Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers MLB Odds, Free Preview 9-5-18

MLB action within the National League Central this evening and we will see the Chicago Cubs battle it out with the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of a three-game series. This game will take place at Miller Park and has a start time of 8:10. The Brewers won last night by a score of 11-1, but the Cubs still lead the season series 9-6.  

Lines: Chicago -102… Milwaukee -108 … Over/Under 9

Pitching Matchup

Getting the nod for the Cubs will be Jose Quintana and he has gone 11-9 with a 4.21 ERA in 26 starts on the year, including 5-6 with a 3.73 ERA in 11 starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 35-36 with a 3.43 ERA in 109 games (108 starts) on the road and 11-10 with a 3.42 ERA in 32 games (31 starts) on the road. Quintana is 4-2 with a 1/67 ERA in eight career starts against the Brewers, including 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA in five starts here at Miller Park.

The Brewers will trot out Jhoulys Chacin and he has gone 14-5 with a 3/53 ERA in 29 starts on the year, including 5-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 11 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 5-4 with a 4.00 ERA in 14 starts here at Miller Park and 10-10 with a 3.43 ERA in 41 games (33 starts) during Sept/ Oct, while against the Cubs he has gone 4-4 with a 2.84 ERA in nine games (eight starts).    

A Look At Chicago

Could the cubs b in a peck of trouble? They still have a three-game lead in the National League Central, but they have lost the first two games of this series and the Brewers are the team that is closest to them. Milwaukee will put the pressure on the Cubs should they win this game. Winning the NL Central will be important as the team that does so will have the number one seed in the National League. The Cubs still have the lead, but it’s not as good as it was. Chicago was really pounded in game two of this series as they lost by a score of 11-1. It was just the 2nd time since late July that they lost to games in a row.

Mike Montgomery got the start and it was not a horrible one as he allowed just two ERs on three hits and three walks in 4.0 innings of work. Still, he took the loss and is now 4-5 with a 3.83 ERA on the year. The pen has been one of the best in the league all year, but the Brew Crew had their way with it in this one. The Cubs uses five relievers after Montgomery left and they combined to allow nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits and six walks the rest of the way. Willson Contreras drove in their lone run in the game. The Cubs have gone 37-33 on the road and have averaged 4.57 rpg and have allowed 3.49 rpg in those games     

A Look At Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Brewers are surging at the right time of the year. After crushing the Cubs on Tuesday night, they have now gone 6-1 over their last seven games and 11-4 over their last 15. They have pulled to within just three games of the Cubs in the NL Central while holding on to a 2.5 game lead over 3rd place Los Angeles in the wildcard standings. Their pitching has really been spot on of late as they have allowed just 2.5 rpg over their last six games, after allowing 8.00 rpg over their previous five games. The offense has been very hot of late as they come in averaging 6.78 rpg over their last nine games.

As I stated above, they really crushed the Cubbies on Tuesday night and leading the way on offense was Jonathan Schoop, who had three RBIs, while Christian Yelich and Jesus Aguilar each drove in a pair of runs. Orlando Arcia had three hits in the game and scored three runs. Wade Miley was the beneficiary of all the offense in the game. He allowed just one ER on three hits and no walks while striking out five in 6.0 innings of work to move to 3-2 with a 2.12 ERA on the year. The Brewers have gone 41-26 here at home for the year and they have averaged 4.66 rpg and have allowed 4.19 rpg in those games.     

Trends

Chicago is:

20-6 in their last 26 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game

46-21 in their last 67 games following a loss

4-10 in their last 14 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600

The Under is 11-2 in their last 13 road games vs. a right-handed starter

Milwaukee is:

20-7 in their last 27 home games vs. a team with a winning road record

7-2 in Chacin’s last 9 starts vs. a team with a winning record

1-5 in their last 6 when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game

The Over is 9-3 in their last 12 during game 3 of a series