The Milwaukee Brewers (74-57) and Chicago Cubs (69-62) play the 2nd game of a 3-game series Tuesday at Wrigley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET (TBS).

Season series: Brewers lead 5-3

The Brewers won 6-2 as +117 underdogs in the series opener. LF Christian Yelich and DH Mark Canha both homered in Milwaukee’s 4-run 1st inning as the Brewers won their 9th straight game. Milwaukee owns a 5-game lead over the 2nd-place Cubs in the NL Central.

The Cubs are 8-4 in their last 12 outings and have not lost back-to-back games since a 2-game skid from Aug. 13-15.

Brewers at Cubs projected starters

RHP Corbin Burnes vs. LHP Justin Steele

Burnes (9-6 3.65 ERA) makes his 27th start. He has a 1.08 WHIP 3.2 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 in 158 innings.

• Last start: Win 6 IP 6 ER 8 H 1 BB 5 K in 8-7 home victory in 10 innings vs. Minnesota Twins Wednesday
• 2023 road stats: 5-3 3.08 ERA (87 2/3 IP 30 ER) in 14 starts
• 2023 vs. Cubs: Loss 5 IP 4 ER 4 H 3 BB 3 K in 1 start a 4-0 road loss March 30 (Opening Day)
• Career vs. Cubs: 2-3 3.48 ERA (62 IP 24 ER) in 9 starts and 6 relief appearances

Steele (14-3 2.80 ERA) makes his 25th start. He has a 1.17 WHIP 2.0 BB/9 and 8.7 K/9 in 138 innings.

• Last start: No-decision 6 IP 3 R (2 ER) 6 H 2 BB 6 K in 5-4 victory in 10 innings at Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday
• 2023 home stats: 10-2 2.65 ERA (78 IP 23 ER) in 14 starts
• 2023 vs. Brewers: 0-0 2.25 ERA (12 IP 3 ER) in 2 starts — Most recent: No-decision 6 IP 3 ER 9 H 0 BB 5 K in 4-3 road victory July 5
• Career vs. Brewers: 1-2 2.48 ERA (54 1/3 IP 15 ER) in 10 starts and 2 relief appearances

Brewers at Cubs odds

• Moneyline (ML): Brewers +110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Cubs -135 (bet $135 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Brewers +1.5 (-200) | Cubs -1.5 (+165)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7 (O: -105 | U: -115)

Brewers at Cubs picks and predictions

Prediction

Cubs 4 Brewers 3

Moneyline

The CUBS </strong (-135) should end Milwaukee’s 9-game win streak with Steele on the mound Tuesday. The Cubs have won in 11 of Steele’s last 12 starts and the left-hander has allowed 3 or fewer ER in 13 straight outings.

It’s unlikely that the Brewers will win a 4th straight game at Wrigley especially vs. 1 of the best starters in MLB this season.

BET CUBS (-135).

Run line/Against the spread

The Brewers have not lost a game by multiple runs since Aug. 16. While Milwaukee +1.5 (-200) will probably hit there’s no need to pay the higher price on the run line when Chicago ML is the better play.

PASS. Bet the moneyline and/or the total instead.

Over/Under

After a dominant July (1.85 ERA across 6 starts) Burnes has allowed 5 or more ER in 2 of his 4 outings in August.

Steele is also having a down month compared to the rest of his season. The left-hander has allowed a minimum of 2 ER in each of his 5 starts in August and has allowed 6 or more hits each time out.

While I like this game to land on 7 on the dot I would lean more toward the Over if I were forced to bet it.

LEAN OVER 7 (-105).