Kyle Lohse (1-4, 7.01 ERA) and Travis Wood (2-1, 4.40 ERA) take the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Milwaukee Brewers (9-21) and the Chicago Cubs (15-13) at Miller Park. The Cubs won the last game 7-6 and Chicago leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 9 and can be seen on CSN-CHI and FSN-WI.
Lohse is 7-7 with a 4.88 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 95 strikeouts against the Cubs. Adam Lind (.340, 13 Rs, 6 HRs, 17 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4. Wood is 4-4 with a 4.55 ERA when pitching against the Brewers. He takes on a below-average Milwaukee offense which is hitting just .226 this season. Anthony Rizzo (.330, 23 Rs, 6 HRs, 17 RBIs, 7 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Cubs, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Milwaukee is a slim -107 favorite at home against Chicago. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of eight runs. The Brewers have recorded an overall money line of -1,024 and have shown a weak performance as a favorite this season with a record of 2-8. Milwaukee has gone winless in its last 10 as the favorite. The Brewers have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 4.3 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 3.4 runs per game. Milwaukee’s pitchers put it all together when division rivals are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game drops to 4.7 against fellow NL Central members, compared to its 5.2 season average.
In games where it is the underdog, Chicago has a 7-6 record and an overall money line of -74. They are 5-5 as the underdog against teams in their division, and 11-10 SU. Offensively, they average five runs per game on the road, which is the best in the NL. The Cubs are tough outs for opponents, ranking fourth in the NL with 9.3 hits per road game. The Cubs are an excellent base stealing team with 29 stolen bases, ranking third in the MLB. When it comes to issuing walks, the Cubs have the second-fewest in the NL with an average of just 2.1 walks allowed per game. The Cubs have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 8.6 strikeouts per game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
Lohse (RHP) will be on the hill against the Cubs, who have a 12-10 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHC, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Cubs won by a margin of one run. The Brewers are 2-4 in one-run games. The Cubs have a 7-5 record in close games.
When leading after 7 innings, Chicago is 5-7, while Milwaukee is 3-7.
The Brewers are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Cubs have a 3-5 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Brewers are 3-16. The Cubs have a 3-10 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling in the bottom half of the league based on total home runs this season, Milwaukee ranks 19th with 23 homers and Chicago is 16th with 25.
Ranking 15th, Milwaukee is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.34 per game. Chicago ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 8.63.
Ranking 28th, Milwaukee is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.641). Chicago ranks in the top half at 12th with an OPS of .720.
When the Cubs allow at least one home run, they are 8-9. When the Brewers allow one or more homers, they have a 6-17 record.
