Two teams with expectations of playing deep into the postseason collide on Sunday Night Baseball when the Chicago Cubs take on the Milwaukee Brewers under the lights at Wrigley Field. The Cubs (23-14), who lost the NL Central title last season after falling to the Brewers in a one-game tiebreaker at Wrigley, got a walk-off home run from Wilson Contreras in the 15th inning to outlast Milwaukee 2-1 on Saturday. The victory gave Chicago a one-game lead over the Brewers (24-17) atop the division. Jon Lester (2-1, 1.41 ERA) takes the mound for the Cubs against the Brewers' Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 5.03 ERA), and first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. The Cubs are -143 favorites (risk $143 to win $100), with the Brewers fetching +119 (risk $100 to win $119) in the latest Cubs vs. Brewers odds. The over-under, or total runs oddsmakers believe will be scored, is 7.5. Before making your Cubs vs. Brewers picks, see what the SportsLine projection model has to say.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks in multiple sports. It entered Week 7 of the MLB season on a strong 73-51 run on top-rated picks. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, the model has zeroed in on Cubs vs. Brewers. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can only see that pick only at SportsLine.
The model has factored in that the Cubs have arguably been one of the best teams, if not the best team, in baseball since their 1-6 start. Since April 6, Chicago is 22-8, the best in the majors over that time and four games better than the next NL team, the Dodgers (20-14). Over that time, the Cubs have a run differential of +64, tops in the National League and second only to the Astros (+65) in the majors.
Pitching has been the key to the turnaround. Since April 6, Chicago leads the majors in ERA (2.65) by more than half-a-run. In addition, the Cubs' staff is much more effective at Wrigley than on the road. In fact, Chicago pitchers have a 2.49 ERA at home compared to 4.82 on the road. And their offense continues to shine, boasting a run differential of +1.38 this season, compared to +0.2 for the Brewers.
But just because its pitching has been lights-out doesn't guarantee Chicago is the best value on the Cubs vs. Brewers money line on Sunday Night Baseball.
Despite Saturday's loss, Milwaukee is playing its best ball of the season. Over the last eight games, the Brewers' staff has a 1.46 ERA and is allowing opposing teams a .190 batting average. No opponent scored more than three runs in any of those games. Though Chacin has been hit this season, he dominated the Cubs in his last start at Wrigley Field, allowing one run on one hit in 5.2 innings in the NL Central tiebreaker on Oct. 1, which Milwaukee won, 3-1.
In addition, Christian Yelich is having an MVP-caliber season. The 27-year-old leads the majors in home runs (16) and ranks second in RBIs (37) and third in average (.352).
So who wins Brewers vs. Cubs? And which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Brewers vs. Cubs money line to jump on Sunday night, all from the advanced model that simulates every MLB game 10,000 times, and find out.
