The Padres make the trip to Chicago to face the Cubs! Both of these teams have been solid with the Padres playing very well, while the Cubs are one of the best teams in the NL currently. Our MLB odds series has our Padres-Cubs prediction, odds, and pick for Wednesday.

The Padres have been decent to start the season with a 19-19 record so far on the season. The key has been their offense this season where they rank second in offense behind the plate, only behind the Dodgers. Fernando Tatis, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jurickson Profar, Jackson Merrill, and Jake Cronenworth have been the biggest keys behind the plate and why the Padres have started better than most thought before this season started. This also comes after they went through a massive fire sale in the offseason after a disappointing season last year. Their pitching has started to play better and they added Dylan Cease to bolster the lineup with Michael King and Yu Darvish already playing well so far this season.

The Cubs have started the season playing well and have a 21-15 record. Their bats and pitching are both in the middle of the pack this season in the MLB. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, Michael Tauchman, and Dansby Swanson make up a very good offense for the Cubs. Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, and Jameson Taillon are standouts in the pitching staff, but Justin Steele is also finally healthy as well. The Cubs have come on strong lately and have the talent to keep their spot this season as one of the best teams in the MLB.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Padres-Cubs Odds

San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+126)

Moneyline: -130

Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-152)

Moneyline: +110

Over: 9 (+100)

Under: 9 (-122)

How to Watch Padres vs. Cubs

Time: 2:20 pm ET

TV: Spectrum Sports Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Padres Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Padres are starting Dylan Cease to start on the mound. So far this year, he has a 4-2 record, a 2.55 ERA, and a 0.80 WHIP. Through 42.1 innings, he has allowed 15 runs on 20 hits with 14 walks and 48 strikeouts. He has appeared in seven total games so far this season and the Padres have gone 4-3. In his last start, he pitched 6.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits, with zero walks and eight strikeouts. Dylan Cease has been great for the Padres as a massive addition to their pitching staff this past weekend.

The Padres' offense has started the season red-hot. They are second in team batting average at .261 after finishing last season with a .244 batting average. The offense is highlighted mainly by Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. in most of the batting categories. Profar leads the way in batting average at .341, in RBI at 25, in OBP at .425, and in total hits at 43. Tatis Jr. then leads the way in home runs at seven. Their offense can compete with any team in the MLB and they have a good matchup in this game against the Hayden Wesneski and the Cubs bullpen.

Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cubs are putting Hayden Wesneski on the mound where he has a 2-0 record, a 0.54 ERA, and a 0.72 WHIP. So far this season, he has allowed two runs on nine hits with three walks and 14 strikeouts through 16.2 innings. In his four appearances this season, the Cubs are 2-2. In his last start, he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed zero runs on three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in a loss. Wesneski has been in the bullpen and used as a starter this season to mixed results, and it does not get any easier against the Padres and their offense.

The Cubs' offense has been inconsistent this season. They are 19th in team batting average at .236 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Nico Hoerner, Christopher Morel, and Mike Tauchman lead the way in most of the batting categories. Hoerner leads the way in batting average at .279 and in total hits at 38. Morel leads the way in home runs at eight and then in RBI at 23. They also get a difficult matchup against Dylan Cease on the mound against their offense.

Final Padres-Cubs Prediction & Pick

The Padres are playing better baseball than the Cubs are right now. They have won five of their last six games and they have the advantage on the mound with Dylan Cease. Their offense is the better unit too with the Cubs taking a dip on offense in comparison. Wesneski has been okay at best, but his appearance also signifies that the Cubs will go to their bullpen as much as possible. The Padres are the better team and should win and cover despite the game being on the road in this spot.

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Final Padres-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Padres -1.5 (+126)