Alex Bregman hits 3 home runs and Cubs set team record with 9 in 17-3 rout of Brewers

CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Bregman hit three of Chicago's franchise-record nine home runs and the Cubs punctuated their August power display with a 17-3 blowout of the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

Clay Holmes pitched six scoreless innings for the Cubs, who launched five homers off Milwaukee starter Kyle Harrison in the first four innings and three more against position player Andrew Vaughn late in the game.

Chicago went back-to-back twice, in the first inning and the fourth.

The nine longballs matched the second-most by one team in a major league game, according to Sportradar. Toronto hit 10 during an 18-3 victory over Baltimore on Sept. 14, 1987.

Chicago finished August with 62 home runs, second-most by a big league club in a calendar month behind the 74 hit by the New York Yankees in August 2019.

Milwaukee holds a seven-game lead in the NL Central over the Cubs with six meetings remaining this season, including three more in this series at Wrigley Field.

Holmes (6-6) allowed five hits, striking out eight and walking two. He has given up only five runs in five starts since joining the Cubs in a trade-deadline deal with the New York Mets.

Bregman’s second three-homer game in three weeks gave him 23 on the year.

The nine home runs were also the most allowed by the Brewers this season.

Tyrone Taylor and Nico Hoerner hit back-to-back homers off Harrison in the first, and Bregman connected in the second. Seiya Suzuki and Bregman went back-to-back in the fourth, the Cubs’ eighth set of back-to-back homers this season.

Harrison (10-4) had permitted only two earned runs in 12 previous innings against the Cubs this year, but he gave up nine runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings Monday as his season ERA spiked from 2.79 to 3.45.

Cooper Pratt hit a two-run homer for Milwaukee off Ryan Rolison in the seventh to break up Chicago's shutout bid. Carson Kelly answered in the bottom half when he connected off reliever DL Hall for his 10th of the season.

Vaughn, a first baseman, allowed seven runs and nine hits over two innings while throwing 45 mph knuckleballs. He served up homers to Matt Shaw, Michael Conforto and Bregman.

At the plate, Vaughn had an RBI single in the eighth.

Brewers LHP Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.59 ERA) starts Tuesday against Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (8-3, 3.99).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Chicago Cubs' Tyrone Taylor, center, celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki, left, of Japan, is congratulated by Alex Bregman, right, after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman hits a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman, right, watches his solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Edouard formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to gain strength before bringing potentially heavy rains and flooding into parts of Texas and Louisiana.

The storm was upgraded Monday night from a tropical depression and forecasters with the National Hurricane Center expect it will make landfall in Texas on Tuesday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the biggest problem expected from the storm is flooding. Forecasters are anticipating 3-6 inches (7-15 centimeters) of rain in the greater Houston area, with some areas of the state's upper coast getting up to 9 inches (22 centimeters). More than 4 inches (10 centimeters) per hour could fall and will likely cause flash flooding in low-lying and urban areas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you, Texas is prepared,” Orlando Alanis of the Texas Division of Emergency Management said during a news conference.

The tropical storm was centered Monday evening about 125 miles (202 kilometers) southeast of Cameron, Louisiana, and 155 miles (249 kilometers) southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph).

Crews worked Monday to clear dry vegetation that could ignite from a lightning strike and cause fast-spreading fires, Abbott said.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly brought rain and thunderstorms to parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Turks & Caicos, and the Bahamas, the hurricane center said.

In the Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Lowell was about 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and moving west with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph). Forecasters said Lowell could rapidly intensify and become a major hurricane by Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Hurricane Karina strengthened Monday into a powerful Category 4 storm, but isn't threatening land, forecasters said.

Karina has intensified quickly since becoming a hurricane Sunday, fueled by warm waters far from any shore. It was centered more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico and moving west, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph), the center said.

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Potential Tropical Cyclone Five forming over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Lowell over the Pacific Ocean, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Hurricane Karina strengthening off the southern tip of Baja California on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. (NOAA via AP)