For the second straight day, Major League Baseball has a winner-take-all Game 5. The Brewers won the first two games of their NLCS series in Milwaukee, and the Cubs answered back with two victories in Chicago to force Saturday’s deciding contest. After a thriller in Seattle, Saturday night’s matchup in Milwaukee should bring another raucous environment and hopefully nearly as much drama as Friday’s instant classic. First pitch for Game 5 will be 8:08 p.m. ET.
The Brewers beat out the Cubs for the NL Central title, finishing 97-65 in the regular season, five games better than the Cubs at 92-70. The division rivals faced off 13 times in the regular season, with the Cubs winning the series, 7-6.
The Brew Crew are slightly heavy home favorites at -145 on the Moneyline, with the run total for the game set at 7.5. Let’s preview this Saturday night Game 5 showdown with the help of some odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Brewers vs. Cubs prediction, preview
While it’s definitely an “all hands on deck” situation for both teams, the Brewers will likely give the ball to rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski for multiple innings. He was one of seven pitchers to pitch in Game 2, working three scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn the victory. He was the third pitcher into that game, after Aaron Ashby got the game going as the opener.
UPDATE: Usual closer Trevor Megill gets the starting nod for the Brewers on Saturday as an opener. The right-hander has just five MLB Postseason appearances to his name with 4.1 scoreless innings, an 0.46 WHIP and eight strikeouts. His last game as an opener came in 2023.
The Brewers have been patching and piecing games together regularly from their bullpen over the last few years, so it should be a comfortable spot for them to be in on Saturday. Freddy Peralta is probably the only pitcher not available after he started Game 4 and threw 84 pitches. Ashby threw 32 pitches in that game, but after a day off, he should be able to get back in the mix if needed.
The Cubs started Shota Imanaga in Game 2, but the latest reports have him not starting Game 5 after struggling in his last few outings. Another option could be Colin Rea, but whoever starts it may not remain in for long — this could be a bullpen game that the Cubs manage as it unfolds. Matthew Boyd threw 4 ⅔ innings on Thursday, but other than that, every arm will likely be an option.
UPDATE: Drew Pomeranz will start Game 5 for Chicago. The left-hander has a career 3.24 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 19 strikeouts across 16.2 innings of postseason work. During this playoff run, he’s pitched five scoreless innings for the Cubs without allowing any hits or walks, striking out five batters.
The Cubs were able to force Game 5 with a big win on Thursday behind home runs from Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch. Happ’s homer was a three-run blast in the first inning that broke the game open. He has two homers in the series, going 2-for-15 (.133) but making his two hits count. Busch has been one of the Cubs best hitters in the postseason, with four homers in his last five games, going 6-for-18 (.333) with four runs scored and four RBI.
For the Brewers, Jackson Chourio has hit safely in each of the team’s four postseason games, going 7-for-15, with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI. He had multiple hits in Game 1 and Game 2, and he’ll hope to get the offense fired back up after coming home.
William Contreras also had multiple hits in each of the first two games of the series, going 5-for-16 in the series so far. During the regular season, he went 14-for-47 (.298) with two doubles, two homers, and 10 walks.
The Brewers only had three hits while being shut out in Game 4, but they’ll hope that coming back to American Family Field and playing in front of their home crowd can get their bats back on track.
Brewers vs. Cubs pick, best bet
Best Bet: Brewers Moneyline (-149)
The Brewers took the first two games of the series convincingly, 9-3 and 7-3. The Cubs definitely got a big boost from playing at Wrigley Field, but back in Milwaukee, the Brewers should be able to get back in the win column. They’re much more familiar with bullpen games, and Misiorowski is a huge piece of their plan that gives them a significant advantage.
Strong Lean: Under 7.5 runs (-111)
As we saw in the ALCS Game 5 on Friday, every run in these tense elimination games is huge. The last two games were both under this total, and with both teams “all in” on keeping it close, this should be another low-scoring, competitive contest that will likely stay under this total.
