NL Central contenders clash when the Cubs and Brewers kick off their season rivalry series Friday night in Milwaukee.
Rookie righty Quinn Priester gets the start on the mound for Milwaukee here against Ben Brown for the Cubbies.
How are we playing this game with our free baseball betting pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Friday’s baseball betting market opened this game at right around a pick ‘em, with an O/U of 8.5. Early betting action slid Chicago into a -115 favorite.
Cubs-Brewers Betting Preview
Chicago just took two of three games at Pittsburgh, winning Thursday’s series rubber match 8-3. Just before that the Cubs dropped two of three games to Philadelphia but just before that they swept two games from the Dodgers.
So the Cubbies are 5-3 over their last eight games.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee just took two of three games at the White Sox, missing out on the sweep by losing Thursday’s series finale 8-0. But just before that the Brewers lost two of three at St. Louis and just before that they lost three of four at San Francisco.
So the Brewers are 4-6 over their last 10 games.
At 19-13 overall Chicago leads the NL Central by three games over 16-16 Milwaukee.
This series is the first meeting between these teams this season. Last year the Brewers took the season series from the Cubs eight games to five.
Friday’s Pitching Match-Up
Priester is 0/4 on quality starts this season, in part because he’s been pitching on a short leash. Last Saturday, he gave up five runs and eight hits through five innings of a 6-5 Milwaukee loss to the Cardinals. But over his three starts previous to that, he only allowed three runs and 11 hits through 14 innings, with nine walks against 11 strikeouts.
The Brewers are 1-3 with Priester this year, with the Unders cashing 3-1.
In his only career outing against the Cubs, two seasons ago while still with Pittsburgh, Priester gave up four runs in six innings of a 14-1 Pirates loss.
Brown is 1/5 on quality starts this year. Last Saturday, he got touched for six runs and nine hits through just 3 2/3 innings of a 10-4 Chicago loss to Philadelphia. But over his two starts previous to that, he held Arizona and the Dodgers to one run and eight hits through 10 innings in a pair of Cubs wins.
Chicago is 3-2 with Brown this year, with the overs going 4-0-1.
In his lone career start against Milwaukee, in May of last season, Brown tossed seven innings of hitless, scoreless ball in a 6-3 Cubs victory.
Splits With the Sticks
Chicago is batting .260 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .335 team OBP and a .446 team slugging percentage.
Milwaukee is slashing .251/.334/.389 against RH pitching.
The Bullpens
The Brewers bullpen, which was one of the best in Baseball last season, owns a 4.90 ERA this season, along with a 1.38 WHIP and a 2.09 K/BB ratio.
The Cubs pen owns a 4.64 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and a 1.60 K/BB ratio.
MLB Betting Trends
Chicago played 69-59 against RH starters last season and it’s 16-10 vs. RH starters this year.
Milwaukee played 69-45 against RH starters last year, and it’s 10-10 vs. righties this year.
Totals Report
The Under is 7-5 at American Family Field this season.
The unders played 7-5 in Cubs-Brewers games last season.
Prop Board
Cubs OF Tucker, who’s slugging .576 vs. RHP this season, is catching +105 to hit over 1.5 total bases.
