Stacy Revere/Getty Images. Pictured: Brandon Woodruff.
Cubs vs. Brewers Odds
| Cubs Odds | +125 |
| Brewers Odds | -148 |
| Over/Under | 7.5 |
| Time | Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds as of Monday and via DraftKings | |
The National League Central is a jumbled mess heading into the second full week of the MLB season. This applies to the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in multiple ways.
Kyle Hendricks has been anything but his surgical self on the mound, and the Brewers have a positive but inconsistent offense.
The two movable forces will collide on Tuesday night, and one will prevail.
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Chicago Cubs
Hendricks has depended on his ability to pitch out of trouble to combat his early walk issues in his first two starts. That issue has been exacerbated by Chicago’s inability to hit the ball.
The Cubs had the worst strikeout percentage in the National League heading into action Monday. That is unlikely to improve against Brandon Woodruff and his 10.64 Strikeouts per nine innings to start 2021.
A beacon of hope in a bleak outlook for Chicago has been Kris Bryant. He is walking and slugging, including a solo home run on Monday night, and has been an above-average player in almost two weeks of play (151 Weighted Runs Created Plus). For what it is worth, his 0.4 WAR is 0.1 lower than his 2020 WAR.
One batter an offense does not make, though.
Milwaukee Brewers
I dig Woodruff. His xFIP is a tick lower than his 2.45 ERA to start 2021 and is a blossoming ace in baseball. He just needs his offensive teammates to figure out what they are.
It starts with Christian Yelich, who had been hitting well prior to sitting out with back issues Monday. No Yelich means less excitement on offense (sorry, Avisaíl García). Even with Yelich, the offense has stalled when they have needed to prevail (see Opening Day against Kenta Maeda). The Cubs are one of two N.L. teams with a lower Offensive WAR than the Brewers.
Woodruff needs run support to continue to get the praise and results he has earned so far.
Cubs-Brewers Pick
Neither team is exciting or performing to expectations. I enjoy seeing Hendricks and Woodruff pitch, but both are battling themselves or their own teammates.
I prefer to avoid the moneyline or run lines in this game with so much uncertainty attached to each team. Based on the small sample sizes from each team, one team has a slight edge and little juice attached to them winning.
Pick: Brewers -1 Alternate Run Line -103 (play between -120 and plus money)
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