advantage in the season series with the Brewers.“We’re going

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CHICAGO — Throughout a season in which the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers spent the year as neighbors , both geographically and in the National League Central standings, it will come down to one final meeting.After finishing the 162-game schedule with matching records (95-67) and in a first-place tie atop the Central, the division title and the ability to avoid playing in a one-game wild-card playoff game will be determined by a Monday meeting at Wrigley Field.By beating the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 on Sunday, the Cubs will host the Brewers, who remained in the hunt for the Central title with an 11-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The winner will boast the National League’s record and host the NL Division Series on Thursday. The loser will play in a wild-card game on Tuesday.Article continues below ...The Cubs own a 11-8 come out and play our game,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said in a postgame televised interview on NBC Sports Chicago. “I think we lay it on the line tomorrow.”Jose Quintana (13-11, 4.09 ERA) will start for the Cubs on Monday. He has been solid in September and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts this month. Quintana is coming off a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he surrendered two runs and four hits in five innings. He is 6-2 with a 1.60 ERA in 10 career starts against the Brewers.As familiar as the Cubs and Brewers are with one another, Monday’s game will hold extra significance. Although it’s not a win or go home scenario for either team , the winner will have home-field advantage in the divisional series and the loser will have to turn around and play Tuesday in the wild-card matchup.“They’re a great team, they’re well-coached, we’re a great team, we’re well-coached,” Rizzo said. “They want it, we want it. We’ve been battling back and forth for the last few years now. Wrigley Field, noon game, right? The fans will be behind us all day. I couldn’t think of a better place to be playing and how lucky we are to be playing (Monday).”The Brewers , who trailed the Cubs by five games earlier this month and by a full game before winning Saturday, will arrive at Wrigley Field full of confidence having won seven straight games and nine out of their last 10.Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell has not yet settled on a starting pitcher for Monday’s game but has the luxury of not having to use any of his top-end relievers in Sunday’s lopsided victory over the Tigers.Regardless of who takes the mound for the Brewers, Milwaukee knows if it can extend its win streak, the extra two days of rest and not having to play in a must-win situation on Tuesday will be well worth the effort.“We’re going in there with the mindset that it’s a must win,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said after Sunday’s victory. “Obviously, we are still alive if we don’t win. … The mindset is that we’ve given ourselves two chances to get in. We need to be ready to go.“They are a great team. We’ve played each other tough all year. It’s only fitting that we have to do one more.” CHICAGO (AP) — After four consecutive playoff appearances and the 2016 World Series title, the Chicago Cubs are way past playing for Joe Maddon’s future.They also know what’s going on, too.Maddon is entering the final year of his contract after the team declined to offer an extension to its 65-year-old manager. While president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has said he thinks the relationship will continue past this season , the situation with Maddon hovers over the Cubs as they try to bounce back from last year’s disappointing finish.“I love Joe. He’s created a culture here that can’t be beat anywhere in the league,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “I’m obviously biased. I think Joe, when he talks everyone listens. He has so much knowledge. When he talks he is like a father figure. He gets it, and he understands it.”Maddon took a more hands-on approach during spring training after the Cubs blew a five-game lead in the NL Central last September and were eliminated by Colorado in the NL wild card game. He joined new hitting coach Anthony Iapoce for extensive work with the team on situational hitting, looking to help an offense that was plagued by inconsistency last year.Chicago hit an NL-best .258 last season and scored 761 runs, fourth in the league. But it also managed one run or less in a whopping 39 games.The remedy for the Cubs’ offensive issues might be on the roster, or at least they hope so after they failed to make any major moves over the winter.Kris Bryant is healthy again after he was hampered by left shoulder inflammation last year. Ian Happ stumbled in his second major league season, and Willson Contreras is looking to return to form after he hit just 10 homers and struck out 121 times in 138 games.“A lot of times as a player you try too hard ,” Contreras said. “You fail and you step up. Last year was a learning year for me, my second full season in the big leagues. This year is going to be a little bit easier.”The Cubs open the season March 28 at Texas.IN NEED OF RELIEFThe bullpen has potential, but health is a major concern at the moment. Closer Brandon Morrow will miss the start of the season while he recovers from elbow surgery. Pedro Strop has been hampered by right hamstring trouble, and Tony Barnette and Xavier Cedeno also are dealing with injuries. Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards Jr. and newcomer Brad Brach could get plenty of work until reinforcements arrive from the injured list. The 32-year-old Cishek had a 2.18 ERA in a career-high 80 appearances in his first year with Chicago. Brach had 12 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 69 games for Baltimore and Atlanta last season.NEW FACESThe Cubs are hoping Daniel Descalso can provide some additional veteran leadership after he agreed to a $5 million, two-year contract in December. The utility infielder hit .238 with a career-best 13 homers and 57 RBIs in 138 games with Arizona last season.LOOKING GOODJon Lester, Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels , Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana form what could be baseball’s deepest rotation. Lester went 18-6 last year with a 3.32 ERA. Darvish missed most of his first season with Chicago because of injuries, but looked much better this spring. Hamels provided a big lift after he was acquired in a July trade with Texas, and Hendricks and Quintana also are consistent performers.JAVY TIMEJavier Baez is coming off a breakout season , becoming one of baseball’s biggest stars. The slugger hit .290 with 34 homers and an NL-high 111 RBIs while playing his usual stellar defense all around the infield. Producing a similar year could be a tough task.WORTH WATCHINGAlbert Almora Jr. played in a career-high 152 games in 2018, and the results were mixed. Almora, who turns 25 on April 16, batted just .234 in September. The sixth-overall pick in the 2012 draft could help strengthen Chicago’s lineup with a better all-around performance this season.

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