MLB Predictions & Odds 4/2/23

Milwaukee Brewers (0-1) vs. Chicago Cubs (1-0)
April 2, 2023 2:20 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -111 / Milwaukee Brewers -111; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs meet Sunday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. This will be the finale in a three-game series. The Cubs won in a shutout Thursday, then on Saturday Milwaukee evened it up with a two-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Milwaukee Brewers 

The Brewers couldn’t get much going on four team hits in the Opening Day matchup of this series, eventually falling 4-0. In the Saturday game two, Milwaukee scored all of their runs in the eighth inning on the way to a 3-1 win. Brandon Woodruff went 6.0 innings with one earned on three hits and a walk. 

For the Sunday starter gig, the Brewers will go with Eric Lauer. In 2022, Lauer went 11-7 overall with a 3.69 ERA in 29 starts. Across 158.2 innings of work Lauer put up 157 strikeouts. He’s got a 32-31 career record with a 4.11 ERA in 110 games (103 starts). 

Chicago Cubs 

Over on the Cubs’ side, they scored all four of their runs in the third inning during the opener, eventually posting six team hits. On Saturday Chicago had a lead after the sixth but couldn’t hang on. Justin Steele managed 6.0 clean frames with one walk and three hits. 

Jameson Taillon will take the mound for the starter role for Chicago on Sunday. Last year in 32 starts Taillon went 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA. In 177.1 innings he managed 151 Ks. Taillon has a career record of 51-35 with a 3.84 ERA in 143 starts. 

The Brewers are 6-17 in their last 23 road games versus a right-handed starter and 1-4 in their last five Sunday games. The over is 20-9-2 in Milwaukee’s last 31 Sunday games. 

Meanwhile, the Cubs are 6-2 in the last eight versus the NL Central and 2-8 in their last 10 Sunday games. The under is 33-15-4 in Chicago’s last 52 at home. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’ll probably lean toward the Cubs here. It’ll be interesting to see what Taillon can do in his Cubs debut. This spring Taillon went 2-0 with a 3.93 ERA in five starts. He posted 18.1 innings total with 14 hits and eight earned runs. Taillon also gave up four homers in that time, but if he can keep the damage minimal here Chicago should be in good shape. Saturday’s game featured just one bad inning for the Cubs, but the offense wasn’t much help outside of the sixth frame. If Chicago can get the bats going better here I think they’ll be fine.