The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers will meet for an important game on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Brewers won the first game of this two game series, beating the Cubs 7-0. The Cubs will try to bounce back and earn a series split on Wednesday.
The Cubs still lead the National League Central Division, but the Brewers and Cardinals are right on their heels. The Brewers closed the gap to just two games with their win on Tuesday, and will look to get even closer on Wednesday. The Chicago Cubs are -138 against the Brewers in game two of the series.
Brewers Offense Dominated Game 1
The Milwaukee Brewers wasted little time scoring runs in the series opener. Lorenzo Cain hit the second pitch of the ball game deep into the left centerfield bleachers for a leadoff home run. Ryan Braun was the real star of the game as he got the best of Jose Quintana twice. Braun hit a two run homer in the first inning, before doing the same thing in the third. The Brewers cruised to a 7-0 win.
Right-hander Junior Guerra will start for the Brewers on Wednesday. Guerra will be making his 23rd start of the season on Wednesday, and has been pretty solid for the Brewers. He comes in with a 6-7 record, but a very respectable 3.40 earned run average. He will look to keep the Cubs offense in check for a second straight game.
Cubs Offense Coming Up Short
The Chicago Cubs offense has been failing them of late, and it’s the biggest reason that the Cubs haven’t broken away from the pack in the NL Central. The Cubs were held to just three hits on Tuesday afternoon, and struggled to get runners on base against Jhoulys Chacin. The Cubs need Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo to break out of their slumps soon, or their division lead could be gone.
Kyle Hendricks will take the mound for the Cubs on Wednesday, and will do his best to slow down the charging Brewers. Hendricks has been very inconsistent in 2018 after a stretch of two very solid seasons for the Cubs. He is just 8-9 with a 4.02 earned run average, which is almost one run higher than his career average. The Cubs desperately need Hendricks to return to his old form on Wednesday.
Cubs Defeat Brewers on Wednesday
The Brewers knew that they had to win at least one game at Wrigley Field this week, and they were ready to go in the series opener. Milwaukee took advantage of some bad pitches by Jose Quintana and deposited them in the bleachers. Now the Brewers will be looking to complete the sweep and put a ton of pressure on Chicago.
The Cubs offense needs to get going or this might be a long month and a half for Chicago. The Cubs have proven veterans in their lineup, but a vast majority of them are not performing well. Look for that to change on Wednesday and for Hendricks to pitch a gem. Bet the Chicago Cubs -138 over the Brewers in game two of the series.
