Cubs vs. Brewers: Picks, predictions, how to watch Saturday’s game

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers square off on Saturday with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at American Family Field in Milwaukee and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Drew Smyly (5-7, 3.47 ERA) will take the mound for the Cubs with Brandon Woodruff (9-3, 3.51 ERA) pitching for the Brewers.

The Cubs took down Milwaukee last night in 10 innings thanks to a pair of Ian Happ home runs that broke a combined no-hitter. Happ made history in the game last night, becoming the first player of the modern era to have two multi-run home runs as his team’s only scores of the game.

With the St. Louis Cardinals on a hot streak, Milwaukee has fallen 6.0 games behind in the NL Central standings. Their pitchers struggled against the LA Dodgers earlier this week, allowing 10 and 12 runs in consecutive games, and while they were on their way back to finding their groove in a combined no-hitter yesterday, the concern is still there.

The Cubs took two of three in last week’s home series with the Brewers and managed two of five in their home series against the Cardinals. Happ, who avoided trade deadline rumors earlier this month, continues to produce for the north siders.

Cubs vs. Brewers

Pitchers: Drew Smyly vs. Brandon Woodruff
First pitch: 7:10 p.m. ET
Cubs local broadcast: Marquee Sports Network
Brewers local broadcast: Bally Sports Wisconsin
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Brewers -1.5 (-+105)
Run total: O 8 (+100), U 8 (-120)
Moneyline odds: Brewers (-200), Cubs (+170)

Moneyline pick: Cubs (+170)

I like where the Cubs are at right now, especially against this Milwaukee team. The win-loss record of the pitchers looks very different, but their ERAs are nearly identical, and coming off a late-innings win last night against a pitching staff that’s had a tough week, I’m going with Chicago for tonight’s game.

Player prop pick: Drew Smyly under 2.5 earned runs (+100)

Smyly’s ERA for the month of August is 1.13. He’s allowed three runs on 17 hits in 24 innings. If the rest of the Cubs’ defense can step up, I like the odds on Smyly’s under after the month he’s had.

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