NL Central monthly check-up: Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers and more

The American League East is the top division in baseball in 2023, but all five teams are flirting with a .500 record, that is not the case with the National League Central. Along with the American League Central, the NL Central is having a tough season and things didn’t get any better in the month of May.

There was some movement within the standings, but one thing remains clear two months into the season — the most likely only path to October baseball will come from winning the division. As June begins, let’s do a check in on how things fared in the month of May in the NL Central.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers did little to separate themselves in the division from the rest of the pack and are just one of two teams sitting over .500 and they did despite having a losing month. They won just 11 out of their 26 games and suffered an injury when Willy Adames went down after getting hit in the head with a foul ball. Losing one of their key contributors is less than ideal right now for Milwaukee.

Their rotation continued to struggle and was a big reason why they finished the month with a losing record by five games. Owen Miller had a good month, hitting .363 with seven doubles, four home runs, and 12 RBI. Christian Yelich had four home runs himself with a team-high 13 RBI. Rowdy Tellez had a down month hitting just .240.

Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea were the only two starters to win two games, while Corbin Burnes lost three of his five starts, but his best outing of the month was his final start against the San Francisco Giants where he allowed just four hits and one run over seven innings in a 3-1 loss. Getting more from their pitching and offense is going to be key in June for the Brewers.