Cubs-Brewers prediction: Picks, odds on Monday, July 3

The Chicago Cubs (38-44) and Milwaukee Brewers (45-39) will open up a four-game series on Monday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET from American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lefty Drew Smyly (7-5, 3.96 ERA) gets the ball for Chicago, while the Brewers send veteran righty Julio Teheran (2-3, 2.85) to the mound.

The Cubs are -120 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, making Milwaukee a +100 underdog with the over/under set at 8.5.

Cubs-Brewers picks: Monday, July 3

Injury report

Cubs

Day to day: 3B Patrick Wisdom (wrist)
Out: RP Brad Boxberger (forearm), RP Brandon Hughes (knee), RP Codi Heuer (elbow), RP Adrian Sampson (knee), RP Nick Burdi (abdomen), RP Ethan Roberts (elbow)

Brewers

Out: SP Jason Alexander (shoulder), RP Bennett Sousa (shoulder), RF Tyrone Taylor (elbow), SP Brandon Woodruff (shoulder), RP Justin Wilson (elbow), DH Darin Ruf (kneecap), CF Garrett Mitchell (shoulder), SP Aaron Ashby (shoulder)

Starting pitchers

Drew Smyly vs. Julio Teheran

Smyly will make his 17th start of the season and is looking for a bounce-back performance after his worst appearance of 2023. Last week, Smyly allowed seven runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts over 3.2 innings in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Teheran will make his eighth start in his first season with the Milwaukee Brewers. The veteran had improbably revived his career through his first six appearances but came back to Earth a bit in his most recent start. Teheran gave up seven runs on seven hits and four home runs over 5.2 innings in a loss to the New York Mets last week.

Over/Under pick

Both starting pitchers are coming off poor appearances statistically, but those are outliers when looking at their season-long numbers. This is a strong buy-low opportunity on both of them going up against lineups that both rank in the bottom half of the league in slugging percentage.

Pick: Under 8.5

Moneyline pick

Milwaukee is playing much better as of late as they’re winners of six of their last eight games. On the other side, the Cubs will look to avoid a third consecutive loss and have fallen short in six of their last seven games. Go with the Brewers to keep the winning going.