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Milwaukee (2-1) at Chi. Cubs (1-2)
- When: Oct 9 2025, 9:08 PM
- Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Where to watch: HBO Max
Milwaukee vs Chi. Cubs MLB Playoff Preview & Pick
Moneyline: Milwaukee -116
Spread: Milwaukee -1.5 (+150)
Total: 7.0
Chicago Cubs: The Kings of the First Inning… and Then Panic Ensues
If baseball games ended after one inning, the Chicago Cubs would already be popping champagne and planning the parade route. These guys treat the first inning like it’s the seventh game of the World Series, only to remember sometime around the third inning that baseball goes nine.
Michael Busch has been doing his best Superman impression, belting leadoff homers like he’s allergic to singles. He’s gone deep in all three games of this series, making opposing pitchers question their career choices. Unfortunately, the rest of the lineup tends to fall asleep right after Busch’s heroics, which has left Chicago with only one win to show for three fast starts.
Manager Craig Counsell might as well hand out Red Bull instead of water between innings. His new strategy? “Pretend every inning is the first inning.” Not exactly a revolutionary tactic, but desperate times call for caffeine-fueled measures.
The Cubs will likely hand the ball to Matthew Boyd, who looked more lost in Game 1 than a tourist on Michigan Avenue. He gave up six runs (only two earned, because baseball is weird like that) before most fans had found their seats. Still, Chicago’s hoping he can find some redemption and maybe the strike zone this time around.
Milwaukee Brewers: The Calm, Cool, and Collected Buzzsaw
Milwaukee isn’t exactly sweating the Cubs’ early fireworks. Why would they? The Brewers seem to treat giving up first-inning runs like a warmup act before the real show begins. This team can erase deficits faster than you can say “run differential.”
Freddy Peralta is the man likely to toe the rubber, running on four days’ rest and pure coffee. He was solid in Game 1, tossing 5 2/3 innings of steady work while his offense went nuclear with a six-run first inning. Peralta owns the Cubs historically, sporting a 9-3 career record against them and the kind of calm swagger that says, “I’ve seen this movie before, and it ends the same way.”
Jake Bauers, meanwhile, hit a homer in Game 3 and managed to strike out with the bases loaded later, because apparently, baseball needs balance. He’ll try to deliver again, preferably without sending Milwaukee fans into a collective groan.
Prediction: Brewers Finish the Job
This series has been chaos wrapped in a Cubs bullpen meltdown, sprinkled with Milwaukee resilience. Chicago’s hot starts can’t mask their middle-inning misery, and Milwaukee’s too deep, too disciplined, and too stubborn to let this go back to a Game 5.
Milwaukee marches to the NLCS, while Chicago’s offseason slogan writes itself: “Great first innings. Terrible endings.”
Score Prediction: Brewers 5, Cubs 3
Pick: Milwaukee (-116)
Total: Over 7.0 (-122)
- MLB Playoff Odds source: MyBookie Sportsbook
- Get real-time live scores & latest betting odds here!
