Chicago Cubs Vs. Milwaukee Brewers (4/30/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction
Contents
The Chicago Cubs have started the new season at 8-11 through their first 19 games of the year. David Ross is in his third season as Chicago’s skipper; he won two World Series titles as a player (2013 – Boston Red Sox and 2016 – Chicago Cubs). They’re a long shot to win the 2022 World Series at +14000. Between 2015 and 2020, the Cubs made the playoffs in five out of six seasons.
The Milwaukee Brewers have won 13 out of their first 20 games of the 2022 season, first place in the National League Central. In his eighth season, as the Milwaukee skipper, Craig Counsell has won over 530 games in his managerial career. The Brewers have made the playoffs the last four seasons. Milwaukee is +1500 to win their first World Series title in franchise history. They last played in the World Series in 1982, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
Chicago Cubs Vs. Milwaukee Brewers Betting Odds
The Cubs are 5-11 in their last 16 Saturday games. Chicago is 1-4 in their last five during game two of a series. Over is 8-0 in the Cubs last eight Saturday games. Under is 6-0 in Chicago’s last six games vs. a left-handed starter. The Brewers are 4-1 in their last five during game two of a series. Milwaukee is 37-17 in their last 54 Saturday games. The Brewers are 1-4 in their last five home games vs. a left-handed starter. Under is 22-7-3 in Milwaukee’s last 32 games vs. a left-handed starter.
Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup
DH Rafael Ortega L
2B Nick Madrigal R
C Willson Contreras R
LF Ian Happ S
1B Frank Schwindel R
RF Seiya Suzuki R
CF Jason Heyward L
3B Pat Wisdom R
SS Nico Hoerner R
Chicago Cubs Vs. Eric Lauer (L)
Wilson Contreras is a solid catcher, who can handle the bat. In 2021 he hit .237 with 21 home runs and 57 runs batted in while accumulating 181 total bases. This season, he’s hitting .242 in 62 at-bats with two home runs, seven runs batted in with 27 total bases. Additionally, he has six doubles with a .435 slugging percentage with an OPS of .783.
Nick Madrigal who came over from the White Sox last season, hit .305 with two home runs, 21 runs batted in, 85 total bases and a .349 on-base percentage. In 2022, he’s hit three doubles, scored five runs, driven in two runs with an on-base percentage of .283. Nico Hoerner is hitting .305 in 59 at-bats this season with two doubles, a triple, a home run and eight runs driven in. He has an OPS of .752 with a .424 slugging percentage. Patrick Wisdom mashed 28 homers and drove in 61 runs in 106 games in 2021. This year he has five doubles, three home runs, 13 runs batted in (second on the club), 27 total bases and an OPS of .769.
Ian Happ is hitting .333 (fourth in the National League) in 57 at-bats this season. Additionally, he has three doubles, two home runs, 28 total bases, 11 runs driven in with an OPS of .926. Seiya Suzuki in his first season in the big leagues is batting .311 with a team leading four home runs, 14 runs batted in and 36 total bases. He’s also slugging .590 with an OPS of 1.024. Suzuki is the favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year at -130.
Eric Lauer is 1-0 in three starts this season with an ERA of 2.20 and a 1.041 WHIP. He’s struck out 23 batters in 16 1/3 innings allowing four runs in 2022.
Milwaukee Brewers Starting Lineup
2B Kolten Wong L
SS Willy Adames R
LF Christian Yelich L
DH Andrew McCutchen R
1B Rowdy Tellez L
RF Hunter Renfroe R
C Omar Narvaez L
CF Lorenzo Cain R
3B Jace Peterson L
Milwaukee Brewers Vs. Justin Steeler (L)
Willy Adames hit .285 with 25 big flies, 73 runs batted and slugged .481 while playing for Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers in 2021. This season he leads the Brewers in home runs (four), total bases (31), runs batted in (12) and OPS (.719). First baseman Rowdy Tellez is second on the team in home runs (three), runs batted in (nine) and OPS (.695). Additionally, he has 24 total bases with a slugging percentage of .421.
Christian Yelich is the focal point of the Brewers offense, but he is coming off a tough 2021 season, hitting .248 with nine home runs and 51 runs batted in. The 2018 National League MVP had 149 total bases with an OPS of .736 last year. The back-to-back batting champion in 2018 and 2019, is struggling this season hitting .197 in 66 at-bats. He has four doubles, one home run, 20 total bases, eight runs batted in with a .589 OPS. Last season as a member of the Boston Red Sox, Hunter Renfroe .259 with 31 home runs and 96 runs batted in. The 30-year-old has a career OPS of .786 with 128 long balls. This year he has four doubles, two home runs, 24 total bases, five runs batted in with an OPS of .617.
Andrew McCutchen who’s mostly serving as the designated hitter this year, hit .222 with 27 home runs and 80 runs batted in for the Phillies last year. The 2013 National League MVP is a lifetime .280 hitter with 1,828 hits and 3,104 total bases. This season he has 25 total bases, four doubles, one home run, nine runs batted in with an OPS of .656.
Justin Steele is 1-2 this season in four starts with an ERA of 5.40 and a 1.733 WHIP. He’s allowed nine runs in 15 innings with 12 strikeouts.
Chicago Cubs Vs. Milwaukee Brewers Picks & Prediction
Offensively, the Cubs are averaging 5.05 runs per nine innings, second in the majors. They lead all Major League Baseball in batting average (.260) and rank second in OPS (.776). Chicago’s pitching staff is allowing 4.17 runs per nine innings, 17th in Major League Baseball. The Brewers are scoring 3.78 runs per nine innings, 20th in the majors. They are 25th in batting average at .209 with a team OPS of .614, 24th in the big leagues. Milwaukee’s pitching staff is allowing 3.68 runs per nine innings, eighth in Major League Baseball. I’m going to take the road team Cubs to win this game by over 1.5 runs, but the teams to score under eight runs combined.
