Milwaukee Brewers (0-1) vs. Chicago Cubs (1-0)
April 1, 2023 2:20 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -105 / Milwaukee Brewers -116; Over/Under: 7
(Get latest betting odds)
The Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs meet Saturday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. This will be the second installment in a three-game weekend set. The Cubs won the Opening Day matchup with a shutout. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee managed an 86-76 record last year, landing in second place in the NL Central Division but missing the playoffs. In Thursday’s opener matchup versus Chicago, the Brewers fell 4-0 and were out-hit 6-4 along the way. Starter Corbin Burnes gave up all four runs in 5.0 innings.
For the starter gig in the Saturday matchup, the Brewers will send out Brandon Woodruff. Last year Woodruff went 13-4 overall in 27 starts. He managed a 3.05 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 153.1 innings of work. Woodruff is 41-25 in his career with a 3.18 ERA.
Chicago Cubs
Over on the Cubs’ side, they’re coming off a rough 74-88 run last year, putting the team in third place in the division standings. On Thursday in their first outing of 2023, Chicago scored all their runs in a busy third inning. Starter Marcus Stroman lasted 6.0 frames with three hits and three walks.
It’ll be Justin Steele on the mound for the Cubs on Saturday in the start. Last year Steele was 4-7 overall in 24 starts, posting a 3.18 ERA along the way. He had 119.0 innings total with 126 strikeouts. Steele is 8-11 with a 3.53 ERA in his career over 44 games (33 starts).
The Brewers are 4-0 in their last four in game two of a series and 5-1 in their last six Saturday games. Milwaukee is 7-3 in their last 10 versus the NL Central.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are 4-0 in their last four in game two of a series and 4-0 in their last four after an off day. Chicago is 13-3 in their last 16 overall.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to take a stab on the Brewers in this one. Milwaukee needs to get the bats going a bit more after the Opening Day loss, but overall the team really only had one bad inning in that game. Between three relievers the Brewers posted 3.0 innings with no earned, two hits and one walk; it was a good early sign at least. As for Chicago, they got a great performance from Dansby Swanson (three hits) on Thursday but five other batters came up hitless in the victory. This one looks like another fairly close matchup on paper; should be a fun matchup to watch.
