The Cubs prevented a sweep at the hands of the Giants on Sunday and will travel to San Diego where they will meet the Padres, coming off of a four-game split with the Mets. Let’s analyze this matchup and keep cashing our MLB picks!
Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres
Monday, June 7, 2021 – 10:10 PM EDT at PETCO Park
The Cubs lost the first three games of their four-game set with the Giants before rallying for a 4-3 win on Sunday. However, the consequences of going 1-3 over the weekend manifested in the Cubs now sharing the top spot in the NL Central with the Brewers after Milwaukee swept the Diamondbacks in their four-game series over the weekend.
Patrick Wisdom, proved to be the offensive catalyst on Sunday for Chicago as he smashed a pair of home runs and drove in three of the Cubs’ four runs. The 6’2” third baseman has been on fire since being called up on May 25th from the team’s Triple-A Iowa affiliate, hitting .412, seven dingers, and 10 RBI over 13 contests.
"The home runs come when I’m not trying to do too much," Wisdom said. "It’s being relaxed and looking for a pitch I can drive. “He’s given us more than we expected,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He’s really driving the ball. He picked us up today.”
Wisdom will be right at home when the team opens their three-game set in San Diego as he lived only an hour away growing up and regularly attended Padres games at their former home of Jack Murphy Stadium. “Definitely, I’ll have all my friends and family there,” he said. “I grew up watching Padres games.”
Padres Far from Heavenly in Sunday Setback
After a 10-game road trip, the Padres returned home and took a 4-3 decision over the Mets on Thursday followed by a 2-0 win on Friday. The home cookin’ was tasting good but then New York avenged those losses with a 4-0 win on Saturday and a 6-2 victory on Sunday for a series split. The Padres have gone 2-6 over their last eight games and not so coincidentally their bats have gone silent, averaging a paltry 2.25 runs per game over that stretch.
Sunday was more of the same as the San Diego offense could not come through in the clutch as evidenced by an inning-ending double play with bases juiced in the fourth inning. Padres’ manager, Jayce Tingler, was ejected in the first inning for arguing a called ball four after ruling the Mets’ Dominic Smith checked his swing on a Chris Paddack splitter.
Wanna Make a Bet?
Right-hander Adbert Alzolay (4-4, 3.62 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) will take the bump for the Cubs on Monday night and will try to keep his mojo rolling. The 26-year-old Venezuelan native has enjoyed two excellent outings recently in which he has pitched 10 plus innings and allowed only one earned run and eight hits in wins over the Reds and Padres. In his latest performance, Alzolay stymied San Diego last Wednesday in holding them to one earned run over five full innings of work in what resulted in a 6-1 Cubs victory.
The Padres will trot out Ryan Weathers (2-2, 2.06 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) and hope the 21-year-old southpaw can get them back on track. San Diego’s seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft has elevated his game this year and cracked the rotation after spending virtually all of 2020 in the minors. Weathers suffered his worst outing of the season last week when the Cubs touched him for four runs on seven hits over five innings in a 4-3 Chicago victory.
This is a series rematch between these clubs from last week when the Cubs swept the Padres at Wrigley Stadium. And although the venue has shifted, I’m not sure things will be much different. Alzolay is locked in a groove and has the confidence of facing and dominating this lineup only last week. Meanwhile, young Ryan Weathers could be still stinging from his worst big-league performance against the team he will face on Monday night.
Either way, what makes anyone believe this Padres’ offense will suddenly snap out of their funk? The early MLB odds are showing San Diego as a modest home favorite which means we can get the Cubs at +110 over at one of the best online sportsbooks, Heritage Sports. That looks like value to me so get down on the road dog here
MLB Pick: Cubs +110 at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
