Cubs tag Brewers for franchise-record 9 HRs, break NL record for most HRs in a month

The Chicago Cubs keep on slugging. On Monday, they didn't even need Pete Crow-Armstrong to join the party.

In a home game against the rival and MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs exploded for nine home runs in a 17-3 win . The home run tally set a franchise record for a single game. It fell one short of the single-game MLB record of 10 set by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987.

It also capped a hot-slugging August for the Cubs, who have tallied 62 home runs since Aug. 1. That set a record for the most home runs in a calendar month by an NL team. Per MLB.com's Sarah Langs , it's the second-most home runs in a calendar month by one team in MLB history, trailing only the 2019 New York Yankees, who clobbered 74 in August.

Brewers starter Kyle Harrison caught the brunt of the damage Monday, with five home runs and nine earned runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings of a start that inflated his ERA from 2.79 to 3.45.

The Cubs got to Harrison early and often. Tyrone Taylor and Nico Hoerner notched back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Cubs left the frame with a 4-0 lead.

Alex Bregman hit a home run in the second, then got to Harrison again in the fourth with a solo shot that extended Chicago's lead to 8-0.

Harrison faced three more batters before Brewers manager Paul Murphy went to the bullpen. But the starter wasn't the only Brewer to get battered.

By the time the Cubs had tallied 10 runs in the seventh inning, Milwaukee waved the white flag and stopped sending pitchers to the mound. First baseman Andrew Vaughn finished the game on the mound for the Brewers, recording the final six outs.

His high lobs over the plate surrendered three more home runs in the eighth. Bregman's third home run of the night capped the barrage with two outs in the bottom of the frame.

Vaughn finished the game with 7 earned runs allowed on 3 walks and 9 hits, including the 3 home runs. His ERA now stands at 30.00.

Crow-Armstrong — who totaled five home runs in Chicago's two previous games to bolster his MVP case — did not contribute to the cause on a 1-for-5 night at the plate. Instead, it was Bregman's three home runs that led the way; he was the only Cub who hit more than one.

Six other Cubs hitters got in on the action with a home run each. And the Wrigley Field stands remained packed when it was done, as fans celebrated with W flags and a joyous rendition of "Go Cubs Go" to mark the vanquishment of their NL Central rivals.

Chicago leaves Monday's win at 78-60, comfortably in control of an NL wild-card spot.

The Brewers, meanwhile, are fine. The pummeling by the Cubs counts for only one loss, and they leave Monday's defeat with baseball's best record intact at 85-53, seven games ahead of the Cubs in the division.

Milwaukee will have three more games to exact revenge in what they'll hope isn't a tide-turning four-game set in the race for the NL Central.