The Milwaukee Brewers (8-10) are in the “Windy City” Saturday to play the Chicago Cubs (13-4) in the third game of a four-game series in Wrigley Field. This series is tied 1-1, but the Cubs are ahead in the season series 3-2.
Frst pitch is scheduled for at 3:20 p.m. ET. We analyze the Brewers-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Brewers at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Adrian Houser vs. RHP Colin Rea
- Houser in 2020: 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA (13 K, 5 ER in 17 IP) in three starts.
- 2019 vs. Cubs: 1-1 with a 5.93 ERA (14 K, 9 ER in 13⅔ IP) in five appearances, including two starts.
- Career vs. Cubs: 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA (17 K, 9 ER in 16⅔ IP) in seven appearances, including two starts.
Rea, 29, is filling in for SP Tyler Chatwood, making his first start since 2016 when he was with the Miami Marlins.
- Two appearances out of the bullpen for the Cubs this season and has pitched 3 shutout innings.
- Has given up 70 earned runs in 137⅓ innings in his three-year career.
- Has never faced the Brewers.
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Brewers at Cubs: Key injuries
Get the latest injury news here.
Brewers
- CF Lorenzo Cain (personal) opted out of 2020 season
Cubs
- 3B Kris Bryant (wrist) questionable
- SP Tyler Chatwood (back) out
- 3B Daniel Descalso (ankle) out
- RP Brad Wieck (hamstring) out
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Brewers at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 12:55 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Brewers 5, Cubs 3
Moneyline (ML)
The Cubs (+105) are the best team in baseball at this point in the season and have balance according to the stats. They are sixth in runs scored per game and sixth in runs allowed per game, but when you dig a little deeper there’s a weakness that the BREWERS (-118) can exploit.
Chicago’s relievers have a 6.10 ERA and have a 1.45 WHIP compared to the starters’ 2.75 ERA and .91 WHIP. Since Chatwood has to miss Saturday’s start, it’s going to be all bullpen for Chicago, and Milwaukee’s bottom-10 offense should get better pitches to hit.
It’s telling that Milwaukee is the favorite at Wrigley Field given the Cubs record. BET the BREWERS (-118).
New to sports betting? A $118 bet on the Brewers returns a $100 profit if they upset the Cubs.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
PASS. I think it would be greedy to chase value betting the Brewers (-1, +100) at even money or even on the alternate spread (-1.5, +125).
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 9.5 (-110) makes the most sense because Milwaukee’s offense has been so unreliable this season. Also, the Under is 39-13-1 in the last 53 meetings, including four straight Unders. It’s only a “lean” for me though, I’d rather bet the moneyline.
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