The Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs meet in game one of their three-game NL Central division series in MLB action from Wrigley Field on Monday. A huge series from Wrigley in terms of playoff implications, who draws first blood? Let’s dive in and find out.

Brewers On A Roll

The Milwaukee Brewers managed to pick up their 8th straight win on Sunday, picking up a third straight series sweep after their 10-6 win in the series finale with the Padres. The win brought the Brewers to 73-57 on the year, sitting 4 games clear of the Chicago Cubs for the lead in the NL Central. Christian Yelich leads the Brewers with 136 hits, 67 RBIs and a .280 batting average as well as a .370 OBP while Willy Adames comes in with a team-leading 21 home runs with Yelich just five off of the pace at 16. William Contreras leads the Brewers with 31 doubles while Adames has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Brewers with 133 strikeouts this season. Wade Miley will start for the Brewers here and is 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 59 strikeouts this season.

Milwaukee Brewers Team Facts

– The Brewers have won each of their last eight games.

– The Brewers have covered the run line in each of their last six games as underdogs against NL Central opponents.

– The Brewers have led after 7 innings in each of their last five games as underdogs.

– The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Brewers’ last three night games against National League opponents.

– The Brewers have led after 5 innings in 10 of their last 15 games as road underdogs against NL Central opponents.

Cubs Have Been Hot Themselves

The Chicago Cubs managed to pick up another series victory, winning three of four against Pittsburgh after a 10-1 win in Sunday’s series finale. The win brought the Cubs to 69-61 on the year, sitting 4 games back in the NL Central while currently occupying the second Wild Card spot in the National League. Nico Hoerner leads the Cubbies with 141 hits along with 62 RBIs and a .280 batting average this season while Patrick Wisdom has belted a team-high 20 home runs for the Cubs this season. Ian Happ also leads the Cubs in two-baggers with 25 doubles this season, one ahead of Hoerner. Dansby Swanson has 65 RBIs while Cody Bellinger’s added a team-high 75 RBIs and a .321 batting average this season. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs here and is 7-8 with a 5.60 ERA and 100 strikeouts this season.

Chicago Cubs Team Facts

– The Cubs have won eight of their last nine home games after playing the previous day.

– The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six night games following a win.

– The Cubs have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last six Monday night games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.

– The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cubs’ last nine night games against National League opponents.

– The Cubs have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three Monday night games as home favorites.

Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts

– Dansby Swanson has hit at least one home run in three of the Cubs’ last four home games against NL Central opponents.

– Ian Happ has recorded at least one RBI in eight of the Cubs’ last nine night games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.

– Seiya Suzuki has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Cubs’ last eight games.

– Nico Hoerner has scored at least one run in each of the Cubs’ last nine home games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.

– Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 23 appearances against NL opponents that held a winning record.

– Cody Bellinger ranks 5th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.321) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

– The Chicago Cubs ranks 5th in the league for runs scored this season (662).

– The Chicago Cubs ranks 5th in the league for walks this season (459).

– The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 1st in the league for hits allowed this season (1009).

– The Milwaukee Brewers ranks 2nd in the league for opponent batting average this season (.233).

Chris’ Pick

I’m on the over here. Both teams have been able to score runs in bunches over the course of their respective hot runs, but we’ve also seen Miley against the Cubs once and Taillon against the Brewers and both of those games flew over the total. I think this has potential to see offensive fireworks this entire series and I look for this game to be no different. Give me the over.