fun,” Vaughn said. “Especially when the crowd’s electric like it was tonight. It’s been great.”
BOX SCORE: Brewers 9, Cubs 3
The swing, which sent Cubs manager Craig Counsell to the bullpen phone before Vaughn even left the right-handed batter’s box and a couple thousand visitors to the parking lots to beat toll road-bound traffic, was part of a career-high six-RBI day for Vaughn.
In 15 games with the Brewers, Vaughn is batting .375 with five homers and a 1.210 OPS. His 21 runs batted in are two more than he had in 48 games with the Chicago White Sox before the June 13 trade that sent him to Milwaukee.
“We’ve seen Vaughn in the big leagues for a while so it’s not as surprising as you may think,” manager Pat Murphy said. “But he had really not put it together this year. The swing decisions are great. The swings are great.
“It’s been a pretty good month.”
It sure has — and not just for Vaughn.
By littering the bases all night and punishing the Cubs for their defensive miscues, the Brewers improved to 17-6 in July, pushed their division lead to two games and continued to stand alone as the team with the best record in baseball (64-43).
A barrel of fun, indeed.
“When you have a team like this who believes in each other, it’s intoxicating,” starting pitcher Quinn Priester said. “You can’t help but believe in yourself when you’re in the arena. There’s something about that, that you feel. It feels good to come through for the team.”
Priester, much like Vaughn, came through for the Brewers in the victory, improving his record to 10-2 with 5 â…” innings of quality, gritty work on the mound.
Also similar to Vaughn, he’s performing consistently for a team that took him on when he was an outcast earlier this year. Acquired from the Red Sox, where he was stowed away in the minor leagues, in April, Priester has nine wins and a 2.59 earned run average across his last 11 appearances.
“It’s cool to reflect back earlier in the year and kind of see how far we’ve come and show the work we’ve done is paying off,” Priester said.
Andrew Vaughn remains unbelievable
You almost couldn’t make it up.
The most unexpected plot twist of the Brewers season continues to only get even crazier, with Aaron Civale’s stunning trade request somehow becoming the gift that keeps on giving.
Vaughn, acquired when the Brewers shipped Civale to the White Sox to honor his trade request after being moved to the bullpen, has steamrolled through his first three weeks with his new team.
Soft spoken but carrying a big stick, Vaughn is second in the majors with 21 RBI since his first game with the Brewers on July 7, when he fittingly hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat.
Vaughn one-upped that swing in the sixth against Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly.
Having already driven in runs with a sacrifice fly and single, Vaughn stepped to the dish with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth and Milwaukee leading, 5-2.
Pressly hung a a first-pitch curve.
Vaughn pummeled it into the home bullpen in left-center.
It’s natural to wonder what’s changed for Vaughn since the Brewers recalled him from their Class AAA squad earlier this month. He will point to his swing decisions being improved as part of the solution. But there’s more to the equation, too.
“Sometimes it’s huge,” Vaughn said of his confidence. “Just getting on the field, doing your work. Figuring out, whether it’s in the cage, just being confident with it.”
With a little help, Quinn Priester gives the Brewers a strong start
The first time Priester faced the Cubs, it went poorly. And then some. Priester was ambushed by the visitors in blue for seven runs in his first inning, a disastrous outing that led to questions about if he should be optioned to Class AAA.
He showcased his development in the three months since then, turning in an absolute grinder of a start and allowing only two runs over 5 â…” innings. Priester allowed eight hits and walked two, but dodged in and out of traffic all evening save for his two three-up, three-down innings.
The Brewers righty struck out only three, but the third and final one came in a big spot, freezing Reese McGuire, representing the tying run, with a front-hip sinker with runners on the corners and one out.
With Priester having emptied the tank, the Brewers turned to Aaron Ashby, who got Matt Shaw to pop up harmlessly to escape the threat with a three-run lead still in tact. Ashby then finished off the game from there to earn his second save.
“The sinker to McGuire was a really great pitch,” Priester said. “Turned the ball over to Ashby and got the job done. Did my job, certainly. I want to be a little bit crisper coming out of that sixth, but ultimately Ashby did a phenomenal job, and I battled.”
Jackson Chourio exits the game during fifth-inning rally
On one hand, the Brewers were the beneficiaries of unusually shoddy defense from Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, arguably the game’s best defensive outfielder.
On the other, one of Crow-Armstrong’s miscues may have indirectly contributed to the Brewers’ hottest hitter leaving the game with an injury.
Jackson Chourio led off the bottom of the fifth with a ringing fly ball that caromed off the wall in right-center and right past a speeding Crow-Armstrong, whose over-eagerness to try and make a grab allowed Chourio to reach third. But Chourio appeared to tweak something in his right leg as he rounded second and hobbled a bit into third. After a visit from trainer Murphy, he exited the game.
The Brewers labeled it as a right hamstring spasm for Chourio, who said he “felt a little tickle” as he ran but hopes it’s a cramp and nothing more.
Milwaukee’s offense kept rolling nonetheless. Following a William Contreras RBI double, Christian Yelich lofted a high fly ball to the warning track in center. Crow-Armstrong was seemingly camped under it before whiffing on the catch entirely.
“It’s funny,” Murphy said. “When the ball’s hit really hard and it has a little bit of movement on it at the end, you’ve done it so much that you assume it’s going in your glove and doesn’t. I’ve never seen Armstrong do anything but make really good catches.”
Vaughn followed with his run-scoring single back up the middle to push the Brewers’ lead to 4-1, then Caleb Durbin lofted the third sacrifice fly of the game to tack another run.
Inning-ending call seems to benefit Brewers
Home plate umpire DJ Reyburn appeared to give the Brewers some home cooking for the final out in the fourth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Cubs catcher Reese McGuire lightly made contact with a pitch on the very end of his bat. All camera angles seemed to show the ball still in foul territory behind home plate when catcher William Contreras grabbed it with his bare hand, but Reyburn called it a fair ball for an easy third out.
The Cubs, including manager Craig Counsell and Crow-Armstrong from his spot on third base, vehemently protested the call but to no avail.
“We had one coming,” said Murphy.
The Brewers will take a break like that one, but they didn’t need it on this night. They, once again, rolled.
“You can call it underdog or whatever,” Murphy said. “This is a bunch of hungry guys. They’re hungry. They understand how this game goes. They understand they’re an inch from the top and an inch from the bottom. If you understand that and really believe that, then you’ll come every day with that edge.”
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 6:40 p.m. CT
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineupSal Frelick RFJackson Chourio CFWilliam Contreras CChristian Yelich DHAndrew Vaughn 1BIsaac Collins LFBrice Turang 2BAnthony Seigler 3BJoey Ortiz SSCubs lineupMichael Busch 1BKyle Tucker RFSeiya Suzuki DHPete Crow-Armstrong CFNico Hoerner 2BIan Happ LFDansby Swanson SSReece McGuire CMatt Shaw 3BBrewers schedule
Brewers vs. Cubs, July 30, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (12-4, 2.81) vs. Chicago LHP Shota Imanaga (7-4, 3.12) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Off day, July 31.