Thursday MLB: Milwaukee Brewers (42-36) at Chicago Cubs (37-38)
The Chicago Cubs were the preseason NL Central favorites, but the Cubbies are closer to the last-place Pirates than they are to the first-place Brewers, against whom Chicago begins a four-game series tonight.
Chicago, which is just off a 3-7 road trip, has opened as a -149 money line favorite on WagerWeb.com.
The Cubs had the best ERA in the National League in June but can’t hit. In fact, they have scored 129 runs since May 19, fewest in the majors over that span, and suffered six shutout losses to tie Atlanta for the most in that stretch. Chicago went 16-23 in those 39 games.
The Brewers seem to be all or nothing at the plate. They lead the NL in walks but have the third-highest strikeout total in the NL. They also rank third in the league in homers. Heart-of-the-order hitters Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder entered Thursday with 131 RBIs, more than any duo in the majors.
Milwaukee had a chance to sweep each of its past two series but dropped the finale in both. The Brewers turn to Seth McClung tonight. He makes his second start since a move from the bullpen; McClung gave up three runs on six hits in four innings on Saturday against the Giants in his first start of the season. He has made 10 appearances against the Cubs, all in relief. He is 1-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 17 2/3 innings.
Chicago starts Ryan Dempster (4-5, 4.09), who has owned Milwaukee in his career, going 9-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 37 appearances. At home this year, he’s 3-1 with a 4.14 ERA. He has faced Milwaukee twice this year and split the two games, winning on April 12 and losing on May 9. The Cubs are 0-5 in his past five starts and 1-6 in his past seven starts in Game 1 of a series.
The Cubs are 21-13 at home and begin an 11-game homestand.
This is the first meeting of the season at Wrigley between these two – the Brewers were 5-4 at Wrigley Field in 2008.
MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com
