The first game of the MLB regular season will feature the Chicago Cubs hosting the Milwaukee Brewers for a day game at Wrigley Field.
This Cubs team no longer resembles anything close to the one that won the 2016 World Series, but the team did make some big moves in signing outfielder Seiya Suzuki and starter Marcus Stroman in the offseason.
Will Chicago gets its season started with a surprise win over Milwaukee who will have one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound?
Find out in our free MLB picks and predictions for Brewers vs. Cubs on Thursday, April 7.
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Brewers vs Cubs odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Brewers started as -165 favorites in their Opening Day matchup with the Cubs, and there are some books that now have that line at -177. Meanwhile, despite the aces for both teams being on the mound in this one, the total is up to 10.5.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Brewers vs Cubs predictions
- Prediction: Brewers ML (-164)
- Prediction: Over 10.5 (-105)
- Best Bet: Wong Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105)
Picks made on 4/06/2022 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Brewers vs Cubs game info
• Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
• Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022
• First pitch: 2:20 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports, MARQ
Brewers vs Cubs betting preview
Starting pitchers
Corbin Burnes (2021: 11-5, 2.43 ERA): The Brewers will open the season by giving the ball to the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner. Last year, Burnes turned in a historic season in his first full year as a starter. The righty possesses some of the most unhittable stuff in baseball, which is part of the reason he was fifth in the league in strikeouts last year. Burnes was also first in the league in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.6.
Kyle Hendricks (2021: 14-7, 4.77 ERA): Hendricks’ ERA last season was the highest of his MLB career, but the 32-year-old is still plenty capable of turning in some stellar outings. The righty doesn’t have dominant stuff, but he hits his spots and effectively pitches to contact. Only eight pitchers in baseball had more quality starts than Hendricks’ 19 last year, which shows you why he’s still the top guy in this rotation.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Brewers: Pedro Severino C (Out)
Cubs: Adbert Alzolay P (Out)
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Brewers were 22-8 in their final 30 road games against right-handed starters last year. Find more MLB betting trends for Brewers vs. Cubs.
Brewers vs Cubs picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
Last season, the Brewers were Top 10 in the league in runs scored and RBIs against right-handed pitching, and this matchup with Hendricks is one that they like more than most.
In 2021, Hendricks had a 6.14 ERA over four starts against this Milwaukee lineup, giving up 15 earned runs on 28 hits and five homers over 22.0 innings of work.
Kolten Wong, who figures to be in the leadoff spot for Milwaukee in the opener, is a player to really keep an eye on here. He’s 16 for 45 with two doubles and a homer against Hendricks in his career, and that’s a large enough sample size to realize that the 31-year-old clearly has an edge in this matchup.
In general, lefties hit .287 with 16 homers and 39 RBIs against Hendricks last year. The Brewers will likely have five lefties in their Opening Day lineup with Wong, Christian Yelich, Rowdy Tellez, Omar Narvaez, and Jace Peterson all likely to be out there.
That could mean that he’ll struggle to navigate his way through this Milwaukee lineup, much like he did last year. Hendricks also gave up 12 earned runs over 11.1 innings in spring training, so he could need some time to get settled in this season.
Burnes wasn’t all that sharp in spring training either as he was responsible for seven earned runs over 14.0 innings. However, it's extremely unlikely that you’ll get many opportunities to bet on him as such a small favorite this season, and he gave up only three earned runs over 20.0 innings of work in three starts against the Cubs last season.
That was good for a 2-0 record and 1.35 ERA against Chicago, and it’s just hard to go against Burnes in this spot.
Prediction: Brewers ML (-164 at WynnBet)
Over/Under analysis
When two great starters are on the mound and the total is as high as this, it likely means that the Under is a bit of a trap.
We’ve already dove into the struggles that Hendricks has had against lefties and this Brewers lineup, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Milwaukee ends up scoring six or seven runs in this game.
The Brewers actually scored 37 runs in their four cracks at Hendricks last year. Of course, that’s not all on the Cubs starter in this one, but it is definitely also relevant that Chicago had the 10th worst bullpen ERA in baseball last year.
Additionally, with Burnes having not had as good of a Spring Training as people might have expected, it isn’t out of the question that one or two of these Cubs players will make him pay for a mistake here. When starters throw with his type of velocity, all it takes is one pitch hanging in the strike zone for that ball to end up in the bleachers.
For what it’s worth, the Over has also hit in 10 of the last 12 games that Milwaukee has played against starters with a WHIP of 1.15 or worse. Last year, Hendricks’ number was a career-worst 1.35.
Prediction: Over 10.5 (-105 at WynnBet)
Best Bet
Wong was 9 for 29 this spring and now faces a pitcher that he has had some success against in the past.
We mentioned it earlier, but Wong is 16 for 45 in his career against Hendricks, so we like his chances to get at least one hit in this game. If that hit ends up being a double, you can cash this bet at plus-money with one good swing of the bat.
Wong will also have a good chance to get a hit against what was a pretty weak Cubs bullpen a year ago. Overall, it’s just surprising to see the leadoff hitter’s total bases so low, and the Over 0.5 on doubles at +300 and homers at +550 don’t look bad for a sprinkle either.
Prediction: Wong Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105 at BetMGM)
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