The Chicago Cubs surprisingly came away with an Opening Day win over Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers, so they’ll be looking to move to 2-0 when these two meet in the second game of the series on Friday.
Will Chicago earn yet another win at Wrigley Field on Friday or will Milwaukee punch back? Check out our free MLB picks and predictions for Brewers vs. Cubs to find out.
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Brewers vs Cubs odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
After opening as a -149 favorite, the Brewers are now as high as -164 and the lowest you’ll find is -154. The total, meanwhile, opened at 7.5 and is down to 7.0 across all sportsbooks. That is presumably because it is expected to rain and there are 11 mph winds blowing towards hitters.
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
Picks made on 4/8/2022 at 10:30 a.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: Friday, April 8, 2022
• First pitch: 2:20 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin, Marquee Sports Network
Brewers vs Cubs betting preview
Starting pitchers
Brandon Woodruff (2021: 9-10, 2.56 ERA): Woodruff was a little unlucky last season, as his win-loss record just doesn’t reflect how well he pitched. The 29-year-old had a career-low ERA last year, and he also had the most strikeouts he’s ever had in a single season with 211. Woodruff also dominated this Cubs team, giving up just two earned runs over 28.0 innings of work.
Justin Steele (2021: 4-4, 4.27 ERA): Steele appeared in 20 games for the Cubs last season, but only made nine starts. Now, Chicago is turning to the 26-year-old to start games from the jump, and the team is expecting big things from him. Steele might split time between the rotation and bullpen this year, but that doesn’t matter. He should also be rather familiar with this Brewers lineup, as he pitched 11.1 innings against Milwaukee last year.
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 Under is 15-6-3 in the Brewers' last 24 games. 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
The Brewers should feel pretty good about having Woodruff on the mound in this game. As previously mentioned, the righty only gave up two earned runs in the 28.0 innings he pitched against the Cubs last season.
That work came over five starts against Chicago, but there is a problem: Woodruff gave up 14 earned runs over 11.2 innings in Spring Training this year. He gave up six homers over those three outings, and it’s hard to see him completely flipping a switch now. It might take him some time to find his groove and work through a rough start in spring.
Having said that, you shouldn’t count on Chicago completely beating up on the righty in this start. But if the Cubs can scratch and claw their way to two or three runs on Woodruff, they should be able to do enough damage against the Brewers bullpen to ultimately steal what should be a low-scoring game.
Steele hasn’t quite proven himself as a full-time starter just yet, and he might never be one. However, the Cubs have enough confidence in the lefty to throw him out there as their No. 2 option in this series, and that’s because manager David Ross knows that the Brewers struggled against lefties last year.
Only two teams in baseball had a lower batting average than Milwaukee’s .231 against southpaws in 2021, and only four teams drove in fewer runs than the 170 RBIs the Brewers had against lefties last year.
Steele, who has some impressive velocity and spin on his pitches, could also end up racking up quite a bit of strikeouts in this start. The Brewers had a 24% strikeout rate against lefties last year, which was the eighth-worst mark in the league. The 26-year-old just needs to be careful against a guy like Andrew McCutchen, who has always punished lefties.
Prediction: Cubs moneyline (+140 at Caesars)
Over/Under analysis
After combining to score nine runs in the season opener, these teams are likely going to have a harder time finding any sort of success on offense today. Not only is it likely to be raining a bit this afternoon, but the wind will also be keeping flyballs from leaving the stadium here. That’s always going to be difficult, but that’s life at Wrigley Field — and that’s why you often can’t find the total on Cubs games until the mornings before they play.
On top of the conditions here, this matchup also features a pretty good battle on the mound. Last season, the Cubs were unable to get to Woodruff in his five starts against them. Meanwhile, Steele looked solid in Spring Training this season, giving up just two earned runs over 6.2 innings.
If that’s not enough, the Under is also 15-6-3 in Milwaukee’s last 24 games against left-handed starters.
Prediction: Under 7 (-105 at BetMGM)
Best bet
McCutchen didn’t take long to get used to his new surroundings, as he had two hits in his Brewers debut. The 35-year-old seems to be a bit underappreciated right now, but he still has a heck of a lot left in the tank. Now, McCutchen will look to give Milwaukee a spark on Friday, which the team will need considering it struggled against lefties last year.
In his career, McCutchen is batting .307 with a .552 slugging percentage against left-handed pitching and he’ll now get a crack at a relatively green southpaw in this one. Look for the veteran to turn in a couple of productive at-bats this afternoon, and don’t be surprised if he ends up plating a run for the Brewers at Wrigley Field.
Pick: McCutchen total bases Over 0.5 (-160)
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