A pair of National League Central foes go at it in the first of a four-game series when the Chicago Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers into Wrigley Field for a doubleheader Monday afternoon. Here, we’ll focus on the first leg.
The last team these clubs crossed paths, the Beermakers won two of three in Wisconsin.
The Brewers (30-18) are in the midst of an 11-game road swing, having made stops in San Diego and St. Louis. They stay in the Midwest after splitting a four-game bill with the Cardinals. They sit atop the NL Central, holding a 3.5-game advantage on the Redbirds.
Chicago (19-27) is currently in fourth place in the grouping. Their last time out, they dropped a clash with the cross-town rival White Sox in extra innings. Including that defeat, the Cubs have lost three of their last four.
A tandem of Chicago batters have done well in facing the Brewers thus far in first baseman Alfonso Rivas and center fielder Ian Happ. Both have at least ten plate appearances against Milwaukee this season and have posted averages of .375 or better.
Behind them, though, there isn’t much to boast about. No other Cub is hurting better than .250 in this season series. The team as a whole has a woeful .194 average against the Brewers’ pitching.
They would prefer to produce more this time around, being that Chicago was outscored 20-2 in the initial two meetings in their last encounter with Milwaukee.
Over the last week, first baseman Frank Schwindel has scored five runs and driven in another eight. He could be a key to getting the ball rolling.
Brewers at Cubs Odds
MLB odds have the Brewers favored to get this week off to a good start. Milwaukee is -1.5 on the run line at +130, while the Cubs are -155 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Brewers are -120 and Chicago a +100 underdog. The total has been set at 11 runs, with the over being +100 and the under -120 at the time of this writing.
MLB betting trends will show you that Milwaukee hasn’t exactly put up eye-popping hitting numbers. Of players with at least 100 at-bats, right fielder Hunter Renfroe paces the team with a .266 average.
Collectively, the Brewers are hitting .237. Power-wise, they’ve shown to be much better, ranking third in the major leagues and first in the NL with 64 home runs.
Matchup Information
Brewers at Cubs Betting Preview
Left-hand Ethan Small will be on the hill for the guests, making his first-ever start in the bigs. Milwaukee’s top prospect, he’s posted a 1.78 ERA over 33 outings in the minor leagues. He struck out 49 challengers in 38.1 frames prior to his call-up.
He looks to add to a pitching staff that has the second-lowest ERA in the NL at 3.27. The Brewers’ arms have also fanned the most batters of any team in the league this year.
Interestingly, the Cubs will also have someone who hasn’t hurled in the MLB before. Matthew Swarmer, 19th-round choice out of Kutztown in 2016, will get the ball. He had a 3-1 record and a 2.08 ERA before being slated to throw in this one.
His 0.95 WHIP is a promising sign indicator that he can have success at this level.
Brewers at Cubs Betting Predictions
With two newbie pitchers going head-to-head, this is one of the more intriguing MLB picks today. The Brewers’ Small recorded better numbers at the lower levels, but it’s not always a sure thing that stats carry over.
Neither team is all that outstanding at the dish, either, but Milwaukee is in the driver’s seat of the division for a reason. Chicago hasn’t shown much consistency against the Brewers on offense, and that won’t change in this early matchup.
Get to betting on baseball and take the visitors to cover the spread in the Friendly Confines, setting the tone before the nightcap.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.