Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 8/21/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Odds/Point Spread: Milwaukee (-160) Chicago (+132)

The Chicago Cubs (72-54) host the Milwaukee Brewers (79-47) at Wrigley Field on Thursday. The odds on this game have the Brewers at -160 and the Cubs are at +132. The over/under has been set at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Quinn Priester and Shota Imanaga.

As a unit, the Milwaukee Brewers are earning 5.2 runs per game, which has them sitting at 1st in the league. They have a total of 645 runs scored while having a team OBP of .333. The Brewers have accrued 196 doubles as a unit and have hit 134 balls out of the park. They have accrued 598 RBI's as well as 1,091 base knocks so far this season, and their batting average is at .259. Milwaukee has a slugging % of .407 and have been called out on strikes 979 times, while being walked on 429 occasions.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.63 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.23. Brewers pitchers have given up 134 home runs in addition to 477 total runs (3rd in MLB). Milwaukee has relinquished 946 hits (7.7 per 9 innings) as well as 438 earned runs. The Brewers hold a team earned run average of 3.56 for the year (2nd in MLB), and their staff has struck out 1,077 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 410 players from the other team and their FIP is 3.98 as a unit for the year.

The Brewers have dispatched 425 relief pitchers to the mound so far this season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 167 base runners on the campaign and 31.7% of those players crossed home plate. They have compiled 36 saves for the season and have blown 14 of 50 save opportunities. The Brewers relievers have a save percentage of 72.0% and stepped onto the hill in 140 save situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 86 holds on the year (3rd in the league). Brewers pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 111 times as well as having 142 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Brewers have converted 71.4% of balls hit into play into outs out of 9,960 innings, which ranks them 3rd in MLB. The Miami Marlins have a tally of 3,320 putouts thus far, in addition to 1,005 assists and 57 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .987 which has them ranked 11th in pro baseball, and have accumulated 88 double plays.

Priester (17-11 career record) has earned a FIP of 4.65 while facing 970 batters in the majors. He has given up 228 base knocks (9.2 hits per nine innings) and has had 81 free passes. His ERA is 4.72 (117 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.384. Priester has taken the mound for 223 innings and has 169 strikeouts so far in his MLB career.

The Chicago Cubs are sitting with a team OBP of .319 in addition to a team batting average of .250 over the course of the season. They have struck out on 958 occasions (27th in the league) and have earned 1,059 hits. Chicago has compiled 170 HRs this year and 598 runs batted in. The Cubs have a SLG% of .429 and they average 4.95 runs per contest (5th in MLB). They have tallied 204 doubles, while taking a walk 416 times and scoring 614 runs.

The Cubs hold a team WHIP of 1.206 and have a FIP of 4.19 as a squad for the season. They rank 12th in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,007. The Chicago pitching staff have conceded 504 runs over the course of the season and come in with a team ERA of 3.84 (469 earned runs yielded). Their strikeout to walk ratio is 7.70 (945 strikeouts against 320 walks). They have allowed 153 long balls and they relinquish 4.12 runs per 9 innings (6th in MLB).

Chicago has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 43 save opportunities and they have earned 29 saves. They rank 7th in the league with a save rate of 67.4%, and they have sent 405 relievers onto the field over the course of the season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 118 times in high leverage situations and also on 83 occasions with runners on. Chicago bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 29.7% out of their 118 inherited base runners. Sitting with 124 save situations, the Cubs have accumulated 78 holds and 14 blown saves.

The Chicago Cubs have gotten 95 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .988 (7th in pro baseball). The Cubs have racked up 1,037 assists, 52 errors and have earned a total of 3,302 putouts so far this year. Out of their 9,906 innings on the field, the Cubs hold a efficiency on defense of 71.4% (4th in the majors).

So far in his pro baseball career, Imanaga has surrendered 228 base knocks while tallying 259 strikeouts in 276 innings pitched. Imanaga (23-8 win-loss record in his career) holds a 2.97 earned run average while allowing 7.4 hits per 9 innings. He has given up a total of 91 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 0.996 and being the owner of a FIP of 2.9. His K/BB ratio is 5.51 and he has faced 1,097 opposing batters during his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Milwaukee (-160)

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