The Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers have traded the lead in the National League Central back and forth several times this season, as many observers have wondered if the Cubs have the stamina to keep up their playoff-level performance the rest of the way. The last week has been tough, as the Cubs have dropped three in a row and six of ten, while the Brewers have won five in a row and seven of ten, leading the Brewers to a three-game lead in the division.
The teams meet for a series at Miller Park this week; let’s take a look at each game, along with our MLB betting thoughts for each one.
MLB News: Top Series of the Week
Monday, June 28, 8:10 pm ET
Kyle Hendricks (CHC) vs Freddy Peralta (MIL)
Kyle Hendricks has gotten over some long-ball issues in his last two starts, holding the Mets and the Indians scoreless over 12 combined innings in his last two starts, scattering six hits and two walks while striking out a dozen. In his three starts before those, he had given up five home runs in 18 ⅓ combined innings. His durability has not been a problem, though, as he has regularly stayed in until the relief corps shows up in the seventh inning.
Freddy Peralta also comes in off a strong outing, having fanned 10 Diamondbacks and allowed just one hit and four walks, leading the Brewers to a 5-0 win in the desert. He has only permitted more than one earned run in one of his last five starts, and he has only failed to finish six innings once in his last five starts. This game looks like a pitchers’ duel, which means that the team is likely to go to the bullpens. The Cubs have shown some ability to get those late-inning runs in key games.
Final Prediction:
Cubs 3, Brewers 1
Tuesday, June 29, 8:10 pm ET
Zach Davies (CHC) vs Brandon Woodruff (MIL)
It’s been feast or famine with Zach Davies lately. Over his last five starts, he has given up 12 earned runs over 29 combined innings — but those 12 runs came in two starts, against Miami and San Francisco. In starts against the Padres, Cardinals and Dodgers — all contenders — he has thrown 18 ⅔ scoreless innings, fanning 14 and permitting just three hits while walking nine, including a six-inning gem in a 4-0 win over the Dodgers on Thursday, so if there’s a pitcher who can cool down the Brewers — and they get by Hendricks — Davies can do the job.
Brandon Woodruff got roughed up by Colorado two starts ago, permitting five earned runs on five hits, including a pair of home runs, striking out five and walking two in five innings. However, he bounced back in Arizona on Wednesday, throwing seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball, fanning nine. As a second day produces a likely second pitching duel, I like the Brewers to take this one at home.
Final Prediction:
Brewers 4, Cubs 2
Wednesday, June 30, 2:10 pm ET
Jake Arrieta (CHC) vs Corbin Burnes (MIL)
Jake Arrieta has had uneven results in his return to the Cubs, and the team has lost four of the last five games he has started, including a hard-luck 6-2 loss to the Dodgers on Friday, in which he only gave up two runs in five innings, but then the bullpen let things get a bit out of hand. However, his previous start saw the Marlins score six runs in just three innings, and he gave up four runs in five innings in the start before that.
Corbin Burnes had given up eight runs (seven earned) on 17 hits in his two last starts before he saw Colorado on Friday night, but he settled down to limit the Rockies to a run on three hits, striking out seven and walking two over six innings, in a game the Brewers would win, 5-4, in 11 innings. If Burnes can bring similar stuff, the Brewers should be able to limit the damage, and there’s nothing saying that Arrieta has his dominant stuff yet.
Final Prediction:
Brewers 5, Cubs 3
MLB Betting Odds
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