The Milwaukee Brewers will host the Chicago Cubs for the finale of a three-game set at American Family Field. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Cubs-Brewers prediction and pick.
Milwaukee kicked off the series scoring a season-high 14 runs in Monday's opener. The Brewers then followed that big performance up with a solid outing from Brandon Woodruff in a 2-1 victory to clinch the series. With Milwaukee back in first place in the NL Central, the Cubs will look to salvage the series and lessen the blow.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Cubs-Brewers odds.
MLB Odds: Cubs-Brewers Odds
Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-155)
Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 (+135)
Over 8.5 Runs (-120)
Under 8.5 Runs (+100)
Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread
The Chicago Cubs have had a rollercoaster season as they dug themselves out of an early gutter to take control of the NL Central just to hand it back over to the Brewers. The Cubs have lost seven of their last 10 games and are now four games back of Milwaukee for the division lead. Although they are dealing with some key injuries in their lineup right now, Chicago knows that it needs to take this game because Milwaukee has had their number this season.
Chicago's lineup had a brutal start to the season and many of their key hitters have woken up over the past few weeks. The Cubs are now averaging 4.19 runs per game on the season, which is good for 17th in the Majors. Guys like Kris Bryant and Javier Baez have really anchored this lineup. The duo has combined for 33 home runs and the Cubs have six players with double-digit long balls.
The Cubs will turn to veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta as they look to salvage the series and turn the Cubs-Brewers prediction in their favor. Arrieta enters this start with a 5-8 record and 5.32 ERA through 15 starts. Arrieta's season isn't going as planned as the right-hander has his highest ERA since the 2013 season. He is giving up a ton of home runs and this Milwaukee team got to him in his last start against them, putting up three runs on four hits in five innings.
Why The Brewers Could Cover The Spread
The Milwaukee Brewers are in the middle of one of their best runs of the season. They're on a seven-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 10 games to date. The Brewers NL Central lead is growing and a sweep here would be demoralizing to the rest of the division. Milwaukee is dealing with some health issues of their own, but their recent play certainly wouldn't suggest that anything is wrong.
Milwaukee's offense struggled earlier in the year and has since come alive in a huge way. The Brewers are averaging 4.19 runs per game this season, which is tied with the Cubs for the 17th-best mark in the league. The offensive resurgence is impressive, to say the least as the Brew Crew have put up at least five runs in seven of their last 10 games. They put up 14 runs in the series opener and now get a nice matchup against a struggling Cubs starter.
We've got an MLB debut on our hands as left-hander Aaron Ashby will make his first-ever start with the Brewers. The 23-year-old southpaw has put together a solid three-year Minor League career with a 3.69 ERA through 49 appearances and 39 starts. He was 4-1 with a 4.50 ERA through 12 appearances and six starts in AAA this season.
Final Cubs-Brewers Prediction & Pick
Let's continue to ride the hot hand as the Brewers have been playing extremely well and have a favorable matchup in the finale. The offense has been on a tear and Jake Arrieta has been getting rocked recently. Milwaukee is now 25-18 at home this season and that number has been steadily improving over the past few weeks. I predict that the Brew Crew will take it upon themselves to provide run support for Ashby in his debut and the struggling Cubs offense won't be able to do enough to counter.
FINAL PICK: Milwaukee Brewers ML (-140)
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