The Chicago Cubs rode eight near-perfect innings from Kyle Hendricks to their second straight win on Saturday night, and now the North Siders will go for the sweep of the San Francisco Giants in the final game of this three-game set on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Oracle Park is set for 4:05 p.m. ET. Young righty Hayden Wesneski (2-2, 4.72 ERA) gets the ball for Chicago, while reliever John Brebbia (2-0, 3.38) will open for the second straight day as San Fran navigates injuries to their starting rotation.
Despite the pitching uncertainty, the Giants enter as -140 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Cubs at +120. The run total is set at 8.5.
Cubs-Giants picks: Sunday, June 11th
Injury report
Cubs
Out: OF Cody Bellinger (left knee contusion), RP Brad Boxberger (right forearm strain), SP Justin Steele (left forearm strain), INF Edwin Rios (left groin strain)
Giants
Day to day: SP Alex Cobb (left hip tightness)
Out: SP Alex Wood (low back strain), C Joey Bart (left groin strain), RP Ross Stripling (low back strain)
Starting pitchers
Hayden Wesneski vs. John Brebbia
Wesneski was reinserted into the rotation when Justin Steele went down with a forearm injury late last month, and the 25-year-old acquitted himself pretty well last time out. The righty allowed two earned runs on just two hits and a walk while striking out four in a tough road matchup against the Los Angeles Angels. Wesneski’s calling card is sweeper, and it’s been deadly again this year (.119 batting average against, 33.3% whiff rate). What’s gotten him in trouble, however, is his fastball: at 93 mph, it’s not going to blow anyone away, and Wesneski has simply left it over the middle of the plate way too often this year (.383 BA, .683 SLG).
Brebbia served as the opener for the sixth time this year on Saturday, firing two perfect innings. Triston Beck (0-0, 3.68 ERA) is a candidate to follow and handle the bulk innings, although the team could also recall prospect Keaton Winn from Triple-A to make his Major League debut.
Over/Under pick
Even with all of the iffiness surrounding the Giants’ pitching plans today — neither Beck nor Winn, with a 4.35 ERA in Triple-A this year, inspire a ton of confidence — it’s very hard to back the over. Chicago has been anemic on offense for a while now, and just one of their last 12 games has cleared this number. San Francisco has also been playing low-scoring games lately: If you throw out the team’s trip to Coors Field last week, they’ve fallen short of this bar in 12 of their last 18. Unless Wesneski really blows up, it’s tough to see either of these teams scoring more than four or five.
Pick: 8.5
Moneyline pick
Wesneski has settled in a bit after a very rocky start, and while he won’t dominate, he should do enough to get Chicago through five or so decent innings. No matter who the Giants opt to follow Brebbia with, they’ll likely be at a pitching disadvantage, while Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Co. have the potential to bust out at any moment. At plus odds, I’ll take the road dogs.
Pick: Cubs
