Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs: Preview & Prediction
Tonight (8:10 PM ET, Thursday, April 5), the suddenly powerless Chicago Cubs look to score their first run in 19 innings when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. The Cubs will send Opening Day starter Jon Lester to the mound against the Brewers’ own lanky lefty, Brent Suter.
Keep reading for the odds, team comparisons, betting trends, weather forecast, and last but not least, score prediction.
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | RUNLINE | O/U RUNS |
|---|---|---|
| CUBS (-128) | CUBS -1.5 (+124) | OVER 9.0 (-105) |
| BREWERS (+118) | BREWERS +1.5 (-144) | UNDER 9.0 (-115) |
Lester struggled in his first start, giving up seven hits and three earned runs over just 3.1 innings in an 8-4 win versus the lowly Marlins. Suter was better, but by no means perfect, surrendering three runs on five hits over five innings in a 7-3 win over the similarly lackluster Padres. Despite a terrible 2017 (4.33 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), the odds favor Lester, a three-time All Star, bouncing back, albeit in a high-scoring game.
Team Stats
| 4-1 (1-1 Home) | RECORD | 2-3 (2-3 Away) |
| J. Lester: 0-0, 8.10 ERA | PROBABLE STARTER | Brent Suter: 1-0, 5.40 ERA |
| +0 | RUN DIFFERENTIAL | -2 |
| 10-9 | 2017 HEAD-TO-HEAD | 9-10 |
| 0-1 | DIVISION RECORD | 1-2 |
| 3.14 | TEAM ERA | 3.79 |
| .660 | TEAM OPS (On-Base + Slugging %) | .714 |
Betting Results & Trends
| CUBS | TREND | BREWERS |
|---|---|---|
| Lost 2 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Lost 1 |
| 2-3 | LAST 5 | 4-2 |
| 2-3 | RUNLINE RECORD | 2-4 |
| 2-3 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 3-3 |
| Under 2 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Under 2 |
The Cubs come into Thursday on the heels of a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
The Brewers were also shutout in their last game, losing 6-0 to Central division rival St. Louis yesterday afternoon.
Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch
| TEMPERATURE | 40° |
| HUMIDITY | 42% |
| WIND SPEED | SW 11 MPH (OUT TO LEFT FIELD) |
| P.O.P. | 0% |
Score Prediction
| CUBS | 6 |
| BREWERS | 4 |
The Cubs are struggling at the plate at the moment, and Suter has been a better pitcher at Miller Park in his short career (3.23 ERA at home). But the power in the Chicago lineup won’t be silenced indefinitely. Between Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber (etcetera), this group is going to start producing runs in short order, and the lineup has a .279 career average against the 6’4 lefty.
While Lester isn’t likely to be spotless, either, he was much better in night games versus day games last year (3.59 ERA vs 5.42 ERA).
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.
