The National League Central is very much up for grabs with all five teams in the thick of the race and on Thursday the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs meet up in Wisconsin looking to make up ground on the Cincinnati Reds.
Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers (-115, 8)
Freddy Peralta gets the start for the Brewers and comes in on the worst stretch of his career with at least three runs allowed in seven of his last nine starts and at least two runs allowed in all nine starts, registering an ERA of 4.67 with a identical 4.66 fielding independent while allowing 1.6 home runs per nine innings.
To make matters worse, the Brewers support Peralta with a lineup that entered Wednesday hitting for a .225 average at home and .229 overall, both of which are last in the National League and their 4.2 runs per game are third-fewest in the National League.
Looking to continue the Brewers offensive struggles is Marcus Stroman, who in true road starts, which excludes his pitching appearance in London, has a 2.70 road ERA with two runs or fewer allowed in eight of his nine road starts this season.
In his two seasons as a Cub, Stroman has a been more dazzling 2.32 ERA on the road and overall this season opponents are have a .205 batting average with 0.4 home runs per nine innings this season.
The Cubs support him with a lineup that has just one active player that entered Wednesday with at more than 10 home runs with Patrick Wisdom on the injured list, but eighth among MLB teams in road on-base percentage and 12th in runs per game.
With both bullpens very similar in raw ERA with the Cubs owning a 4.11 bullpen ERA entering Wednesday and the Brewers a 4.06, the advantage on the mound with Stroman coupled with the better lineup at getting on base will lead to a Cubs victory.
The Play: Cubs -105
