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Contents
- Smyly Going for Encore
- Shaking the Rust Off
- Cubs Playing Small Ball
- Padres vs Cubs Game Injuries
- Padres vs Cubs Head-to-Head
- Padres vs Cubs Game Information
- Padres vs Cubs Betting Lines
- Padres vs Cubs Picks and Prediction
- Padres vs Cubs Trends
- Padres vs Cubs Edge
- Padres vs Cubs Results
- Padres vs Cubs Game Summary
Padres vs Cubs Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks April 26
San Diego Looking to Bounce Back
Smyly Going for Encore
Justin Steele outdueled winless San Diego Padres starter Blake Snell as the Chicago Cubs took the first game of the three-game series with a convincing 6-0 win on Tuesday.
The Padres’ star-studded batting order was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and the only extra-base hit came off the bat of Matt Carpenter.
Michael Wacha, pitching for his fifth team in the last five seasons, is off to a rugged start for the Padres with an ERA of 7.08. In his last two starts, he allowed 21 hits and 12 runs in 8⅓ innings. He hasn’t pitched against the Cubs since 2019. In his last outing versus Chicago, he allowed one run and five hits in four innings.
Drew Smyly, who is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA, flirted with a no-hitter in his last start. He gave up one hit and struck out 10 as he pitched into the eighth inning in a win over the Dodgers. The last time he pitched against the Padres was on Sept. 26, 2021, when he surrendered two hits and no runs in 1⅔ innings in a 4-3 win.
According to MLB news, catcher Luis Campusano and outfielders David Dahl and Adam Engel are out, as are relief pitchers Jose Castillo, Drew Pomeranz and Nabil Crismatt for the Padres.
For the Cubs, outfielder Cody Bellinger is on the paternity leave list. Relief pitchers Codi Heuer and Ethan Roberts will be sidelined for a while.
According to the MLB playoff odds, the Padres (+1000) are seventh in the odds to win the World Series. Chicago is well back at +7000) in the championship odds.
Shaking the Rust Off
So much for the thought that the return of MVP candidate Fernando Tatis Jr. from a lengthy suspension would provide an immediate jolt to a struggling San Diego Padres offense.
Tatis is just 4-for-22 with one extra-base hit and six strikeouts in his first five games of the season. Tatis is 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
He has plenty of company when it comes to struggling hitters with the Padres. Juan Soto is batting .188, Manny Machado has a .213 average and Austin Nola is hitting just .145. Soto and Machado were a combined 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in the series opener.
If not for the addition of former Boston Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts (.330 batting average, .421 on-base percentage), one has to shudder at what the offensive numbers would look like in the early stages of the season.
The MLB betting lines total has gone over in just three of the last nine games played by the Padres.
Cubs Playing Small Ball
The Chicago Cubs have very quietly become one of the top offensive teams in the majors.
After hitting just .238 a season ago, the Cubs are second in the majors with a .278 batting average and an on-base percentage of .351 and also rank in the top five with 24 stolen bases and 127 runs scored.
Infielder Nico Hoerner is leading the way with a .347 average and nine stolen bases, which ranks third in the National League. He has reached base in 20 consecutive games.
On-base streak: 20 games
Tongue: 😛 pic.twitter.com/MMY8F5cIKq— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 26, 2023
Patrick Wisdom has produced the power with nine home runs as the Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in six of the last 18 games.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of the last six games for Chicago.
Padres vs Cubs Game Injuries
Padres vs Cubs Head-to-Head
The Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak to the Padres with Tuesday’s 6-0 win. The Padres outscored the Cubs 41-15 in the previous four contests.
Just two of the last seven games in the series played at Wrigley Field have finished over the total.
There is just one game decided by one run in the last 12 meetings.
Ian Happ hit .357 in seven games against the Padres in 2022. Jake Cronenworth had a .464 batting average and .545 on-base percentage in seven games against the Cubs last season while Machado hit .379 with seven RBIs.
Padres vs Cubs Game Information
- Game: Padres (12-13) vs Cubs (13-9)
- Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
- Day/Time: Wednesday, April 26, 7:40 p.m. ET
- Padres vs Cubs Live stream: MLB.tv
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Padres vs Cubs Betting Lines
Padres vs Cubs Picks and Prediction
Wacha is too good of a pitcher to continue to give up the hits and runs that he has been surrendering. However, a Cubs team that has the third-fewest strikeouts in the majors might not be the team that allows him to regain some of his confidence.
The series opener was a two-run game until the Cubs broke things open with four runs in the eighth inning, so which made the final margin seem worse than it really was. It should be noted that the Padres’ bullpen ERA of 4.71 ranks 24th out of 30 MLB teams. Still, the Padres are a slight favorite in this game.
The Padres are 7-7 when the MLB odds list them as a favorite. The Cubs are 5-5 as the underdog.
San Diego is 8-4 against the MLB lines on the road, with the Cubs covering in seven of their first 14 home games.
The San Diego Padres are listed at -105 in our Las Vegas MLB odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Padres, you have a chance to win $95. The Cubs are priced at 105, offering a chance to win $95 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Padres a 51.22% chance to win, with the Cubs at 51.22%.
Padres vs Cubs Trends
Padres vs Cubs Edge
Padres vs Cubs Results
Padres vs Cubs Game Summary
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