The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs kick off their 2023 seasons with a Thursday matchup at Wrigley Field. First pitch is set for 2:20 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Brewers vs. Cubs odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First of 13 meetings in 2023; Cubs took the 2022 season series 10-9.
The Brewers finished 2022 in 2nd place in the NL Central at 86-76 and missed the playoffs after finishing 95-67 in 2021 and 1st in division. Chicago was 74-88 last season and 3rd in the NL Central. They were 71-91 and 4th in 2021.
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Brewers at Cubs projected starters
RHP Corbin Burnes vs. RHP Marcus Stroman
Burnes went 12-8 last year with a 2.94 ERA. He posted a 0.965 WHIP and 2.27 BB/9 with 10.83 K/9 in 202 IP.
- In 15 road starts last year he went 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA and 1.018 WHIP
- Was 1-0 in his 4 March/April games last season, posting a 1.75 ERA and 0.740 WHIP
Stroman went 6-7 last season with a 3.50 ERA. He also clocked a 1.147 WHIP with 2.34 BB/9 and 7.72 K/9 in 138.2 IP.
- Went 0-3 in his 4 March/April starts with a 6.98 ERA and 1.448 WHIP
- In 12 home starts in 2022 he went 3-5 with a 5.18 ERA and 1.321 WHIP
Brewers at Cubs odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 11:04 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Brewers -140 (bet $100 to win $140) | Cubs +120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Brewers -1.5 (+120) | Cubs +1.5 (-140)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7 (O: -125 | U: -102)
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Brewers at Cubs picks and predictions
Prediction
Cubs 5, Brewers 4
Moneyline
LEAN CUBS +120.
The Cubs, despite being the home underdog, have a very good chance of winning this game. Chicago won its last 6 home games last season. The Brewers do seem to be starting a stronger pitcher, but Milwaukee is also only 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Chicago, making the Cubs the safer lean here, especially at plus-money.
Run line/Against the spread
BET CUBS +1.5 (-140).
Whether the Cubs win or lose they should be able to keep this game within 1 run. The Brewers are the slightly better team, but 6 of the last 10 meetings were within 2 runs, with Chicago winning 5 of those games.
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Over/Under
LEAN OVER 7 (-125).
The Over/Under is 4-5-1 in the last 10 meetings and 15-7-3 in the last 25 meetings overall. The Over is 8-2-3 in the last 13 meetings in Chicago.
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