Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/16/2020

Game: Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Sunday, August 16, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/FSWI

Odds/Point Spread: Brewers (+121) Cubs (-131)

Willson Contreras and the Chicago Cubs (13-4, 1st in NL Central) play the Milwaukee Brewers (8-10, 3rd in NL Central) at Wrigley Field on Sunday. The Brewers open this matchup at +121 while the Cubs are priced at -131. The over/under opens at 9.5. The expected starting pitchers are Josh Lindblom and Jon Lester.

Key Milwaukee Brewers Injuries

8/13/2020 Ray Black RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/13/2020 Justin Grimm RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 23

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/15/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
8/15/2020 Tyler Chatwood SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 17
8/15/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/14/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Brewers have a 8-10 overall record this season. Lindblom (6-8 career mark) is the owner of a FIP of 4.49 and he has gone up against 686 opposing batters in the majors. His ERA is 4.24 (75 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.388. He has allowed 154 base hits (8.7 hits per nine innings) and has had 67 walks. Lindblom has thrown 159 innings and has 151 strikeouts so far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.24 and they have given up 58 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .173 against the bullpen and they've struck out 107 hitters and walked 33 batters. As a team, Milwaukee allows 7.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.16. The Brewers pitchers collectively have given up 137 base hits and 74 earned runs. They have allowed 25 home runs this season, ranking them 13th in the league. Milwaukee as a pitching staff has walked 66 batters and struck out 192. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 10.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit is 4.30.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Milwaukee is hitting .212, good for 28th in the league. The Brewers hold a .354 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .295, which is good for 28th in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 7.0 hits per game. Christian Yelich is hitting .172 with an on-base percentage of .284. He has 11 hits this season in 64 at bats with 12 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .469 and an OPS+ of 100. Avisail Garcia is hitting .232 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .328. He has totaled 13 hits and he has driven in 4 men in 56 at bats. His OPS+ is 83 while his slugging percentage is at .339. The Brewers have 126 hits, including 23 doubles and 19 home runs. Milwaukee has walked 58 times so far this season and they have struck out 188 times as a unit. They have left 113 men on base and have a team OPS of .649. They score 3.78 runs per contest and have scored a total of 68 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Chicago has a 13-4 overall mark this year. So far in his pro baseball career, Lester has given up 2,394 base knocks and he has 2,364 strikeouts in 2,554 frames. He has conceded 1,007 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.260 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.87 and he has faced 10,661 opposing batters thus far in his career. Lester (192-108 career win-loss record) holds a 3.55 earned run average while surrendering 8.4 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 6.10 and they have given up 45 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .196 against the Cubs bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 53 batters and walked 30 opposing hitters. As a team, Chicago allows 6.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.88. The Cubs pitchers as a team have surrendered 117 base knocks and 66 earned runs this season. They have given up 18 home runs this year, which ranks 28th in Major League Baseball. Chicago as a staff has walked 50 hitters and struck out 146 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.09 while their FIP as a staff is 3.93.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .240, good for 17th in the league. The Cubs hold a .419 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .341, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 18th in MLB with 7.9 hits per contest. Willson Contreras comes into this matchup batting .259 with an OBP of .328. He has 14 hits this year along with 7 RBI in 54 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .463 with an OPS+ of 114. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .224 this season and he has an OBP of .392. He has collected 13 hits in 58 at bats while driving in 7 runs. He has an OPS+ of 126 and a slugging percentage of .431. The Cubs as a unit have 134 base hits, including 29 doubles and 23 homers. Chicago has walked 69 times this year and they have struck out on 175 occasions. They have had 121 men left on base and have an OPS of .760. They have scored 5.06 runs per game and totaled 86 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Brewers/Cubs MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Brewers (+121)

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