After 162 games in Major League Baseball’s regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs are deadlocked atop the National League Central — and that means that the two teams will face each other in a single tiebreaker game. The head-to-head will officially be counted as Game 163 for each club, with the winner earning home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs — and the loser hosting another one-game playoff in the NL Wild Card game. The tiebreaker showdown — the 11th one-game tiebreaker game in Major League history per ESPN — will live stream on Monday from Wrigley Field.
While Brewers Manager Craig Counsell has yet to name a starting pitcher for the tiebreaker game, Cubs GM Joe Madden has selected 29-year-old Colombian lefty Jose Quintana to lead the team off on the mound. Quintana brings a 4.09 ERA and a 13-11 record into Game 163, according to Baseball Reference . Quintana has already faced the Brewers six times in the 2018 season, per BR , winning four of those starts and losing only one.
In addition to determining which team grabs its 96th win to claim the division title — and best record in the National League — the game will also be a big one for Brewers’ MVP candidate Christian Yelich, who needs one home run to tie Colorado’s Nelson Arenado for the NL home run lead at 37, and two RBI’s to tie Chicago’s Javier Baez with 111. Yelich could also potentially clinch the triple crown, as he has already taken the NL batting title, per USA Today .
To find out how to watch a free live stream of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs Monday National League Central Division tiebreaker game, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. Central Daylight Time at the 42,500-seat Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, October 1.
Yelich, however, told The Chicago Tribune that he does not believe that the Brewers and Cubs now have a “rivalry.”
“I don’t think it really matters if we think it’s a rivalry or not,” Yelich said. “It’s two really good teams, and I think that’s been proven on the field. All that other stuff is for you guys to debate, whether it’s a rivalry. It is or it isn’t.”
The tiebreaker game will be the first at Wrigley Field since 1998, according to The Tribune , when the Cubs and San Francisco Giants squared off for a place in the playoffs. The game was won by Chicago, who went on to be swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NL Division Series.
To watch a live stream of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs one-game NL Central tiebreaker, use the stream provided by WatchESPN . Viewers should be aware that accessing the WatchESPN live stream requires login credentials from a cable or satellite TV provider subscription.
To view the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs Game 163 showdown live stream for free without a cable subscription, fans can sign up for a free trial of an “over the top” live TV streaming package, such as Sling TV , YouTube TV , or DirecTV Now . All three of those internet TV services require credit card information and subscription fees, but they all offer seven-day free trial periods. If the subscription is canceled prior to the expiration of that free week, fans can watch the Brew Crew vs. Cubbies game streamed live at no charge.
An audio-only live stream of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs NL Central tiebreaker game will be available on the TuneIn Radio site.