The Milwaukee Brewers are set to play their divisional rival Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. WGN is in line to televise the action and the game is scheduled to get underway at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs Odds
The Cubs are 68-50 straight up (SU) and 59-58 against the spread (ATS). The team hasn’t strayed too far from expectations, gaining 0.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 0.6 units (ATS). The Brewers, on the other hand, have gone 68-54 SU this year and are 63-58 ATS. Overall, the team’s accumulated 9.8 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 1.8 units ATS.
Chicago games have an over/under record of 53-61-3 in 2018. The Brewers have an over/under record of 57-60-4.
Junior Guerra is getting the nod for Milwaukee. The right-handed Guerra (6-7, 3.40 ERA) has racked up 114 strikeouts in 121.2 innings so far. He’s 0-1 with 10 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA against Chicago this year (two starts).
The Cubs are sending righty Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 4.02 ERA) to the mound. Hendricks has 115 strikeouts and 34 walks to his credit, as well as a 1.21 WHIP. Hendricks is 1-0 with six strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA across two starts against Milwaukee this year.
Chicago’s pitching staff has yielded 4.2 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The team’s starting pitching staff has a 4.20 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 8.9 K/9. In 51 games against divisional foes, Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.75 and the bullpen’s ERA is 3.85.
The Chicago offense is putting up 4.9 runs per contest, including 4.5 per game against divisional foes and 2.2 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .176/.254/.229 over its last five matchups and is 2-3 SU during that span.
Second baseman Javier Baez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo have led the Cubs’ hitters this year. Baez is hitting .292/.325/.572 with 25 home runs, 89 RBIs, 73 runs and 19 steals, while Rizzo’s line is .262/.360/.436 with 17 homers, 75 RBIs and 48 runs scored.
In the other dugout, Milwaukee’s pitching staff allowed 4.2 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.97 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.74 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.77, along with a WHIP of 1.24 and a K-per-9 of 10.13.
Brewers hitters have slashed .249/.319/.416 on their way to 4.4 runs scored per game this season, including 3.2 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Milwaukee’s offense has been sparked by outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. Yelich is slashing .310/.374/.518 with 18 home runs, 60 RBIs, 82 runs and 14 steals. Cain (.304/.391/.426) has produced nine homers, 31 RBIs, 62 runs and 21 steals.
The Brewers have gained 15.6 units and are 50-40 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 37 of those games, compared to 49 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cubs have lost 4.5 units and are 44-46 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in 41 of those games, as opposed to 46 which went under the total.
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Cubs, ATS Winner – Brewers, O/U – OVER
